Why Belgium?
Is Belgium a city or a country?
This is a question that people ask us a lot! Belgium is a little country in Western Europe right between Germany, France, the UK, and the Netherlands.
The population is around 11 million people and the country is divided into two main parts - Flanders and Wallonia. (We live in Flanders!)
There are three national languages: Dutch (Flemish), French, and German.
Belgium is known for a lot of things. Chocolate. Architecture. The best fries in the world! But did you know that back in the 1500’s a rich piece of doctrinal literature was written that makes up most Baptistic statement of faiths today?
Today the spiritual climate of Belgium is much different. Many people say that they’re Catholic, but most of that is just culture and tradition. Statistics show us that less than 1% of Belgians believe the true gospel, but honestly, even that number seems high.
Belgians where we live are very honest, hard working, and loyal. They follow a lot of rules and are moral people. But they have no hope. There’s nothing that connects them back to God or to our savior, Jesus.
Because of this, depression, divorce, and suicide rates are very high. When jobs, family, and hobbies fail to provide sustenance and peace, they feel lost.
Belgians need the gospel. That’s why we’re here. We believe that church planting is the pathway to equip Belgian believers with the gospel-centered tools needed to evangelize and grow in number and maturity.
Why do we love living and working in Belgium? The younger generations have never heard about or considered who Jesus is. They have a blank slate. Their parents and grandparents rejected the religion of the past and are decidedly agnostic. They don’t want to believe in an absence of a higher power, but they don’t believe the “old religion.”
