Italy Mission Trips
Most people in Italy have heard of Jesus Christ—but the vast majority don’t know that He alone has “the words of eternal life” (John 6:68, ESV).
Largely untouched by the Protestant Reformation, Italy has never seen widespread biblical revival. And while the Roman Catholic Church embodies Italian identity, Italians are increasingly cynical about the church.
From antiquity until the late 16th century, Italy was considered the hub of Western culture, the starting point of worldwide phenomena such as the Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic Church, Humanism and the Renaissance. Italian painters, sculptors, composers, and architects also dominated the Baroque movement that began near the end of the Renaissance and ended in the 1700s. Both the internal and external facets of Western culture were born on the Italian peninsula, whether one looks at the history of the Christian faith, civil institutions (such as the Senate), education, philosophy, law, art, science, or social customs and culture.
Given the presence of the Catholic Church in Italy one would think that Italy does not need to hear the gospel message. 80% of Italians consider themselves Christians. However, two-thirds do not go to church or follow the church’s teachings after age 12. Many have turned away from the church completely and chosen to follow other paths such as communism, new age or Islam.
Recent statistics show that only 1.8% of Italians are living out a personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Rising immigration has been accompanied by an increase in non-Christian faiths. In 2009, there were 1 million Muslims in Italy forming 1.6 percent of population, although only 50,000 hold Italian citizenship. There are more than 200,000 followers of faiths originating in the Indian subcontinent with some 70,000 Sikhs with 22 gurdwaras across the country, 70,000 Hindus, and 50,000 Buddhists. There are an estimated 4,900 Bahá’ís in Italy.
Long ago, the Italian diplomat Niccolò Macchiavelli once wrote: “So now Italy lies, half-dead, waiting to see who will heal her wounds … You can see the country is praying to God to send someone to save her … You can see she is ready and willing to march beneath a flag, if only someone would raise one up.”
With the pressures of spiritual antagonism and apathy toward the gospel, the challenges in Italy are great. Yet there is a unique open door for the gospel through the context of community-friendly sports outreaches.
Missional Focus
Our missional focus in Italy is to come alongside of missionaries, indigenous leaders, and church planting movements, with the aim of bringing fresh expressions of the gospel to disconnected young people.
Ways you can be praying for Breakaway partnerships in Italy:
- For sports ministry development
- For youth outreaches to multiply in reaching the lost
- For US mission teams we mobilize to support our Italian friends
- For the strength of local pastors and church planting teams
- Pray for a hunger for God’s Word
- For sustained disciple-making movements
Want to know more about Italy mission trips? Fill out the Mission Trip Inquiry Form here.
