 Matt and Kiri Vander Heiden (serving with Pioneers & ECM)
www.vanders.org.au
Matt and Kiri Vander Heiden are focused on training local Portuguese Christians at a small Bible College in Lisbon. They also plan to be involved in church planting and discipleship.
About Portugal:
The Spiritual State of Portugal:
Portugal is a very religious country, yet only about 1% of the population knows Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. There is no
lack of church buildings, but a deep need for the truth of the
Bible to be proclaimed. Jesus is viewed by most Portuguese as a mean, harsh judge who is to be feared. Mary is seen as the compassionate one to whom they pray, and for some, she’s seen as the one in whom salvation is found. While few Portuguese people attend any church regularly, most are involved in the religious customs including street parades, shrines to Mary and upholding traditional beliefs.
There are many challenges which face the spread of the Gospel in this culture. This is in part due to the fact that evangelical Christians are viewed by many as part of a cult. As a result, many Portuguese view Christians and the Gospel with suspicion and even at times hostility. Another factor hindering the spread of the gospel in Portugal is the shear lack of resources available for Christian work in this country. The vast majority of evangelical churches in Portugal are too small to be ale to support a pastor, let alone any additional Christian workers. As a result many of these churches either don’t have a pastor, or they have a pastor who is working a second job to be able to support himself and his family. This leaves little time and opportunity for the training and discipling of God’s people. This lack of adequate discipleship, coupled with the fact that there are so few evangelical Christians in Portugal, results in a ‘siege mentality’ amongst the evangelical Christians in this country. Many believe that there are too few of them, working in too difficult an environment to make any real difference. As a result many of these churches become inwardly focused, failing to effectively reach out into their community with the Gospel – and so the cycle continues. This is a huge challenge for the evangelical church here in Portugal, a challenge that requires much prayer.
Life In Portugal:
Apart from the state if the church in Portugal, life in general also provides many challenges here. Culturally Portugal is quite different to Australia. It is a country with a long and very proud history and culture. To look at, Lisbon is quite a disorganised and ‘dirty’ city. There are quite a few trees, but almost no grass or landscaping. This makes it look at times like an apartment jungle! Everywhere you look there are old, high-rise apartments with washing hanging precariously out the windows. The roads here are confusing and dangerous. It seems as though people drive without looking properly or considering the consequences of their actions. Consequently car accident fatalities are very high.
Similar to Australia, the Portuguese people are generally friendly and laid back. Because of the good weather here, people love to be outside and especially on the beach. It is a very family-oriented society where children are doted on and are a very important part of the family. There are cafes on every corner (literally) and people spend a lot of their time drinking coffee, eating pastries and talking to the other ‘regulars’ in the cafe. This is a very important part of their culture! While it is a Western European country, Portugal is quite a long way behind its European neighbours in most aspects of life. It is quite a poor country and is struggling to keep up with the changes in technology and infrastructure that are happening around them.
Portugal is a very intriguing place to live!! |
