Ian & Lucy Fisher

My latest trip got under way again from April 1st 09. It is my 6th time back to Europe since November 06, and I am finding that God is directing my steps and my vision, and slowly building momentum. My first trip started with a 4 week period where I was introduced to a few churches and church leaders, but now the trip has expanded to 12 weeks and covers Holland, Spain, Suriname, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia and Norway.

Well I began this time at a church in Delft in Holland where I ministered my CBD Summit for the first time in Europe and it was a great time. The Summit is focused on building and developing people, so they can build and develop the Church. One of the things I find in Europe is a lack of desire or understanding in the congregations of building the church. There is a willingness to attend, but it doesn't go much further than this. There needs to be a resurgence and fresh desire in people to build and develop the Church, because the situation is becoming desperate in Europe, as people are leaving the church because they have become disinterested through a lack of vision.

So after Delft I met up with Lucy my wife in Suriname in the Carribbien where we participated in a special Easter Event which attracted a couple of thousand people each night. This was a great time working with the youth musicians for a Saturday and Sunday night event. It was a crazy couple of nights, and Lucy led the team in worship totally on fire, bursting out in the prophetic song, leading in waves and waves of raw power and energy - the team was totally amazed with her raw energy and anointing. I preached both nights, and on Resurrection Sunday night I spoke on The 3 Signposts of Faith - Revelation of Christ, Resurrection of Christ and the Return of Christ, which was a powerful message.

Sadly Lucy returned to Sydney and I returned to Holland where I immediately travelled to Spain, to minister in a church in Balageur and then in Barcelona. This was also a great time, where I was involved in another youth event playing bass and also preaching. I spoke in the church in Balageur on Sunday morning and then to Barcelona for the Sunday night. Both was a great time and a chance to build new relationships for the future.

I am now in my 4th week and have travelled to a part of Holland called Zwolle. This is my 5th time back and I stay with a great family here in a country town called Delfsen, where we ride bikes through the countryside which is really cool. Again the situation here is much the same as in other parts of Holland where a lethargy has gripped the church and you find that there is no momentum in any part of church life, and even after 5 visits nothing much has changed - sometimes not even the song lists - but alas this is why I persevere.

So Europe remains in a desperate situation with the Church totally out of place, in a secular world that pays no attention or interest in a God they cannot relate to. I believe society would connect to God if they knew how, but the Church isn't giving them any opportunity to connect, because the churches approach is out of date and irrelevant to this generation of fast moving and fast thinking young people.

Mal Fletcher released a few statistics about the church in Europe and one said that Spain out of 30 million people only 0.01% were born again. The UK said that 27% of people who had been to church said they would never go again, because the experience was so bad - this must tell us something about the church, and must drive us toward doing something about making the church relevant and enjoyable - imagine if the 27% of people in the UK, which by the way is 14 million people, found that they liked the church the first time, you would probably find that they would like to go some more - AMAZING!!

So ultimately I press on toward that for which Christ Jesus has taken hold of me, which I believe is to inspire and encourage Church leaders and churches in Europe to rise and build for a generation that is fast approaching ignorance and disinterest with the church, and what a good or great church could do and be like in the community where it exists.

Blessings to you all, and more power to you.

Ephesians 3:20

The Fish