When someone says they are going to Spain, thoughts of beaches, bullfights, ornate cathedrals, siestas and sangria often come to mind. But the last thing people think of is doing a mission trip there! So when I told people that I was going to be leading a mission trip to Vilanova, Spain for my third time in May, you can imagine the questions that followed. “WHY SPAIN?” is often everyone’s top question. So let me take a moment to answer that for you.
Many people choose places in Africa or South America for mission trips, and for good reason. But you don’t typically think of Spain as a place that needs more “missionaries” or even churches. In reality, Spain DOES need more people to be a part of God’s “bigger plan” for their country as much as any other country! To give you a little background… Spain endured a long period of enforced Catholicism under the rule of General Franco. When Franco left power, faith had largely become a cultural issue for the population. The emergence of a strong post-Modernist culture in Western Europe did little to help the situation. Now, there is a spiritual void in Spain, as religion and church are considered irrelevant to today’s culture, and less than 1% of the population are protestant Christians. In addition, with the recent arrival of a large and thriving Muslim population in Spain, there is a strong sense of urgency for existing Christians to seize the opportunity to reach a very disenfranchised and passive culture. So, yes, there are beautiful, ornate Catholic churches all over the country, just as you might imagine, but most of them are empty, especially void of those in my generation, many of whom no longer believe in anything because of what they’ve been told to believe in the past. There is no praise or worship, and certainly the majority of Spaniards have never heard of what it means to have a “relationship” with Christ.
But that concept is changing, thanks to churches like Iglesia Cristiana del Garraf, our strategic partner in Vilanova (just outside of Barcelona). Much like Buckhead Church, they too have a vision to help others “build a growing relationship with Jesus Christ” and present a church environment with relevant messages, where people will feel welcome and loved. I believe the Lord is accomplishing that mission in this small church in Vilanova, Spain because I have seen it first hand! In the past year, since my last trip there, their church has grown from 40 to about 60 consistent attendees, which makes it one of the largest Protestant churches in Spain! That is a huge praise, but there are still over 80,000 “unreached” people in the surrounding area (and almost 42 million more around the country) who DON’T know Christ yet. There’s more work to be done!
So that’s why I signed up this year to go to Spain for my third mission trip. God blessed me with a team of 8 other committed people ready to encourage and support the church in Vilanova. So from May 15-26, we worked with Iglesia Cristiana del Garraf, to help with some of their most immediate desires/needs including:
a. Training “Starting Point” leaders
b. Training small group leaders
c. A service project with their church and our team (reaching out to help the local community)
d. A RETREAT (weekend get-away with the whole church, to learn more about how to build community within their church and with outsiders)
e. Prayer and Connections (building relationships, with each other and GOD)
It was an amazing experience, and I would love to talk to anyone considering a mission trip there or wondering how to get more involved. We have a partner church in Sevilla as well, which is another great trip from what I hear. Please continue to pray for the country of Spain and especially for these two special churches in Vilanova and Sevilla, who are trying to build a church community where people grow spiritually and come to know the love of Christ. Specifically at ICG (Vilanova) they need prayers for God to bring forth a pastor for their church (they are currently without one) and funds for a new church building that they are trying to finish. ¡Gracias por tomar el tiempo para leer sobre y rezan para el movimiento de Dios en España!
To learn more about Iglesia Cristiana del Garraf or read about our mission trips to Spain, check out these links: http://www.spainupdates.blogspot.com and http://www.iglesiadelgarraf.com
Carolyn Norton
Team Leader
Great blog! I’m on the Sevilla Connections Trip that will be in Spain in September and it is so refreshing to hear that someone else shares my thoughts and reasons on why to serve Spain!
I was a bit surprised to say the least when I read your blog. I am Catholic and have lived in Spain for 25 years. I would like to point your attention to a couple of things:
1. You say there are less than 1% of protestants in Spain. Why is that surprising? Spain was founded as a combination of Catholic kingdoms more than 500 years ago, way before the XVI century when protestantism was born. +99% of the population is Catholic. Catholicism is part of our lives and part of our history, and Franco has very little to do with any of this: The Catholic church existed in Spain hundreds of years before Franco and will continue several hundred years after.
2. You mentioned that “churches are empty”. ??? Churches in Spain are open the whole day for people to enter/leave as they please. When there is no mass, the church is almost empty (maybe a few dozen people praying or admiring the building). When there is mass, you will probably have to stand up as they church will be packed and there will be no empty seats. So “empty”.. when there is no mass.
3. I find it interesting that you are able to infer something as strong as “there is a spiritual void” and “people don’t believe in anything” from a 2-week trip to a small part in the northeast of Spain. Your generalizations apply to +45 million Spaniards in 9 different autonomic communities with completely different historic backgrounds.
Thank you for posting my opinions.
OC.