Speaking to the 120 members of the WCC Faith and Order (F&O) Commission from 342 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican churches around the world, the WCC General Secretary, Rev Samuel Kobia, reminded leaders about the need for mission in Europe. Currently in Malaysia, an international theological forum is being held.

Even though Europe, especially the United Kingdom, is the origin of Christianity in the western world, nowadays the situation has changed dramatically. Citing the Church of England as an example, in 2002, the average number of church attendance on Sundays declined by 4% but managed to remain above 1 million. The average number of church attendance over a typical week fell by 3%.

Rev Kobia said Europe, which sent out missionaries around the world in the 19th century, is full of people who have never heard of the faith.

“In many places today we can no longer assume the religious, much less Christian, awareness which existed 20 years ago”, Rev Kobia was quoted by the ecumenical news agency ENI.

Compared to the Southern counterparts, Africa has experienced a great spiritual revival. The F&O commission’s moderator, the African theologian David Yemba, pointed to the explosive church growth in Africa. The number of Christians has jumped from 144 million in 1970 to 367 million in the year 2000.

Statistics released by the Lutheran World Federation in Geneva show that the number of Lutherans in Africa has risen by nine percent over the last two years while numbers in Europe and North America are falling, reported by Evangelical News Agency IDEA.

Europe is a mission field commented Rev Kobia. While the mission groups in Europe have all reached out very extensively to Africa and tried their best to bring the Gospel to the farthest shores, it is time for them to focus back on their own people.

The Church Mission Society (CMS), a UK-based mission group rooted in Anglican tradition, has already been alerted to this truth. Being well-known for its long-term contribution to Africa, it has already announced to all churches in the UK earlier in June about its new direction. CMS is seeking to re-focus its work in Britain and to stand alongside local churches seeking to move into a more missional way of working, stimulated by the Mission-shaped Church report by the Church of England.