A new dawn awaits the peoples of Europe in the timeless message of Jesus Christ. Past hopes have failed, but we – evangelical Christian leaders from 38 European nations - affirm there is yet genuine hope for Europe’s future in the story of Jesus Christ. This story has brought hope to Europe for two millennia, and still shows the way ahead for our multicultural, postmodern societies. We as followers of Jesus Christ need to influence our societies as salt and light, helping to transform our communities.

These declarations and pledges highlight the major issues to which we are committed.

FOUNDATIONS OF HOPE

• We recommit ourselves to follow Jesus Christ in thought, word and deed and to live by the power of the Holy Spirit.
• We reaffirm our submission to the whole message of the Bible and our belief in the historic doctrines of the Christian Church.
• We will strive to demonstrate the transforming benefit of the Christian gospel to all in our multi-cultural societies, regardless of nationality, race or creed.
• We give thanks for the many positive aspects of European life, but acknowledge we have failed successive generations by being slow to speak and act for the public good and to counter effectively the negative aspects of our societies.
• We reject self-centred materialism and hedonism.

MEANS TO HOPE

• We reaffirm our lifelong commitment to love God and our neighbour, European and non-European, as ourselves.
• We will humbly seek to do this through being a community of praying, worshipping, welcoming, culturally relevant, outward looking people who know the Bible well and are united in multiplying, inclusive, evangelising local churches.
• We will work for peace, justice, and reconciliation and will value as equals those seen as inferior by our societies.
• We will participate more fully in public life, the professions and the arts.
• We will encourage lifelong learning and continual personal development.
• We seek the peace and welfare of our cities and particularly their deprived areas.
• We will advance the roles and responsibilities of women within church and society.
• We urge our politicians to engage humbly and responsibly with the rest of the world, champion the disadvantaged, to work for a healthy environment and responsible consumption, to alleviate poverty and to promote peace.
• We will forge pragmatic, targeted partnerships with those of other persuasions to these ends but we depend on God alone to achieve anything of lasting value.

RESULTS OF HOPE

We do not dream of a European utopia, recognising the reality of the fall and of human sin. Rather, we envision a renewed continent in which growing numbers of people have a living faith in God, every community has a vibrant local church, peace and justice increase, crime and inequality are reduced, oppression is eliminated and scientific, medical and biological research is subject to Biblical ethics and developed for the benefit of all. We aspire for our continent for our continent to demonstrate the highest standards of liberty, generosity, equality, education, and respect for life, in obedience to God’s word.

May God graciously cause this to happen and use us in the process.

1 May 2002, Budapest, Hope 21 conference

INTRODUCTION: SHAPING EUROPE’S FUTURE TOGETHER

A new dawn awaits the people of Europe if the followers of Jesus Christ will let God and his ways redirect our life together. Hopes that shaped our recent past in Europe are widely seen to have failed at the outset of the third millennium. Secular attempts to master history and create a better future - including Marxist socialism and scientific rationalism - have provoked mistrust, cynicism and widespread disillusionment. Many religious hopes have been tried, have failed and have led to escapism, extremism and even terrorism.
But God has not finished with Europe. There is always hope. The gospel is still good news. Jesus is still the Way, the Truth and the Life for all in our multicultural, postmodern societies. He is still the way to a restored relationship with the Father. If growing numbers experience the new life he offers, if local churches are renewed and if Christians demonstrate the positive effects of their faith, we are confident that better, open, just and more complete societies can emerge. Our beliefs, values and love for our neighbour can help remould communities and redirect public policy and practice for the good of all. We believe that, working with each other in partnership of principle, and through pragmatic, targeted partnerships with those of other persuasions on public matters, Christians can forge a brighter future for Europe. Our faith in God, hope and vision inspire us to live, work and pray towards a future Europe which better reflects the biblical values of justice, wholeness and harmony. These declarations and pledges highlight the major issues to which we are committed.

FOUNDATIONS OF HOPE

As evangelical Christian leaders from 38 European nations, facing the challenge of the C.21st, we affirm that there is genuine hope for Europe’s future and for humankind in general. This hope is founded on the character and purposes of the God of history, who is also the God of the future. Therefore, we

- recommit ourselves to following Jesus Christ, the risen Lord of All, Saviour of the world, as revealed in Scripture, present with us today, by the power of the Holy Spirit in thought, word and deed. We believe he offers fresh hope to the diverse peoples of Europe both as individuals and as societies. We pledge ourselves to be good examples of real Christian faith by living in obedience to all Jesus taught. We will show the significance of our faith through its impact on our personal and corporate lives in every area of our complex, diverse and ever-changing societies.

- reaffirm our submission to the message of the Bible and our belief in the historic doctrines of the Christian Church (as expressed, for example, in the ancient Nicene Creed or the modern European Evangelical Alliance statement of faith) and the 1974 Lausanne Covenant. We pledge ourselves to apply our Christian faith in every area of life and in every part of our continent to the glory of God and the benefit of all regardless of their nationality, race or creed.

- recognise there is much about European life for which we give thanks, particularly the hard won personal freedoms and open societies we enjoy, the development of natural science and care for the individual. But, we recognise there are many things wrong with Europe today. We acknowledge Europe, of which we are an integral part, has conceived, nurtured and exported other philosophies, such as rationalism, atheism, Marxism, fascism and exploitative capitalism. This has caused conflict, pain and destruction around the world and Christians have not done enough at the right time to prevent this.

- repent of the sins which have hindered our effective participation in and limited our influence on the public life of our nations and the personal lives of our fellow citizens. We identify our selfish materialism, our embrace of dualism, our inherent racism, our idolatrous nationalism, our arrogant judgmentalism, our proud Euro-centrism, our sectarian elitism, our rabid disunity, the selective nature of our condemnation of evil in its various forms, our callous indifference to global suffering and injustice, our prejudice we have shown to minority groups, our inadequate knowledge of Scripture and timid application of its teaching, the times when we fail to trust God alone, the growing irrelevance of our churches and our inexcusable complacency over our spiritual lives. We admit God’s people have let down successive generations by failing in our calling to be ‘salt and light’ within our societies nor have we been true prophets giving clear and appropriate moral guidance to our national leaders and communities.

MEANS TO HOPE

We reaffirm our lifelong commitment to obey the command of Jesus Christ to love God and our neighbour as ourselves. We will humbly seek to do this through

- worship seeking God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with all our being, celebrating his glory, worshipping him, personally and together, with our lives as well as our words. We will fully and gladly engage in prayer for his will to be done on earth. Corporate worship must be focused on God, saturated with truth, rightly motivated and for his glory above all else.

- evangelism enabling every European regardless of age, gender, nationality, education, ability, wealth or religion to have the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This ideally should be within their own cultural context, in their own language and church-based but we commit ourselves to fully support those engaged in cross-cultural mission where it is needed.

- local churches strengthening, and renewing the life of all local churches which desire to follow our Lord Jesus Christ earnestly in life, faith, love, truth and hope. We encourage the initiating and nurturing of healthy new congregations and the development of postmodern churches which reflect the variety of cultures and lifestyles in our societies. We will especially support all disciples of Jesus for whom discipleship is costly or dangerous and seek to integrate them into loving caring churches. The progress of the whole church depends on the growth of its local congregations. Ideally, every European should be within easy reach of a vibrant, culturally appropriate congregation. We further wish to encourage diverse and inclusive congregations which welcome anyone who desires to follow Christ. We wish to remind all local churches that mission is an essential and primary element of their identity. The continued spreading of God’s Kingdom within and beyond Europe depends on each local manifestation of the body of Christ playing its part by looking outwards to the practical and spiritual needs of those other than its committed numbers.

- cultural relevance supporting those who help us better understand and respond to contemporary ideologies, current trends, societal change and particular communities, those who pioneer culturally relevant forms of apologetics, evangelism, discipleship and church planting, as well as those who adapt existing ministries and local congregations to effectively engage with those sections of society that currently are immune to or feel alienated from our activity.

- Biblical literacy reversing the decline of knowledge of the Bible, with its story of God’s actions, amongst Christians and in society as a whole. We will work to reinstate the written Word as the final rule of all that we do and ensure that we do not limit this rule to areas convenient to our culture. We believe obeying all of Scripture combined with the unlimited power of the Holy Spirit will lead us to a renewed Church and a better world. We wish also to encourage continued theological study and cutting edge academic research in line with our convictions about the authority of the Bible.

- prayer recalling Christians to the priority of prayer and remembering the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, for whom prayer was not a duty but his way of life. We recognise that without concerted, united prayer, with the authority of Christ, the means of this declaration will not be fully effective nor will its goals be achieved.

- unity standing together as Christ's people in Europe. Our prime and overriding loyalty is to Jesus Christ and then to every other fellow believer. We affirm our loyalty to God and each other takes precedence over our other loyalties to state, ethnic groups or even in some cases our families. We will maintain the given unity of the Spirit and work for closer relationships based on our understanding of Scripture, common experience, and shared goals. We recognise true unity embraces cultural diversity and tolerates disagreement over secondary issues. We will encourage different forms of partnership and help forge new strategic alliances to promote God’s will in action.

- education promoting a commitment to lifelong learning based on the application of a Christian worldview to the whole of life. We are committed to Christian participation in the teaching and training of people of all ages as individuals and as communities and within our homes, education systems, churches, workplaces and in society at large.

- peace and justice acting together in the positive search for peace and justice, locally, nationally, regionally and globally. We accept the responsibility of Christians to play a full and active part in the political life of Europe, influencing policy on moral and ethical issues by seeking to apply intelligently the message of the Bible to contemporary society. We believe there is a role for European and international organisations and the importance of Christians participating in them. We accept in particular the responsibility to be peacemakers between individuals, groups, societies and nations.

- reducing inequality seeking economic justice for all, including, in the long-term, a fairer distribution of wealth and the opportunity for all to create it. We believe there is an urgent need to narrow greatly the gap between rich and poor both within our societies and globally. We are prepared to lead the way by voluntarily seeking to use our present assets to serve the poor and by encouraging a fresh spirit of generosity amongst us.

- integrated lifestyles rejecting both materialistic and hedonistic approaches to life. We will demonstrate the priority of living a full life that consists of much more than the accumulation of wealth and possessions or the search for pleasure, self-satisfaction or experiences. We will put the pursuit of God, loving relationships and right living before self-fulfilment or our personal prosperity.

- the professions continuing to participate fully in professions such as education, the media, the sciences, healthcare and the law to work for policy and practice that will promote the well-being of all and in particular to ensure that the newborn citizens of the C.21st will grow up in secure, healthy, free and fair societies.

- the arts encouraging Christians to participate in the arts for a better balanced portrayal of Christian values. We will support Christian involvement at all levels from the amateur to the professional as an important dimension of our common cultures. We support the freedom of writers and artists to challenge, debate and sometimes shock but believe this must be done responsibly. We in particular deplore the excessive focus on violent crime as mass entertainment and the dehumanisation of the victims.

- redeeming cities seeking the peace and welfare of our urban areas, because the gospel of Jesus Christ is good news for all city dwellers. We welcome and respect people of diverse cultures and religions as we look for opportunities for dialogue and faith-sharing. We recognize that God is active in all the systems and urban corridors of Europe.

- deprived areas investing particular effort in our inner cities and other economically deprived areas from which the church has too often withdrawn. We will follow the example of those spiritually vibrant churches that have helped rebuild viable and dynamic communities in which they play a full part.

- full involvement of women advancing the roles and responsibilities of women within church and society. We repent of wrong attitudes held in the recent past and acknowledge that we have fallen short of Jesus’ example and Biblical standards in our treatment of both single and married women. We recognise widespread differences of tradition, conscience and opinion within our churches on some gender issues and respect these deeply held views. Never-the-less, we will ensure all women have the opportunity to fully use their God-given gifts and abilities to serve him.

- promoting equality valuing as equals all people regarded or treated as inferior by our societies. Starting from the premise that all human beings are created in the image of God and of equal worth, we will work to improve the lives of everyone, giving particular attention to the poor, people living with any form of disability, the homeless, ethnic minorities, refugees, ex-offenders, the elderly and people suffering from illnesses such as AIDS. We will sincerely attempt to combine God’s compassionate love with his justice in all we do.

- involvement of children and young people continuing to value highly young people and children. We will continue to devote significant human, financial, material and spiritual resources to their care, education and personal development inside and outside of our church structures. We will encourage the integration, empowerment and leadership gifts of young people in our churches and organisations as full participants rather than as second-class citizens. We will support those engaged in pioneering work aimed at bridging and narrowing the cultural gap between existing church structures and contemporary youth cultures.

- healthy global relationships engaging humbly and responsibly with the rest of the world. We will learn and welcome help from Christians in the rest of the world without condescension, resentment or reluctance in an active spirit of reciprocity. We accept the obligation to use our wealth, technology, human resources and Christian heritage to serve Christ anywhere on the planet in every appropriate way where it is needed to strengthen and extend the Kingdom of God. We accept that this must be done in a context of mutual responsibility, partnership and through co-operation with and always as servants of our brothers and sisters in the recipient nation.

- ethical and political responsibility campaigning on a wide range of ethical issues. We will honour God by campaigning for Europe to find its proper role in the world and for right international relations with other nations, regardless of wealth. We will encourage the responsible authorities within Europe to abandon policies which isolate us politically and economically from the rest of the world. We want them to be advocates for the disadvantaged and to work diligently for a healthy environment, for responsible levels of consumption, to alleviate poverty and to promote peace. We urge our politicians and business leaders to reject short-term gain when at the cost of lasting good for the wider world. We will continue to campaign against abortion, euthanasia and other assaults on human dignity and life itself and to alleviate the suffering caused.

In all of this, we acknowledge our absolute dependence on our heavenly Father and our need for the empowering of the Holy Spirit to achieve anything of lasting value. We will persevere even though many may oppose us on some issues and in some countries we may suffer persecution for promoting our faith and its values.

RESULTS OF HOPE

We are realistic about human sinfulness and failure and accept that a European utopia is an impossible dream, however, we believe a much better Europe is possible if Christians live as they should, shine light on issues, lead by example and apply their faith within public life. We do not want to go back to the Christendom of the past which confused temporal and spiritual power and compromised the Church. Rather, we want to see a renewed Europe in which

• growing numbers of people have a living faith in the one true God, know his fatherly love, experience the forgiveness of sin for which Christ died and the joy of new life in the power of the Holy Spirit.
• every community is served by a vibrant, inclusive and welcoming local church
• those in public life and the business world act justly, promote peace and reduce inequality.
• historically low levels of crime are achieved, mercy and compassion are shown to the weak and lawbreakers are successfully rehabilitated.
• new scientific discoveries and products are for the benefit of all not just the affluent.
• self-discipline is exercised to subject the means and application of medical and biological research to Biblical ethics.
• systematic oppression of any section of society is eliminated.
• our continent is respected throughout the world for the highest standards of liberty, generosity, equality, education, community living and respect for life.
• peaceful multi-cultural societies thrive and enrich all citizens.

May God graciously cause this to happen and use us in the process.

1 May 2002, Budapest, Hope 21 conference