Euro-Africa Division

Paris, France • Istanbul, Turkey
Berlin, Munich, Germany • Vienna, Austria Sofia, Bulgaria • Prague, Czech Republic Rome, Italy Lisbon, Portugal • Bucharest, Romania
Madrid, Spain • Zurich, Switzerland

In Europe a real cultural mutation introduces us to what we could call a postmodern or ultramodern era and, assuredly, a post-Christian one. This change calls for new forms of expressions of faith, a new way to “do church. During the past decades, many innovations have appeared. This movement is brimming with life. It spreads out in various directions and displays deep creativity.

We have to take into consideration the priority of mentalities and populations. Therefore, the Euro-Africa Division decided to plan a long-term church-planting project in a city in each union. These new projects will be financially supported in order to establish the Seventh-Day Adventist Church more firmly in the largest population centres of Europe.

The basic idea was John’s vision of the New Jerusalem with its 12 gates to the heavenly city. The ambitious EUD project will be a step to help reach the masses of Europe with the Gospel. We have the slogan “Twelve Gates to the Kingdom: Building the Church, the City of the Future.” According to studies done by British theologian Stuart Murray, the strategy will be to focus on three main concepts for the structures of these new Adventist churches in these cities.

1. The mission-centered try to update the church. They target a specific population (young people, subcultures, ethnic minorities), reorganize around their mission (small groups, meetings for people in search), locate in new places (cafes, places of work, etc).

2. The churches centered on community development reconstruct the church. They involve themselves in urban initiatives, gather disgruntled believers (house or informal groups), and rediscover community life (house churches, post-alpha churches, new forms of monastic communities).

3. The church centered find new ways to worship God and try to revive the church (alternative worships, prayer movements, Internet websites etc).

Ulrich Frikart
president, Euro-Africa Division