Europe Needs Your help! - Outreaches

Europe Needs Your help!

Europe our mission field? The question mark is exactly what I see so often in people's eyes when I tell them that we're missionaries to Europe, to be precise middle Germany. That God called me, Hannes Nortje, as a missionary to Europe is not so difficult to comprehend, but Europe a mission field? Actually I want to go as far as to say that Europe is the biggest and most challenging mission field in the world?  That's right! Atheism and practical atheism, which is called the religion of secularism, is a religion in every sense of the word and the predominant religion of Europe. For the European to come to Christ demands the same conversion from one religion to another, as for the Hindu or the Moslem, and that by embracing a new world view, and in this case trading the Tour of Babel world view of Genesis 11 for the Christian one. The crux of Genesis 11 is verse 6 when “ADONAI said, "Look, the people are united, they all have a single language, and see what they're starting to do! At this rate, nothing they set out to accomplish will be impossible for them!” (Complete Jewish Bible) and captures Europe's idolatry of playing god; Europe's god is humanity itself which is apparently capable of accomplishing anything and everything through science in democracy and a functional, prosperous economy. That's the creed and doctrine of this Babel religion.

I'm married with two children. My wife's name is Helen and our daughter's name is Leandra-Joelle (5), while our sun's name is Enrico (2½). We've built a house in a town called Gudensberg just a few kilometres outside the city called Kassel. If you want to know where Kassel is take a map of Germany and put you finger as close to the middle of Germany as you can and then you won't be far from Kassel. The reason for the house is to have space, space to accommodate people, and still grow garden and lawn for the children to play on. Our 60m² terrace also serves us well for a BBQ (braai), or just a typical German coffee time on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon with friends or neighbours.

My wife works for a Christian youth organisation called Christian Endeavour in Kassel, where she is the liaison for a 1500 children being sponsored in 35 hostels in India by about 600 German so-called 'Godparents'. I, on the other hand, am trying to make inroads into the world of the Germans where 95% of them are atheists or functional atheists. The only way in is through one two one relationships: of the Bible they know nothing, if they even ever had one in their hands; we have to be the Bible they're reading if we ever want them to read a Bible. The one practical avenue I've found to build these relationships is through teaching English and that's what I'm doing as a missionary to Europe right now, but from teaching English alone no one can live. Should I try to teach English to keep us alive, it would leave me with no time or opportunities for ministry.

Our vision is with house church, and that's what I think is to be the way forward for Europe. Of all my students only a few confess to be atheists, but almost all of them have a problem with church. The baggage and history of church in Europe is a sad story and is the epitome of religion that we condemn. House church, on the other hand, is exactly the revamp forward to build the genuine relationships that depicts true Christianity where the church is given back to the Holy Spirit so that each and everyone has the obligation to serve others with their respective gifts and so purging  'theology' from an abstractness that has no pertinence for where the rubber hits the road.

Although that's our vision, realities in the lack of committed converts obligated us at present to worship in little evangelical congregation not far from us to fill our tanks and mix with other Christians. That's now after we burned ourselves out trying to get a house church movement going.  I'm also in the last stretch to get my Doctor's degree in Theology done at Unisa and they have a little Bible college I hope to get some teaching opportunities with. What's a better place to work the way into general church life than through a Bible college and so promote small church? My motto is, “If churches are small in Europe, what's the issue, lets just have many churches”, and if they still want to stick to a denomination, or church group, why not?

If also been accepted as a distant tutor for the Bible college I used to study with outside Johannesburg, South Africa, called Nazarene Theological College. Their whole BTh (degree) program has been ported into an online program with students over the whole of Africa. The only requirement to teach, apart from academic qualifications, is a good internet connection, and that I have. This is a great opportunity to uphold my roots in Africa, and make sure I keep my identity as one of the white tribe of Africa, and so make sure I bring something of Africa to Europe. The remuneration teaching for NTC South Africa is also nothing to live from, but just thinking what impact one student could make in a local congregation has an eternal remuneration.

So all and all we are settled in Germany with the purpose of reaching Germany and that's an adventure, and adventure for Christ. Today Europe needs Africa, and we need you to help us help Europe!

Blessings in the wonderful Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,

Hannes, Helen, Leandra-Joelle and Enrico Nortje.

If you are led to become a partner with Hannes in his mission field, please contact A4C or when you make a donation, please use reference as "Hannes Germany" Thank you very much for your support in prayers and finance for this family!