Italy

30,000 towns and villages have no evangelical churches. Evangelical community is less than 1% of the population. There is a need for church planting. The churches continue to grow slowly, through open air meetings, TV, leaflet distribution and housing people in need.

Torino is a major industrial city in northern Italy. A couple (WEC International) work alongside a 200-member Italian church. They have taken more than 300 people on couples' retreats: many of these have come to know the Lord. Over 60 couples are now on the retreat waiting list. Other involvements for the church: youth camps, counselling, prison visitation, Bible camps for children and young people in summer 2008. Over 100 young people will attend the camps, many of them from non Christian homes. A daughter church is at Lanzo near Torino, and a new church planned for Caselle, in the same valley, there is already a small group that meets in a home.

The unresponsiveness of Italians. The last four decades of religious freedom have been met with indifference. Occultism is widespread, and there are reckoned to be 100,000 full-time consulting magicians — nearly three times the number of Catholic priests. Satanism is strong in the north, Turin being one of the global centres of its activities, which include praying for the removal of all evangelical missionaries from the country. The strong pre-Christian pagan powers have never been fully routed in 2,000 years.

The Christian workers need wisdom in reaching out and also in helping the small churches to grow. Pray for the outreach of the churches as they need to see a breakthrough and see people come to the Lord.

There is work among Arabs in northern Italy. Praise God for the growth of the Arab speaking church in Milan.

There are radio broadcasts in Arabic and these are broadcasted on nine radio stations throughout Italy.

Contents