Last night, Ela and I plus three of our kids attended the Martinmas Festival in our little town in Germany. Schwarzenborn is the spitting image of a stereotypical German town – timber frame houses (we would call them Tudor), and a central parish church built in the 14th Century, all of which are bracketed by green hills with cattle farms. As I write this, there is a large herd of sheep on one of the hillsides. For Americans like us, words like charming, quaint, and lovely come to mind. But, Martinmas was an order of magnitude more lovely.
We were told to gather at the Seniorzentrum, our local retirement home. There, the elders of the community looked out their windows to see the children and parents, all decked out in warm clothes, the children carrying little LED lit lanterns that they had made earlier that day. A hymn was sung, and little mugs of Gluhwein (a hot spiced wine) were passed out – not to the kids of course. Then the procession began, led by a woman dressed as Saint Martin on horseback, complete with red cape. Boys and girls in the auxiliary of the volunteer fire department carried torches. People passed around bottles of beer as we walked up to the parish church. But we didn’t go in. Another song was sung, and then we continued on to the fire station for bratwurst, curry wurst, and pommes – they would never call them French fries here. The commemoration of Saint Martin of Tours is celebration of the very founding of Christianity in Western Europe. It can be said that no saint had a deeper impact on the flourishing of the Church in these parts than Martin. Saint Augustine of Canterbury’s parish church in Canterbury was dedicated to Saint Martin. Even the word chapel comes from the cape he tore in half, giving half to a poorly clothed and cold beggar by the side of the road, Jesus himself. It is said that pieces of this cape were sent out as relics through this early somewhat Roman, somewhat Gothic set of kingdoms, and as buildings were built around these pieces of Saint Martin’s capel, they became known by that word, in French chapelle and in German kapelle.
Martin represents a crucial turning point in European history, perhaps more than even Constantine, in which the warrior class of centurions and barbarians is rejected for a new reality: Christians marked by charity. As historian Tom Holland has pointed out, the history of Europe is the story of barbarians tamed by the Gospel. But, it wasn’t just barbarians. The whole order of Roman power and military might was brought to its knees. Today, we live in that part of Europe which was once the Holy Roman Empire, a land which some might call post-Christian. I happen to think that this term is woefully inadequate, for Europe cannot cease to be Christian in certain overt ways – this little celebration of Martinmas being one of them. The better term is one used by the Dutch missiologist Stefan Paas, who calls it post-secular. Secularism blew through Europe in the 1960’s, affecting not only society, but the Church as well. It became understood that the Church must keep up with the times, must change, must be open to her own secular future. Theologians spoke of the “death of God” and many people began to live in an entirely secular frame. Yet the last seventy years have shown us that this secular “triumph” was pronounced too soon. A revival of Christian faith and practice is sweeping through Europe. Historians are pointing out that Europe’s most deeply-held values: care for the poor, universal medical care, human rights, and equality before the law to name a few, are all Christian in origin. An exclusively secular view has no room for such deeply-held values.
I would say that cracks in this secular mindset were most visible in Nazi Germany. This brutal regime held to the ideals, not of Christianity, but of social Darwinism, believing that man set free from the chains of the Christian past could fulfill his destiny of becoming a whole new race. For the Nazis, the Christian witness of Saint Martin’s care for the poor was best characterized as weak. Post-war Germany, divided between western capitalist industrialism in the west and Soviet ideology in the east – both, incidentally, forms of secular liberalism, served to isolate people from Christian believing, and quite successfully. Today, less than 3% of the German population is in church on Sundays. Yet, practices remain. Sunday is a day of sabbath rest. It is called Ruhetag – the quiet day. I was in Berlin on a Sunday recently and the quiet on the streets of a city of 4.3 million was terrifying. All grocery stores are closed. Holidays like Martinmas are celebrated with vigor.
As I looked around last night, the turnout would have made any church leader brim with excitement. Strollers and little kids everywhere. Mothers and fathers together, laboring for the good of their community. Everyone being so wonderfully kind. This is post-secular Europe. It is Christian in ways, but these ways do not include such essentials as prayer, sacraments, or creeds. This is both the opportunity and the challenge. What I have learned in nearly four months living here is that.
Lee and Ela Nelson and their children reside in Schwarzenborn, Germany where Lee is leading the Knüll Camp and Conference Center. As the new director, Lee is developing a training center to encourage the planting of healthy, multiplying churches throughout Europe. Lee and Ela envision it as a strategic place to launch initiatives like the training center as well as to make the camp a hospitable refuge for beleaguered Christians, lay and clergy alike. Visit their Missionary page here.
by Logan Gates, SAMS Missionary Candidate to Chile
Have you ever been asked a question about faith and not known what to say? This happened to me a few years ago on the campus of Arizona State University. I was handing out flyers for an event on faith and reason, when a professor came up to me and asked, “Are you one of those Christians who believes in sin?” I was caught off guard and couldn’t think of anything to say besides, “Yes.” Right away he shot back, “Why do you have to go around making people feel bad about themselves? Why do you have to come and do that here?” I had responded with an answer that was biblically faithful, but I could tell that he didn’t leave the interaction with an accurate impression of the Christian faith, because he didn’t see Christianity as having any “good news” to offer!
As Christians we hear and see many types of objections to our faith. “Science and religion cannot be reconciled.” “The Bible is just a collection of myths.” “Christianity is misogynistic and homophobic.” “There can be no good God in a world with so much suffering.” When non-Christians raise such topics, sometimes we can feel tempted to tell people they just need to believe. Why should Christians care about such questions and objections?
In 1 Corinthians 9:22, the Apostle Paul writes, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” When we hear this verse as Christians, we might think of Hudson Taylor, the nineteenth century missionary to China, who took the unprecedented step of adopting Chinese dress to better connect with the local people. But what about becoming all things to all people at the level of their questions about faith? That is the domain of apologetics.
The term “apologetics” can generate mixed reactions among Christians. To some, it can imply that we are “apologizing” for what we believe. For others, apologetics is associated with getting into arguments with people, or trusting in reason instead of the Spirit to change people’s hearts. Some Christians go so far as to say that apologetics is something we should toss out altogether.
But the word apologetics is actually one that is found in the Bible. Perhaps the most prominent place it shows up is in 1 Peter 3:15, where Peter writes, “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” The word translated as “answer” is the Greek word apologia, which is a legal term meaning a “reasoned defense.” In other words, “apologetics” doesn’t have to do at all with apologizing but rather offering a reason for the hope that we have in Christ.
How do we do that exactly? To start, Peter tells us our apologetic should be given with “gentleness and respect.” The hope that is within us looks and sounds much more winsome to a hearer when we give a gentle and respectful answer that is also reasoned. On top of this, it’s interesting that Peter doesn’t tell Christians to give an answer to a person’s questions, but rather the person behind the questions. Peter tells us we are to give an answer to any “one” who asks about the hope that we have. This distinction may seem like hair splitting, but often as Christians we can find ourselves giving correct answers, like I did to the professor at Arizona State, while failing to reach the person and the deeper concern behind the question itself.
To give another example, if someone asks us why a good God would allow evil and suffering, we might be tempted to jump to a philosophical answer. But it is very possible that the person who has asked this question is undergoing intense suffering themself, and the philosophical answer won’t hit home. Perhaps what they need most is for us just to listen, to express sorrow, or to pray for them. We need to resist the temptation to jump in with an answer.
How do we grow in answering people and not questions? We can follow the example of Jesus, who often answered people’s questions by asking questions in return. One case where Jesus does this is when he is asked by the rich young ruler in Luke 18, “Good Teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Of all people, Jesus knew the answer to this question! Nevertheless, Jesus responds to this question with a question: “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone…” By responding in this way, Jesus drew out from the rich young ruler the deeper barrier keeping him from entrusting his life to Jesus: he thought he was good enough for God.
Of course, we aren’t Jesus and don’t have his supernatural insight into what’s going on in people’s hearts. But there are good questions we can ask to better understand the questioner behind the question. We might ask something like, “May I ask why you asked that question?” or “Is this something you’ve felt for a long time?” When people make blanket statements about the Christian faith (i.e. “science has proved that God doesn’t exist), we can ask clarifying questions: What do you mean by “science”? What do you mean by “prove”? How did you come to that conclusion? Often this will lead to the person opening up more about what their real issues are when it comes to God, which gives us the chance to engage them at the level of the heart and help them see the reason and beauty that is to be found in Christ and His Gospel.
Now, there will be times when we need to not just ask questions but also give “answers”! It might be that someone we’re speaking with really does want to know about how science can be reconciled with faith, or what evidence there is that the Bible is historically reliable. In those cases, we might have some homework to do! After all, Peter says we are to be “prepared” to give an answer – and getting prepared takes time and effort. It can be overwhelming to think of preparing for all the possible questions our unbelieving friends and family members might have. But a good place to start is thinking through for ourselves why we believe that Christianity is really true. What “reason” do we find most compelling for believing in the God of the Bible? It could be that the Lord has intervened in our lives in a dramatic way, or that we see his glory in creation, or perhaps we find compelling evidence that comes from science, history, or philosophy. Your answer to this question will help others who are seeking.
You might next think about who are the non-believers whom God has placed in your life, and whether you’ve asked them what are the barriers that hold them back from believing in Jesus. You might not know how to answer in the moment, but you can always thank them for sharing and say you’ll think about it further. This gives you the chance to look into their questions and find resources and answers that could be helpful for them. Your friend will appreciate that you took the time to care about their questions!
A final thought. It’s striking that in 1 Peter 3:15, before Peter has anything to say about how we are to answer, he talks to us about the importance of our own hearts before God: “But in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy…” What matters far more than our particular answers is the integrity of our own walk with the Lord. To paraphrase the British evangelist Michael Ramsden: it might be we have all the answers ready, but no one is asking us any questions. In that case, we need to ask how we are living, and whether that leads people to ask about our hope – and want it for themselves. Lord, help us!
Logan Gates is an Adjunct Speaker with Apologetics Canada who, along with his wife Samantha and their son Lewis, is preparing to serve in Chile as a Missionary Candidate with SAMS. Visit their Missionary page here.
God’s faithfulness to strengthen and raise up leaders for His Church
SAMS Missionary Bishop Grant LeMarquand gave a Plenary Talk at the 2025 New Wineskins Conference in which he shared about his and his wife Wendy’s call and ministry to come alongside the growing church in the Horn of Africa out of their home base in Gambella, Ethiopia. The link for this talk, and a photo album with excerpts from this talk, follow immediately after an opportunity for your prayerful consideration to participate in a return mission by Grant and Wendy to the recently formed Diocese of Gambella.
Opportunity for you to continue to strengthen a foundation in Christ upon which the church in Diocese of the Gambella continues to build through discipleship:
Bishop Jeremiah has invited Bishop Grant and Dr. Wendy LeMarquand to return on a mission to Gambella in January 2026 to lead a retreat for clergy, participate in a large gathering of the Mothers’ Union to equip women for ministry, and participate in a reconciliation meeting with the Opo people (They were reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in just recent years through the ministry of the Anglican Church). Would you prayerfully consider a gift to SAMS Associate Missionaries Grant and Wendy to help make this mission possible?
Gambella is a difficult place. Ethiopia is largely poor—there are wealthy people, of course, but most are not. And Gambella is probably the poorest part of the country: 90% unemployment, extreme heat—over 100 degrees Fahrenheit every day. Life is fragile. Most children die before the age of five…
…It’s a difficult place—but a joyful one too.”
“One of the great privileges of being a bishop is confirming people…
…At one of my first confirmations, the priest told me I’d also be doing baptisms. We went down to the river. As I was getting ready—putting on my boots, which was silly since I’d be up to my waist in water—I asked, “There aren’t any crocodiles in this river, right?” The priest said, “No, no, no,” while the lay people behind him were shaking their heads “yes.”’
Jeremiah was born and raised in South Sudan, became a refugee, and has lived most of his life in Gambella. He spent a few years in Cairo after learning English—but there he discovered he had to do theological education in Arabic. He spoke Sudanese Arabic, but that’s not the same as classical Egyptian Arabic, so it was a struggle…
…then his little boy fell from a stairway and cracked his head open. People prayed for him.
Suffering happens in this life—and Gambella is part of that suffering.
But here’s what Paul says in Philippians 3:
“I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection”—I like that part—
“and share in the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.”’
Here’s more on Grant and Wendy…
Grant LeMarquand is a Canadian, a graduate of McGill University and of Wycliffe College, Toronto, where he completed his Th.D. in New Testament studies. From 1998 until 2012, he was Professor of Biblical Studies and Mission at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, PA. He had previously taught at St Paul’s United Theological College, Limuru, Kenya, and at Wycliffe College, Toronto, Canada.
From 2012 – 2018, Grant was the Area Bishop for The Horn of Africa within the Anglican / Episcopal Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa. His episcopal area included oversight of approximately 150 churches in the countries of Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and Ethiopia. In 2018, due to his wife’s health, Grant returned to teaching at Trinity School for Ministry. Grant retired from teaching at Trinity in June 2023.
Bishop Grant has written and edited numerous articles and books, including Why Haven’t You Left? Letters from the Sudan (Church Publications) and A Comparative Study of the Story of the Bleeding Woman in North Atlantic and African Contexts (Peter Lang).
Dr Wendy LeMarquand is a physician with nearly forty years’ experience in family medicine, including tropical medicine and village medical practice. She graduated from McGill University in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science, Honors Physiology, and from the Faculty of Medicine in 1982 with a doctorate of Medicine and a Masters in Surgery. After completing a Residency in Family Medicine at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Montreal, she began her medical practice in “La Clinique Communautaire de Pointe St Charles”, a bilingual clinic serving in a poor area within the city of Montreal.
In the late 1980’s she moved to Kenya with her husband Grant, where she took care of the medical needs of St Paul’s United Theological College community in Limuru, as well as acting as consultant to the development of the Community Based Health Care Program for the Diocese of Mount Kenya South. In 1989, she returned to Canada and joined an urban practice in downtown Toronto. After moving to Pennsylvania in 1998, she joined the staff of the East Liberty Family Health Care Center, a Christian medical center with a special emphasis on serving the homeless and uninsured in the inner city of Pittsburgh. In 2008, as a long-time board-certified member of both the Canadian and American Boards of Family Practice, she was made a Fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada.
Most recently, Dr LeMarquand has returned from six years of living and working in Gambella, one of Ethiopia’s poorest and least developed areas. In Ethiopia, Dr. LeMarquand developed and established the Mothers’ Union Community Education Program, designed to empower women to teach one another the simple things that can be done to save the lives of literally thousands of at-risk children in the area. This program is now fully African-led and continuing to make a difference to the lives of those in the communities and refugee camps in the Gambella Peoples Region of Ethiopia. In May of 2018, Dr LeMarquand was awarded an honorary theological doctorate by Wycliffe College, Toronto, Ontario (Doctor of Sacred Letters) in recognition of her work with the Mothers’ Union in Gambella, Ethiopia.
Grant and Wendy LeMarquand now live in Alberta, Canada, where Grant is an assisting bishop in the Anglican Network in Canada. They have two grown children and one grandchild.
God’s faithfulness to accomplish his purposes in the face of obstacles and suffering
The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Maet Paul gave a Plenary Talk at the 2025 New Wineskins Conference in which he shared about his life and work, beginning as an orphaned child refugee in South Sudan and now anointed as a shepherd of the Church in Gambella, Ethiopia. SAMS Missionaries Bishop Grant and Dr. Wendy LeMarquand were blessed to participate in the formation of Bishop Jeremiah during their ministry service in Ethiopia. Grant was honored to speak immediately before Jeremiah’s talk. The link for Bishop Jeremiah’s talk and an edited transcript are below, an opportunity for your prayerful consideration to participate in a return mission by Grant and Wendy to the recently formed Diocese of Gambella.
Opportunity for you to continue to strengthen a foundation in Christ upon which the church in the Diocese of the Gambella continues to build through discipleship:
Bishop Jeremiah has invited Bishop Grant and Dr. Wendy LeMarquand to return on a mission to Gambella in January 2026 to lead a retreat for clergy, participate in a large gathering of the Mothers’ Union to equip women for ministry, and participate in a reconciliation meeting with the Opo people (They were reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in just recent years through the ministry of the Anglican Church). Would you prayerfully consider a gift to the SAMS Associate Missionaries Grant and Wendy to help make this mission possible?
The following is an edited transcript of Bishop Jeremiah’s talk:
I’m here today, overwhelmed with joy and peace in my heart, as I reflect on my journey back to the days when I did not know where I was going. I would like to thank my parents. I have many fathers and mothers who brought me up in Christ, and I am grateful for them all.
I grew up in a Christian home in South Sudan, which had not yet gained its independence, with wonderful parents who actively believed in Christ Jesus. My grandparents were baptized by CMS missionaries who came to our land. The CMS missionaries established two centers around 1932. These centers were run by the Reverend Charles Petram and his wife, Dr. Mary Betram, a British medical doctor. Mary was given a name meaning “daughter of the land or nation.”
I thank God for my parents, though I had very little time with them because Sudan was engaged in a brutal civil war that separated my father from our family. Our mother died of a waterborne disease shortly after the start of the civil war in 1983.
I would like to share a story about how my mom preached to me the gospel of hope. My personal journey of faith began at the tragic moment when my mother was terribly sick. Knowing that she would not survive, she asked my grandmother to call me to her side. I went promptly to where she lay.
Hearing my voice, my mother smiled courageously and called me by name. Her last words, which I will never forget, were:
“Jeremiah, my son, I am going to my Father.”
I asked, “Where is your Father?”
She said, “My Father is in heaven.”
I asked, “When will you come back?”
She replied, “I will not, but you shall come after me and meet me there in heaven after your time here on earth is over. Remain faithful to Jesus, and He shall protect and provide for you and your siblings. Be a man and take good care of your siblings, because you are the only male in our family.”
I was just 12 years old. Overwhelmed by grief and realizing she was dying, I could not hold back my tears. I cried loudly. My dying mother rebuked me:
“Are you not a man? Why are you crying? I asked your grandmother to call you in so that I could give you my blessing and instructions to look after your siblings since your father’s whereabouts are unknown. Take care.”
Those were her last words. The words, “I am going to my Father; my Father is in heaven,” impacted my life profoundly. My zeal for heaven began burning within me. Though I had known about God and heaven as a child, nothing compared to how I heard my mother boldly and courageously confessing the truth about God and heaven. From that moment, my faith grew stronger, and I believed that one day I would see my mother in heaven.
As it is written in Psalm 68:5, “The Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in His holy habitation.”
My calling to ministry was not something I sought. I did not want to become a priest, but God had His own ways. He wanted me to become one, and I want to narrate how He called me to the ministry of the church.
In 2003, an elderly woman came from a distance of 100 kilometers from Gambella town. At the time, I was leading a Bible study with young people. As the sun was going down, I returned home. The elderly woman was sitting on a neighbor’s balcony. She shouted, “Hallelujah!” and called me by name: “Jeremiah, my son, come here.”
I was confused. How could a stranger know my name? She explained that she had seen me in a dream. In her dream, she needed copies of the Bible and a prayer book. She had gone from church to church without finding them. By chance, someone had directed her to the Anglican Church to meet me. She described seeing me in a wide gown, leading other priests.
I woke from the dream thinking it was real. Kneeling to pray, I heard a voice telling me to go to Gambella Town to find her. I believed that God was speaking to me because the face I saw in my dream was the same as hers. She said, “Three months shall not pass without you being selected for ordination.”
I laughed in disbelief, thinking it was impossible. I was a very young man, unmerited and inexperienced. I said, “Ma’am, I don’t think it will happen. I have no interest in becoming a priest.”
She looked at me sternly and repeated, “Three months shall not pass without you being selected for ordination.”
Three months later, I received a phone call from Bishop Andrew Proud, chaplain and representative of the Anglican Church in Ethiopia. He told me he had recommended me to Bishop Mouneer for ordination because my name kept coming to mind during prayer. I remembered the elderly woman’s words and accepted God’s calling.
I stand here today, and it still feels like a dream, yet God is with me and with all of you.
I want to share one test God gave me. In 2003, there was a severe tribal conflict in Gambella between the Nuer and Anuak tribes. While praying, I felt God calling me to preach to the Anuak congregations across town. Fear gripped me. I was afraid for my life if I were discovered as a Nuer. I could not sleep, struggling with this calling.
Finally, I obeyed God’s command. With my warden accompanying me, we set out for the Anuak. I prayed, asking God to protect us. After a 40-minute walk, we arrived. When the Anuak congregation saw us, they were moved to tears, and I cried as well. In that moment, my perception of other tribes changed. A deep love was imparted on me, and I began to understand how much God loves even those considered enemies by us.
As the Bible teaches, God’s love is deep. The message I carry from Gambella to you is peace. We preach the gospel of peace and hope to all nations.
The work in Gambella continues through missionaries, local clergy, and ministries like the Mother’s Union. Many lives have been saved and transformed, especially children. This work is the foundation on which I continue to build. May God bless you.
Amen.
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 ESV
Reflections on Jeremiah’s election as the first bishop of the newly formed Diocese of Gambella in the Province of Alexandria:
The Most Reverend Dr. Samy Fawzy, Archbishop of the Anglican/Episcopal Province of Alexandria, congratulated Bishop Jeremiah Maet on his election to become the Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Gambella in Ethiopia, which is part of the Province of Alexandria.
“We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Bishop Jeremiah Maet, who will oversee a vast number of congregations, many of which are located in some of the country’s most impoverished areas. Bishop Jeremiah’s election comes at a time of both great opportunity and challenge, as the Anglicans in Gambella continue to grow, particularly among communities facing economic hardship and social difficulties,” Archbishop Samy said.
He continued: “We pray that God will use him to extend and expand the church’s ministry, as Bishop Jeremiah has been called to a vital ministry among God’s people. His leadership will be instrumental in strengthening the Church’s presence in Gambella and ensuring that the Gospel reaches the most vulnerable.”
The Archbishop concluded: “We take this opportunity to express our appreciation and thanks to Bishop Grant Le Marquand and the entire electoral committee for their faithful service in overseeing the election process. Their dedication, discernment, and commitment to upholding the integrity of the process have ensured that the Church continues to move forward in unity and mission. We give thanks for their labour in this important task.”
‘The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.’ (1 Thessalonians 5:24)
Jeremiah’s Bio:
Bishop Jeremiah Paul was born into a Christian family in Gambella in 1977. He started his church service early, being commissioned as a secular servant in the Anglican Church of St. Luke in Gambella in 2003. St Luke’s was the first church established in Gambella in 1996. In the following year, he was made a deacon and served for four years in that office.
In 2005, Jeremiah began teaching the clergy the Bible and continued until 2011, when he began studying at the Alexandria School of Theology in Cairo, where he obtained a Bachelor of Theological Sciences. During those years he spent in Egypt, he ministered as a priest in the Sudanese service at the All Saints Cathedral in Cairo and worked as a spiritual administrator for the refugee service in the church.
After graduating in 2015, Jeremiah returned to his home country, where he began working as a lecturer at a newly established Anglican Theological Seminary, a branch of the Alexandria School, known as St. Frumentius.
Gambella is the westernmost province of Ethiopia, neighbouring Sudan, which is currently at war, and many of the churches operate in the refugee camps that have sprung up as a result. Its new bishop is Jeremiah Paul.
By Wade and Chelsea Weeldreyer, SAMS Co-Directors of Missionary Care and Mission Engagement
In September, SAMS missionaries, senders, and staff gathered with 1,500 other Christians at the New Wineskins Hope for the Nations Conference in North Carolina. Over several days, we celebrated God’s redemptive work around the world and asked the Lord of the harvest to send more laborers into his field.
One simple refrain that emerged again and again, from plenary speakers to casual conversations, was this: God is on the move.
Indeed He is, and the 11th annual New Wineskins conference brought this into focus in fresh ways.
Here are a few glimpses of the ways that SAMS saw God on the move…
We saw God on the move as seasoned missionaries and individuals exploring missions shared meals together, shaping one another with questions, a listening ear, and times of sharing.
We saw God on the move as conference-goers stopped to chat at SAMS’ mission exhibit. The Spirit works through the ordinary, and many individuals stopped to connect with us because they noticed our world map, the coffee station, or, simply, a SAMS missionary practicing the ministry of presence.
We saw God on the move through our SAMS Celebration Dinner speakers – four missionaries who invited us to rejoice in how God is active in Europe, the U.S., North Africa, and Southeast Asia; and to imagine the ways in which God invites all of us to join Him in His global mission.
We saw God on the move through “divine appointments,” such as when a retired air traffic controller met a Southeast Asian global leader seeking someone to serve alongside the local church using exactly those skills. (Connections like these invite us into postures of prayerful curiosity about how God will move next!)
Finally, we saw God on the move through missional partnerships that already exist around the world. Through these partnerships, members of the body of Christ can gift one another with mutual discernment, encouragement, and joy.
In step with this, we welcome you to join SAMS in prayer in the following ways:
Pray that missionary inquirers can move forward in mutual discernment with their home churches, with a sending organization such as SAMS, and with a receiving church wherever God leads.
Pray that missionaries will continue to receive encouragement from the conversations, prayers, and interactions that they experienced at New Wineskins.
Pray that senders experience much joy in their refreshed and increased connection with missionaries and the workings of God’s mission around the globe.
If you were at New Wineskins this year, we hope that you, too, are reflecting on the ways in which you sensed God on the move. Perhaps you experienced a renewed sense of discernment, encouragement, or joy along the way. We pray that the Lord meets you and blesses you where you are. And, if you were not at this year’s conference, you may decide to mark your calendar for the next one: September 20-23, 2028!
by Johann Vanderbijl, SAMS Missionary, pastor and author serving in the Netherlands
What causes people who have once known the power and presence of the living God to stop following Him?
Moses warned Israel that it begins with complacency. When God’s people forget to honor Him as Father and Creator, they slowly relegate Him to the sidelines of life. That is not only Israel’s story—it is Europe’s story. Once the cradle of the Reformation, Europe is now a mission field. And the Netherlands, where my wife Louise and I serve, is a vivid example of what happens when nations that once knew God slowly forget Him.
The Spiritual Reality in the Netherlands
A few snapshots paint the picture clearly:
Islam is growing: In 2015, about 4.9% of the Dutch population were Muslims. By 2023, that number had risen to 6%.
Evangelicals are few: Only about 4% of the Dutch population identify as Evangelical believers, most of them clustered in the “Bible Belt,” far from the province where we work.
Religion is declining: In 2010, 55% of the Dutch population considered themselves religious. By 2023, that number had dropped to 42%.
Young people are drifting: Two-thirds of 18–25-year-olds now identify as non-religious. In our church, teenagers often tell us they are the only Christians in their schools—and confessing Jesus is viewed as ‘social suicide’.
Even among Christians, faith is shallow: Fewer than half of Protestants attend church monthly, and three-quarters of Roman Catholics rarely or never go.
In short: the Netherlands is religiously plural, spiritually restless, and largely post-Christian.
Why North Holland?
Nowhere is this more evident than in North Holland, where we live and serve. This province has a rich spiritual history. Haarlem was home to Corrie Ten Boom. Alkmaar was the region of Brother Andrew. Missionaries like Willibrord and Boniface once brought the gospel to the Frisians here. Today, however, North Holland is one of the least churched provinces in the Netherlands. Many historic church buildings are no longer places of worship—they’ve become apartments, museums, cafés, or even breweries. They stand as silent symbols of a faith remembered but not lived. On a typical Sunday in our region, a church service might draw only a handful of elderly members. The younger generation—our neighbors, our children’s friends—are growing up without ever hearing the gospel in a meaningful way.
Why This Matters
So why Europe? Why North Holland? Because if the gospel is truly good news for all people, then it is also good news for Europeans—people who once carried the gospel across the globe, but who are now in desperate need of hearing it again.
The spiritual hunger is real:
Loneliness is rising, especially among young people, often leading to anxiety, depression, and fear.
Suicide is now the leading cause of death among Dutch teens and young adults. The number of youth seeking help for suicidal thoughts has risen by 75%.
Europe doesn’t just need nostalgia for a Christian past. It needs Jesus today.
Our Role—and How You Can Join Us
In North Holland, we meet people who are spiritually curious but biblically illiterate. Young adults who have never opened a Bible. Families searching for identity in everything but Christ. People who believe everything—and nothing. We cannot change this landscape alone. But we also cannot ignore it. That’s why partnership matters. Your prayers, encouragement, and support are not simply “keeping missionaries on the field.” They are investments in re-evangelizing a province, a nation, and a continent that has forgotten its first love.
Hope for Europe
So I return to the opening question: What causes people to stop following God? It happens slowly—through complacency, compromise, forgetting, and replacing Him with lesser gods. But what can bring them back? The faithful witness of God’s people, boldly proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord—not only of history, not only of other nations, but also of the Netherlands, of North Holland, of every street, family, and heart where His name has been forgotten. We believe God is not finished with Europe. Revival is possible. But it begins when God’s people take seriously the call to go, to give, to pray, and to serve. That’s why we’re here. And that’s why we invite you to join us—so that the gospel will not only be Europe’s past, but also Europe’s future.
Johann and Louise VanderBijl are SAMS Missionaries serving in the north Holland city of Heiloo. Johann’s missionary roots trace back to his Great-Grandfather – an Anglican missionary in Southern Africa. The Lord revealed His love and purpose to Johann in 1980 through the witness of an unrelated missionary. Since then, his personal salvation impressed upon him the need to share with others the wonderful gift given to him, especially those lost in their own misfortunes. Johann and Louise met while they were both serving in Northwestern Namibia. Together, they try to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness in whatever God has called them to do. Johann has authored several books which can be found under the Langham Publishing imprint.
For further information and how you can support the VanderBijl’s cross-cultural work visit their SAMS page and their blog.
Last night, Ela and I plus three of our kids attended the Martinmas Festival in our little town in Germany. Schwarzenborn is the spitting image of a stereotypical German town – timber frame houses (we would call them Tudor), and a central parish church built in the 14th Century, all of which are bracketed by green hills with cattle farms. As I write this, there is a large herd of sheep on one of the hillsides. For Americans like us, words like charming, quaint, and lovely come to mind. But, Martinmas was an order of magnitude more lovely.
Martin represents a crucial turning point in European history, perhaps more than even Constantine, in which the warrior class of centurions and barbarians is rejected for a new reality: Christians marked by charity. As historian Tom Holland has pointed out, the history of Europe is the story of barbarians tamed by the Gospel. But, it wasn’t just barbarians. The whole order of Roman power and military might was brought to its knees. Today, we live in that part of Europe which was once the Holy Roman Empire, a land which some might call post-Christian. I happen to think that this term is woefully inadequate, for Europe cannot cease to be Christian in certain overt ways – this little celebration of Martinmas being one of them. The better term is one used by the Dutch missiologist Stefan Paas, who calls it post-secular. Secularism blew through Europe in the 1960’s, affecting not only society, but the Church as well. It became understood that the Church must keep up with the times, must change, must be open to her own secular future. Theologians spoke of the “death of God” and many people began to live in an entirely secular frame. Yet the last seventy years have shown us that this secular “triumph” was pronounced too soon. A revival of Christian faith and practice is sweeping through Europe. Historians are pointing out that Europe’s most deeply-held values: care for the poor, universal medical care, human rights, and equality before the law to name a few, are all Christian in origin. An exclusively secular view has no room for such deeply-held values.
I would say that cracks in this secular mindset were most visible in Nazi Germany. This brutal regime held to the ideals, not of Christianity, but of social Darwinism, believing that man set free from the chains of the Christian past could fulfill his destiny of becoming a whole new race. For the Nazis, the Christian witness of Saint Martin’s care for the poor was best characterized as weak. Post-war Germany, divided between western capitalist industrialism in the west and Soviet ideology in the east – both, incidentally, forms of secular liberalism, served to isolate people from Christian believing, and quite successfully. Today, less than 3% of the German population is in church on Sundays. Yet, practices remain. Sunday is a day of sabbath rest. It is called Ruhetag – the quiet day. I was in Berlin on a Sunday recently and the quiet on the streets of a city of 4.3 million was terrifying. All grocery stores are closed. Holidays like Martinmas are celebrated with vigor.
Lee and Ela Nelson and their children reside in Schwarzenborn, Germany where Lee is leading the Knüll Camp and Conference Center. As the new director, Lee is developing a training center to encourage the planting of healthy, multiplying churches throughout Europe. Lee and Ela envision it as a strategic place to launch initiatives like the training center as well as to make the camp a hospitable refuge for beleaguered Christians, lay and clergy alike. Visit their Missionary page here.
Logan Gates is an Adjunct Speaker with Apologetics Canada who, along with his wife Samantha and their son Lewis, is preparing to serve in Chile as a Missionary Candidate with SAMS. Visit their Missionary page 
