The Truth About Italy....

Many people, even followers of Christ, believe that there isn't a great need for ministers in Italy. Many people think that Italy is doing great, spiritually. They see how the Catholic Church is in Italy, how there is art of Jesus everywhere, how there are symbols and history of Christianity throughout Italy, how Paul even wrote to the Romans, and obviously that would mean Italy is full of people who love Christ right? Its actually quite the opposite. Italy is filled with people who don't know Christ; filled with people who are searching, longing for something more in life. I have seen this first hand. Let me tell you more about what I mean.






Here are some startling facts for starters.



1) Italy is a dying nation. Italy has the lowest birth rate of any western nation. According to recent statistics, for every 1 person who is born, 4 will die. By the year 2050, the population will shrink by as much as 1/3. The Italian government now offers women money just to have children. They give as much as 10,000 Euro for the first 5 years of the child's life.



2) The spiritual climate in Italy is pretty much the same; its dying. An Italian Archbishop conducted a survey to see where Italians were with their faith. He found that 98% of Italians claimed to be Catholic. However, of that 98% of the population, 20% of them also claimed to be Atheist. Almost 20% of the whole population of Italy does not even believe that there is a God. Only 2% of Italians are considered "active" in the church. But what they consider "active" is going to church at least twice a year, including weddings, holidays, baptisms, and funerals. The youth in Italy is even worse yet. Less than 1% of people ages 5-25 are considered active in the church. One of the most shocking facts though, is that 96% of this age group has no been to church since their infant baptism. Being in Italy for six weeks doing missions on the University of Salerno campus, I saw firsthand the reality of this. When asked about spiritual things, things about God, Jesus, the Bible, the Italians are so interested to talk to you. However, when asked what it means to them, the majority of them say things like, "That does not apply to me. Its is for old people like my grandparents. I do not care about these things, because they do not relate to me or my life."



I have seen this brokenness first hand. While I was in Italy, I had a friend named Tamara there with me. She was talking to a girl on the campus at the University of Salerno. When spiritual conversation came up, the girl immediately got very defensive and said stuff like, "I don't want to hear any of this religious stuff, especially about Jesus. I don't believe any of it and i don't care. It's stupid and not for me. I'm not talking about this with you." The girl was very adamant Tamara simply said that was fine just said she just wanted to get to know her. Not very much after, they began talking about spiritual things, namely Jesus. This time, the girl did not end the conversation and instead began talking about it. Tamara shared about how we are all fallen and broken and how there is really nothing we can do to get to God because of our sin (or "peccato" in Italian). She shared with her about how even though we can't get to God and we can never do nearly enough to earn our way into heaven to be with Him, God still loves us. She explained that God loves us so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, down to Earth. She shared about how Jesus lived a blameless perfect life for 33 years; how he was completely holy in every way; how he lived out the Father's will completely and perfectly. Then she explained how he was killed for us, and through that killing was forsaken by God and took on the full wrath of God for sins that He never committed. He took God's wrath for our sins. Then Tamara explained the best part of the story, that Jesus, after 3 days, rose from the dead. He defeated sin and death and through that we get salvation if we believe and ask Jesus into our hearts. Tamara shared some of her personal story and after hearing all these things, the girl broke down in tears. She understood the saving grace of Christ and His sacrifice (His death and resurrection) and believed. She asked Jesus into her life right there. She went from being adamently against everything Christianity was about to believing. She had never heard the true Gospel before. She had never had it explained like it was explained by Tamara.

The people in Salerno and all over Italy are waiting to hear this news. They are waiting to know it. They're waiting to hear the true story. They are waiting for Jesus.....bring Him to them and let Him use you for His glory!