Missions Wednesday: Spain

The world is talking about Spain these days. For the first time, Spain won the coveted World Cup championship game on Sunday, defeating Holland and causing many Spaniards to rejoice. In many spheres, all eyes are on Spain right now.

There are over 46 million people living in Spain, but that number is projected to decline rapidly in the next 50 years. In 2009 the birthrate in Spain was 1.39% making it one of the lowest birthrates in the world. Slow population growth has led to a concern that eventually the elderly population will outnumber the youth of the country, making it very difficult for the elderly to receive the familial care expected and needed in old age.

While Roman Catholicism is the religion of choice for many in Spain, religious freedom has allowed many to turn away from any religious affiliation. Spain is in many ways a secular state. Low birthrate, coupled with a high concentration of AIDS carriers due to immorality and drug use, further proves this as fact. Evangelical Christians are still very much the minority in Spain and many who hear of Christ’s work on the Cross do not want to trust in him for fear of being in the “minority.”

Ways to pray

1. Pray that the Gospel would penetrate the hearts of the men and women in Spain and change their lives. The only way any of the behavioral issues will change is through the work of Christ in their lives.
2. Pray that Christians in Spain would minister to men and women who are infected with AIDS. Spain has the highest AIDS rate of any country in the entire European Union. There is much ministry to be done here.
3. Pray for missionaries to go to less-evangelized areas. According to Operation World, there are many missionaries in larger cities like Madrid and Barcelona, but many of the more rural areas have no Christian witness. University towns are also very un-evangelized. There are approximately 1 million students in Spain who also have virtually no Christian witness.
4. Pray for leadership development. Evangelical growth has been slow, as has discipleship of those who have trusted in Christ. Pray that God would embolden men and women with the task to go and make disciples in the country of Spain.