TIME FOR REVIVAL?

by Mark Detzler

Detail from a street painting by a UFM missionary working in Milan. The painting was created using watercolour and felt pens. It depicts the story of the prophet Hosea, who bought back his adulterous wife on a slave market to illustrate God's love for the nation.

Many people around the world are praying for a revival in Italy. Revival, however, is the wrong term to use when describing what needs to happen in this country.

The great revivals of history have always occurred when a dominant Protestant church has lost it's first love. A small movement under the anointing of the Holy Spirit has then been raised up to turn the people back to God. The Methodist revival turned the Anglican church upside down, while the Great Awakening was primarily amongst the Presbyterians.

Italy is different. When the reformation fire took hold in Northern Europe and swept through Switzerland it was met in 1563 at a little border town. The now infamous council of Trent laid the foundations for a violent counter reformation which closed the door to the proclamation of the Gospel in Italy.

For the next 400 years the indigenous Italian Protestant church suffered continual persecution and harassment. When missionaries arrived they too were forced to operate under tight control. It was not until the collapse of Fascism, and the 1951 Constitution that the evangelical movement benefitted from religious freedom for the first time.

The nation of Italy does not need a revival. What is required is no less than a twentieth century reformation.

I believe that the time is right for this to happen. The spiritual climate in Italy is changing at an ever-increasing pace. The starting point of this transformation was the 23rd of May 1992. On this day the Evangelical movement got together in the streets of Rome and marched to Parliament to intercede for their city and for their nation. A petition was presented to Parliament urging it to turn from corruption and establish the nation on righteous principles.

That afternoon, on the motorway from the airport to the city of Palermo, Magistrate Giovanni Falcone was assassinated, along with his wife and his escort. This single act of terrorism led to the arrest of Toto Riina and hundreds of other mafia bosses. The Sicilian mafia was effectively decapitated. The assassination was also the starting point for the Clean Hands investigation in Milan which led to the removal of over 2000 corrupt politicians and businessmen.

All of this brought about the fall of the first Republic and the formation of the new Italy. I believe that God honoured the prayers of his people and that he has opened the door for a reformation in this land.

The evangelical movement which is rising to face the task is young and active, but sometimes also impulsive, disorganised and immature. This adolescent church is poorly equipped to take on the nation for Christ.

The Italian evangelical movement today must develop new local churches which understand discipleship, which express real worship and which present the Gospel message in an appealing way.

Northern Europe was changed forever through the uncompromising position taken by the reformation leaders. Today's Italian church needs men and women with the same spiritual credentials to stand up for truth and justice.