About the Field † Church of the Nazarene Northern Europe Field

The Northern Europe Field is part of the Eurasia Region, which is one of six world areas of the Church of the Nazarene. There are nine different countries that make up the Northern Europe Field: Ireland , United Kingdom , Netherlands , Germany , Switzerland , Hungary , Denmark , Norway and Poland.

Northern Europe has contributed much to the development of the Evangelical church. The printing press originated here and with its invention Bibles became widely available to the common people. The leaders of the Reformation in the 16 th Century all came from Northern Europe . The first evangelical missionaries were sent to many parts of the world from Northern Europe . Today the countries of Northern Europe are experiencing religious decline. The World Values Survey of 1995-97 revealed that in church attendance figures, many of the countries in Northern Europe lag behind the countries to which missionaries were sent in the 19 th and 20 th centuries. In the survey the percentage of people who attend church once a week was as follows:

Organised religion in Northern Europe is in regression. Surprisingly, this is especially true in those Protestant countries that were the heartland of the Reformation, like Switzerland and Germany . If the great Reformers, Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli, were to return today, they would be shocked to see that the reformatory movement and spiritual revival they began at great personal sacrifice, has long ended. The great Protestant cathedrals have become silent monuments to a faith that is dying. The spiritual descendents of the Reformers now embrace the world view of humanism, secularism, materialism, and agnosticism.

Many of the percentages listed above are lower now, some of them significantly so, as you will see when you select the information for each country of the Field. The mission sending countries of Northern Europe have themselves become mission areas needing missionaries. The task is huge. The Church of the Nazarene has been established in Europe for almost 100 years. In the older Districts the work is waning� but� there are a few bright spots where God is working and these are signs to us that God has not forgotten Northern Europe . I believe the Church in Europe is on the verge of being reborn. There are signs in our emerging generation that evangelical communities of faith are about to reshape the landscape of Europe .

Field Director: Rev Philip McAlister

How can a High School Physical Education Teacher become a Field Director? Good question. The answer lies in a missionary meeting in a Nazarene Church in Carrickfergus, N Ireland in 1983. It was then that God called Philip into the fulltime Christian ministry.

In 1984 Philip and Ruth took their two small sons to British Isles Nazarene College , Manchester to complete studies for ordination with the Nazarene Church . Upon graduation in 1987 they were called to the Irvine Church on the West Coast of Scotland. It was there that their daughter was born.

They pastored there for four and a half years before returning to pastor their home church in Carrickfergus for 10 years. Philip was appointed as Field Director for Northern Europe by Dr Franklin Cook, Eurasia Regional Director, in January 2002.

Philip is married to Ruth. They have three children, Stephen, who is married to Melissa, Jonathan and Ruth. Just recently they have become the proud grandparents of Vanessa, their first grandchild.

Northern Europe Field Partnership

The Northern Europe Partnership has developed a PEACE plan to impact Northern Europe

P = Plant Churches
E = Equip Servant Leaders
A = Aid the Poor
C = Care for the Sick
E = Educate the Next Generation

The primary focus is planting churches and equipping pastors and lay leaders. Under Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (NCM), we are also called to aid the poor and care for the sick. Then educating the next generation involves educational institutions, media, distance learning, literature translation and distribution.

Over the next decade, we are praying that hundreds of Sunday school classes and small groups will assist in church planting in N Europe and elsewhere.

1. PRAYER. Would you be a Church Prayer Representative? This involves receiving regular email prayer requests and building a team of people who know how to pray for revival and missions?

2. VOLUNTEERS. Would you consider a two-week Work and Witness project in Europe ? Or a 3-month NIVS (Nazarenes in Volunteer Service) task?

3. MENTORING. Experienced pastors are needed to mentor new Nazarene pastors in N Europe . Here a congregation can develop a sister-church relationship with new church plants.

4. PROJECT SPONSOR. Would you individually, as a group or as a congregation underwrite a church-related project in N Europe ?

Partnership Advisor
Merritt Mann
49 Mountain Ash Land, Pembroke , ME 02359
USA
mhmann@aol.com
Home: 781-826-4268 Cell: 617-510-1940

Managing Partner
Rev Ian Robertson
Spokane Valley Nazarene Church
15515 E. 20 th , Spokane Valley , WA 99037
USA
PastorIan@aol.com
Church: 509-926-1545 or 800-861-1250