HOPE II Congress 2011
Wednesday 22nd June 2011
Hope for Europe is a relational movement networking Christians in many fields across the continent, with close ties to the European Evangelical Alliance.
Hope II Congress is part of the wider Hope for Europe movement and this year’s Congress brought over 400 Christian ministry leaders from 40 nations around Europe together in Budapest for four days, from 9th to 13th May 2011.
The aims of HOPE II Congress were to -
- nurture a culture of hope in and for Europe
- promote body-life and networking beyond local expressions, across cities, nations and the continent
- equip Europeans to think and act 'European'
- restore biblical perspectives on past and future
- engage present challenges
The first day and half of the congress was made up of 23 short talks given by a variety of world famous theologians and speakers looking at the above aims.
Jeff Fountain, the congress director in the opening session remarked that we as a Church must nurture a culture of HOPE. HOPE for eternity; YES! But also HOPE for the lost and broken in Europe just now. He also noted that it was vital that we, as the Church in Europe, should not simply have a local perspective in mission and ministry but that we must have the bigger picture of Europe and the World in our minds also.
Dr. Philip Jenkins, author and professor, who was the keynote speaker, gave three talks looking at Europe- yesterday, today and tomorrow. He highlighted that Europe has a rich and deep Christian heritage which can still be seen all around us- if we would simply look for it! Reaching out to the Muslim community in Europe with the Gospel of Christ was also emphasized by several speakers.
Os Guinness, Michael Schluter, Prabhu Guptara and Michael Ramsden addressed various aspects of globalisation, secularisation and humanism and how they have had a profound impact on Europe and indeed the Church in Europe. These speakers laid down a clear challenge to the Church that in bringing biblical truth into these situations we could bring true HOPE to Europe.
The remaining two days of the Congress were spent in networks. There were 22 networks ranging from Children’s Ministries, to Church planting, to Ethne Europe (Unreached peoples in Europe), to Evangelism via the Internet, to Women in Leadership. These networks met in hotels across Budapest for discussions, networking and consultations.
I joined the Church Leaders network. It was a valuable opportunity to learn more about the joys and struggles experienced by my brothers in Christ from France, Serbia, Hungary, Finland, Germany and Greece (see picture opposite and names below), as they minister in their local contexts both with churches and para-church organisations.
We discussed issues surrounding the Church’s response to globalisation and the environment. We also spent time rediscovering the value and need for authentic relating within the church.
(L-R) Markku (Finnish living and working in Germany), Gerard (French), Laszlo (Hungarian)
(L-R, front row) Meletis (Greek), Pam (Irish), Viktor (Serbian)
Hope II was a very unique conferencing experience that gave me the opportunity to hear, learn from and discuss with many different men and women building God’s kingdom across Europe.
I was very challenged to think much more about the reality of spiritual darkness in Europe and how we as the Church in Europe must be partnering together to bring the light of Jesus Christ into this darkness.
So often, we in Ireland, can overlook the deep need for Christ that is on our doorstep!
See video: Reasons for HOPE II Congress in Budapest
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