Pray for Austria - GBC Bulletin Column #33

The Republic of Austria is a strategically located country, much of which is mountainous and forested, in the heart of Central Europe. The federal state is divided into nine provinces: Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, and Vienna, each of which has its own capital. In 2010, 68% of the country’s residents lived in urban environments – the most densely populated province is Vienna, the capital of the federal state, which is home to 4,175 per square kilometre.

Austria is a healthy and prosperous country, but behind this façade lay problems with a high suicide rate, drug addiction, alcoholism, human trafficking, and prostitution - which is legal. The people in general have the reputation of being extremely racist.

Austria’s culture has historically been inseparable from the Roman Catholic Church, with a sprinkling of ancient folk paganism. The influence of Catholicism on the culture is manifest to the present day, although recent decades have seen a mass exodus from the Church, mainly to atheistic secularism (according to data about the country’s religions, “no belief” comes second to Catholicism in Austria) or New Age beliefs. Though disillusioned with Roman Catholicism, many still perceive evangelical groups as sects and cults, a view which is still reflected to some extent in the nation’s laws.

Biblically healthy churches are so few and far between that they seem practically non-existent. Even if existing churches are assessed as biblically faithful and spiritually healthy 100% of the time (and they are not), the need far outweighs the seed that has been sown thus far. A study by Operation Mobilisation International has revealed around 100 towns with a population of over 5000 that have no witness to Christ apart from the Catholic Church.                                                  

A single church plant begun by outsiders is not enough. A church planting movement is necessary, the foundation of which should be the discipleship and training of indigenous and resident men in biblical exegesis, exposition, and evangelism. In God’s providence, a door is opening for us to be involved as a church in such a work. Pray that God would continue to give wisdom, guidance, and discernment in the coming days, that he would raise up German speaking workers who are faithful to God’s word and zealous for the preaching of the gospel, that he would be opening people’s hearts and minds to the message of repentance and faith in the crucified, risen, and exalted Christ, and that in all things he would get the glory due his name. 

This was printed in the worship bulletin of Grace Baptist Church (Wood Green) on 08 December 2013