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Ebook: Pasta, pizza, and Pinocchio: Questions and answers about the Church of the Nazarene in Italy (part 9, including the introduction)
In this ebook, Pasta, pizza, and Pinocchio , Howard Culbertson answers questions he has been asked about missionary work in Italy. Originally published for the Nazarene Missions International mission book series by what is now called The Foundry, this book carried ISBN 0-8341-0612-4. Some material has been updated for this ebook edition.
Historical note: These questions and answers describe conditions during the author's missionary service in Italy. Statistics, church schedules, district classifications, ministry programs, and funding arrangements reflect that period and should not be read as current reports.
Sincerity in religion is never enough, whether a person is Roman Catholic, Nazarene, Baptist, or belongs to another church. Sincerity alone does not establish a person's standing before God. In Romans 2, the apostle Paul discusses Gentiles who show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts. As I understand that passage, a person's response to the light God has given, rather than sincerity alone, matters in divine judgment. Both God's Word and history tell of people who were sincere but were also very wrong.
Not particularly. People of different ages, both men and women, have come to faith. During our years in Italy, we sometimes encountered the assumption that religious participation was primarily a woman's activity, or cose femminili , "women's things." Some people regarded religious fervor in men as a sign of weakness. In the evangelical circles we knew, however, men participated actively, and a husband sometimes came to faith before his wife.
No. It was not uncommon for older Italians to come to faith in Christ. Some told us they had searched all their lives but had found religious traditions and teachings that did not satisfy their spiritual hunger. They could be deeply eager to hear the gospel.
A substantial proportion remained committed to Christ, although I do not have an exact percentage. A long process of seed-sowing often preceded conversion, and their decision to follow Christ was usually carefully considered. Once they made that commitment, they generally remained faithful.
The service schedule varies from church to church. Both the times and days of services are different for each congregation. Some groups or preaching points may have only one meeting a week. Others will have three services: Sunday afternoon, Tuesday evening, and Thursday evening. One church has a 5:30 a.m. prayer meeting every morning. The Florence church had a Wednesday evening service that began at 9 p.m.
Every day of the week, there is a service in at least one of the Nazarene churches in Italy.
Other active denominations include Southern Baptist, Conservative Baptist, Plymouth Brethren, Assemblies of God, Church of Christ, Salvation Army, the Apostolic Church , Seventh-day Adventists, and the Waldensian . Back to the Bible Broadcast has a rather large missionary staff. Several independent mission organizations are active, most of them working with the Plymouth Brethren churches.
We do have an annual English-speaking workers' meeting for the exchange of ideas and information and for fellowship. In addition, there are other nationwide conferences occasionally for those involved in specialized ministries like literature, broadcasting, audiovisual production, etc. We normally have at least one Nazarene representative at all of these meetings.
About 200,000, about half of whom belong to Pentecostal churches such as the Assemblies of God.
Interestingly, Italy has long been considered a "tough" mission field. But Italy has fewer than one foreign missionary per 1,000 Protestant church members, while Japan, for instance, has one foreign missionary for every 200 Protestants.
Results may come slowly. However, part of the reason could be that it just hasn't had enough expatriate missionary attention focused on it.
We are a "National-Mission District." That means we now have achieved some degree of self-government with an Italian as district superintendent. The next stage is to become a "Mission District." To take that step, the district must, among other things, be providing at least half its own financial support. A few years ago the Mission Council and the District Advisory Board led by then-missionary Roy Fuller set a goal of reaching the 50 percent self-supporting level. Pray that God will guide us in reaching that level.
Yes, especially when they recognize a particular need. Alfredo Del Rosso, in a 1955 letter to General Superintendent Benner, wrote:
"The Italians are like anyone else — when they have got the spiritual blessing, they are glad to give the material."
During our ministry, we found that many new believers were unfamiliar with consistent Christian stewardship, including tithing. Their previous giving experiences often involved occasional appeals, offering boxes, or payments associated with Masses, funerals, weddings, and candles.
Many Italian families place a high value on financial security. That concern for stability can help encourage consistent support for the church.
No, not yet. Some of them are making good progress toward that goal. Our giving district-wide has grown tremendously since the first district assembly under missionary superintendent Paul Wire. During one 15-year period, the Italian district increased its total giving by an average of 20 percent each year.
Tithing is a core value for the Seventh-day Adventists. So, they are close to total self-support in Italy. The Apostolic Church is now close to its goal of self-support, as are the Assemblies of God. Others, however, are making less progress toward this goal. We're probably kind of in the middle of the pack as far as self-support is concerned.
Our strategy is to love people and share the gospel with whomever the Holy Spirit brings across our path. Seeking out wealthy people simply because we want their money would distort the Great Commission . Ultimately, the Lord provides the finances. If we become overly concerned about where the money will come from, we may be placing our trust in something other than Him.
Trying to convert wealthy Italians in hopes of gaining access to their money does not seem to me a biblical strategy for evangelism or healthy church development.
During our ministry in Italy, recurring needs included special funding for literature projects, ministerial training programs, media outreach efforts, office equipment, and efforts to plant new churches.
Our ministry includes evangelism, discipleship, and social action, both in Italy and around the world. If the Lord leads you to give sacrificially to a particular ministry, the Church of the Nazarene can help direct your gift where it will be most useful.
The amount alone does not determine whether outside funding helps or hinders local initiative. Much depends on how the money is used. Even a small amount used poorly can stifle initiative, while a larger amount used wisely can encourage it.
Nazarene missionary funding aims to do more than provide "bread" for survival. The goal is to help build "bakeries" so Italian believers can produce bread to feed others. Another way to describe the goal is to help them build "tool shops" that equip them for ministry.
One obstacle we encountered was the expectation that ministry was primarily the responsibility of paid clergy. Some new believers carried that expectation over from their religious background and had difficulty understanding why they should do anything beyond attending services when the church had a paid pastor.
Both pastors and church members could contribute to this pattern by expecting the pastor to do everything. That limited opportunities for others to serve and could hinder church growth.
Careful statistical evaluation and the study of growth opportunities from a sociological perspective were areas in which we could have learned more. At the time of the original writing, I knew of only one book that examined Italian Protestantism from a church growth perspective, and it had not been translated into Italian.
Pastor Del Rosso believed the message of holiness addressed a deep spiritual longing among many Italians. He interpreted practices such as penance, praying the rosary, lighting candles, and making pilgrimages to shrines as expressions of a desire for inner cleansing. In his view, a Bible-based message of heart purity spoke directly to that longing.
Some of our pastors drew on Italian legends and folklore to illustrate the Wesleyan doctrine of heart holiness.
At the time of the original writing, Del Rosso was 89 and still preached occasionally. His wife had died more than ten years earlier, and he lived near Florence with his married daughter, Maria. He later died at age 96.
The most visible effort to date is one we're launching: an evangelistic tent ministry to be used in the spring, summer, and fall. Some of our churches have had weekend evangelistic campaign services, and tract distribution has also been widely used. Some calling programs have been tried, and occasionally, a film will be used to attract unchurched people.
Perhaps one of the most consistently fruitful methods has been the informal "gossiping of the gospel" done by the believers. This has worked especially well within family units.
They are crowded, but that's a plus for a tent-style campaign. Scattered through those cities are small parks. There, people go for a stroll with their babies, talk to each other, let the children play, or walk their dogs. That's where we'll be ... in those crowded parks!
We don't think so. Other groups operating tent evangelism do not seem to be experiencing real problems. With the Constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion and speech, the law should be on our side.
Three of our churches — Civitavecchia , Rome, and Moncalieri — have operated summer ministry programs for children similar to the VBS concept. A major hurdle for them is the fact that materials are not available in Italian. Any local church wanting to conduct such a program must start from scratch.
I don't think so. We have gone through some low periods. Satan has hit us with some pretty hard blows, and it has been difficult for us to regain momentum. The shift to Italian leadership did not produce the growth spurt we missionaries had hoped for. But now our Italian leaders and missionaries are optimistic about the future.
On a few occasions, Italy has managed to outdo the U.S. church in average annual percentage growth in membership. On the other hand, there have also been too many negative years. . . . [ continue reading ]
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Is the Bible readily available in Italy? Are Christian television programs broadcast into Italy by satellite? Are our churches located in large cities? Read the next chapter . |