Belgium
(MNN) — Operation Mobilization is holding its second annual "Hope Brussels"
campaign from June 27 to July 11. About
46 people from seven countries are partnering with local churches to reach
other cultures and religious groups in the capital of Belgium with the Gospel.
The team will work together with local churches on outreach
projects and provide them with resources. Last year they partnered with a French Baptist church, a Charismatic
church, an Iranian church, a French/Arabic church and an Evangelical Flemish
church in the Schaarbeek and Evere neighborhoods.
Many international students and immigrants from the Middle
East and North Africa live in Belgium,
which is often called "The Crossroads of Europe." About 6 percent of the population is North
African, Turkish, Kurdish, Chinese, Zairois, Albanians. Over three percent of the population is
Muslim. OM has planted a bilingual
church, reaching these groups as well as native Belgians in Gent, 45 minutes
away from Brussels.
The ministry of "Hope Brussels" may involve community
service projects, the distribution of free literature, music, drama, friendship
evangelism, and outreach to Muslims. They
also plan to use games, sports, and carnival activities to reach children
and youth on the playgrounds near local churches.
"We feel that there is a great void in our city," said Jan
Wisse, OM Belgium Field Leader.
Less than one percent of the 10 million people in Belgium
are evangelical Christians. Ignorance of
and indifference to the Gospel permeate the second most-densely populated country
in Europe. 1.1 million people live in Brussels,
which is the headquarters of the European Union and of NATO. OM is
working to mobilize evangelism in and from this country that desperately needs
the truth of the Gospel.
