THE HOME OF THE RENAISSANCE

BMW in Florence

The city of Florence is the heart of the region of Tuscany and a cultural center of historic Italy where once lived master painters such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michaelangelo Buonarotti. It was also the home of Dante Alegheri who is credited with the codification of the Italian language. It was the works of these masters that gave voice to a humanistic philosophy which still pervades the thinking and culture of this beautiful land. For this reason the philosophies of communism have found fertile ground in the minds of the Florentine people.

Dick (and Laura) Paul came to the beautiful historic Florence in April 1962 and began his ministry preparing radio programs in Italian to be aired on Radio Montecarlo, aimed towards Italy. Local contacts were made and a Bible study was begun in May of 1965 in a very tiny living room of a very small apartment with 3-4 people present. As time passed the small group grew and a small storefront was rented and became their first meeting room. A few years later the adjacent storefront was also rented and the dividing wall was removed. The small group was completely self-sustaining economically. In 1980 Sam and Ruth Anne Wegner joined the Paul's in Florence. And the congregation continued to grow.

About this time a small FM radio station was begun in Florence, broadcasting 24 hours a day, and was an important point of contact for the continuing growth of the church. We are still gleaning fruit from this ministry.

In 1985 because of personnel changes, the Wegner's moved to Trieste and worked there for 10 years before returning to Florence in 1995. While the church from its very beginning has been completely autonomous economically it has not had the local leadership necessary for complete autonomy. Their primary goal in returning to Florence was to help the church move towards complete autonomy. Because of increasing bureaucratic difficulties and also because of lack of necessary personnel to maintain effective programming, it became necessary to close the radio ministry. While remaining active in the church the Paul's began to be less involved in the leadership to allow for the development of nationals.

Despite difficulties involving the need for discipline and changing personnel in the church, progress towards autonomy is being made. In January of 2005 a new elder and two new deacons were appointed. The church now has two functioning Italian elders and three deacons. One of the elders is an excellent teacher and expositor of the Word. The second elder is less capable as a teacher but is giving a significant contribution. Two other men, now deacons are also involved in the teaching ministry and are continuing to develop in this capacity. BMW missionaries are aggressively concentrating on training both men and women for ministry. It is their hope that in another two years the work will be completely autonomous and missionary presence will no longer be required.

Although there has been a missionary presence in Florence for many years, there is still much to be done. The church will still need a ministry of encouragement, teaching and help in preparing still other leaders for the future. Also, there are numerous outlying towns where there is still no gospel witness. A major step would be to partner with the existing church to establish witnesses in other towns in the Tuscany region.

The Lord has gifted the local Florence church group with artistic ability in painting, ceramics, specialized kinds of painting on crystal and glass, woodworking, and wrought iron. Consideration is being made to create ways by which the gifts of five of its members can be demonstrated to others, especially in America. Their hope is to form a group who could give exhibitions as well as present their crafts in churches and schools in order that young people there can be challenged to develop artistic gifts for the Lord.

Province of Venice

Frank and Kathy King (in Italy since 1975) are developing the leadership of a church that they planted in Mirano, in the northern part of the Province of Venice. The church body does a substantial amount of evangelistic outreach and is developing numerous contacts throughout the province to foster the planting of sister churches around the centrally-located work. Lewis Carl has just joined the team working with Filipinos looking to start a church on the island of Venice.

Italian Hymnology and Choral Arrangement

John and Judy Jueckstock serve the country of Italy by developing, arranging, printing and distributing choral music and training materials for evangelical churches throughout Italy and Sicily. Check out their website at www.MusicaSerafini.org.

CULTURAL OBSERVATIONS

Progress is slow due to rejection of religious values characterized by a people who know little about their own church and far less about the Bible itself. The liberty to proclaim the Gospel is limited only by the vision, faith and commitment of the laborer. The fall of communism increased interest in the supernatural and displayed the emptiness of religion. Rapid technical innovations have prepared many Italians for a change of heart, an encounter with the Gospel.

High value is placed on education with a degree or title. Job security, importance of the outward appearance, and a "live and let live" attitude characterize daily life. Politics are far more important than religion. In post-war Italy the working man has identified with Socialism and Communism while an unstable government has identified with NATO and the Common Market. The average Italian is outwardly content but inwardly reflects the same insecurity of his government. Bureaucracy permeates all of life. Church and State are in a deadly struggle for the mind and the money of every citizen. Since 1984 Catholicism is no longer the State religion, but its hold upon the minds and hearts of the people is as strong as ever.

Language - Every region, as well as towns within regions, has its own dialect. Many will understand Italian but speak only dialect. Some English is spoken, especially in tourist areas. Ittakes approximately one year of intense language study to become conversant with an additional one to two years to be able to preach.

Religion
Roman Catholic - 98.3 %
Protestant - 0.4%
Others - 1.3%

The methods of ministry that have proven most effective are personal contacts by missionaries and believers with families, friends, and neighbors; youth camps, children's clubs, special programs and concerts, Scripture verse calendar distribution, and community interest involvement by our missionaries. For more information on these ministries, contact the missionaries below or contact Paul Seger, BMW's Area Director for Europe, via email.

Home | About | Mission Fields | Opportunities | Support | Resources

BIBLICAL MINISTRIES WORLDWIDE
1595 Herrington Road
Lawrenceville, GA 30043
Phone: (770) 339-3500 Fax: (770) 513-1254
Email BMW

Site maintained by Biblical Ministries Worldwide
Copyright 1996-2007