EUROPE SPIRITUALLY LOST
Europe, where the Christian church had its roots, has become one of the world’s darkest areas – not just Eastern Europe, which was under the yoke of communism for years, but also Western Europe, where materialism, Islam and oriental religions have conquered the hearts of many, many people. Nowadays tens of millions of Europeans know nothing about the Gospel of Christ.

THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM
In the heart of Western Europe we find a tiny country, Belgium. Its capital, Brussels, is well known because of the NATO headquarters and the European Union buildings. Although very small, Belgium plays a major part in European unification.

Belgium is a federal kingdom, comprising three equal communities; Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia. Each has its own government alongside the federal government.

Economically, Belgium is a very rich country with an excellent social security and education system and a guaranteed minimum income for every citizen.

SPIRITUALITY IN BELGIUM
The history of the Church in Belgium has been very turbulent. In the 16th century, during the Reformation, many Belgians turned to Protestantism. In Antwerp, Bibles were printed in different languages and distributed all over Europe. But the Counter-Reformation swept it all away. Tens of thousands of believers fled to the North, leaving empty cities behind them. Severe persecution brought those who remained back into the fold of the Roman Catholic Church. Reading the Bible was forbidden until the Vatican Council of 1963-1965, when Pope John XXIII recommended that all believers should read the Bible for themselves. The Roman Catholic Church has had a great influence on people’s personal and social lives, which can still be seen today in many family traditions.

During the last part of the 20th century, people have become less dependent on the Church. Faith and convictions are now being picked like items in a supermarket. Spirituality as an experience has become more important than its content. Churches are therefore emptier and emptier.

Since the 1960’s many foreign workers have come to work in the heavy industries and coal mines. Many come from Turkey and North Africa, which makes Islam the second religion in Belgium.

Evangelical Christians have grown in numbers. This is especially due to recent immigration from DR Congo, which was previously a Belgian colony. However the total number of Evangelical Christians in Belgium is just above 1 %.