After a year of unprecedented disconnection from our normal interaction with other humans, there are some observations we can share.

Firstly, we observe that people in our age-bracket (30+) have false assumptions about Christianity. They loosely hold to Christian values and have had some experiences growing up (mainly with Roman Catholicism).

This is closely tied to our second observation: an increased interest in spiritual questions. We’ve recently observed a renewed openness in old friends to share their stories around faith and spirituality—and to listen to ours in return.

Thirdly, the deep suspicion of institutions paired with the high value placed on ‘individual solutions’ to everything, including questions of faith. This presents a challenge for the church and its traditional way of doing things, because for the majority of people, freeing up a regular, dedicated time-slot for a ‘religious institution’ is unfeasible. We think it would be fair to say that in our context, most people ‘appreciate the fruit but not the root’ of Christianity.

• Please pray that God would work in the hearts of people in Austria who carry false assumptions about Christianity.
• Please pray for the Pohns’ old friends, that God would give them wisdom and opportunity to share their stories in such a way that points to God’s big story and how Jesus connects the two.
• Please pray that God would continue to grow their church, that they would learn how to BE church instead of devising ever-new ways of DOING church.

For more information of ECM's work in Austria, please click here.