FROM THE CHURCH TO THE CITY

by Mark Detzler

During May and June, our church sponsored ten evangelistic concerts and various other events including mime and sketchboard. Four of the concerts where in a very difficult zone called Tor Bella Monaca, a huge housing project on the outskirts of Rome, built for the poorest migrants from the surrounding countryside. With well over 100,000 people crammed into a series of high-rise towers and various other low-level blocks, it is infamous for its high crime levels and the presence of mafia-style gangs. We know of no evangelical fellowship in the whole area.

Our team performed the concerts in a piazza in the middle of one of the units with some fear and trepidation, but, after an initial wariness, we saw an increasing openness and warmth on the part of the people. Another point of outreach was the sea front at Ostia where we saw huge crowds stop and watch as the team did sketchboard and mime.

The end of the crusade was a five-day series of concerts and meetings on the church property, three concerts featured our music group and the last two a professional jazz-blues group formed by missionaries working in Belgium. We were really encouraged that these meetings were attended by over 150 people with whom our church had no previous contact, as well as by other non-Christian friends and relatives who have already attended other events.

Like all churches, the fellowship has casual attenders and a more committed core group. We are thrilled that the core group of about forty people have really been very active in the various activities related to the outreach. We divided the group into teams for tasks including prayer, music, logistics, counselling, sketchboard evangelism, drama and catering. We were thus able to achieve more than is often possible with a small church.

Our home-grown band sang a mixture of choruses and evangelistic songs written as a result of their personal pilgrimage. Songs written by Italians telling of their personal walk with Christ have a powerful impact on those who listen, because so often they address the felt needs of the hearers.

We see our current job in the church as investing in the lives of this core group. Our desire is to see each individual grow and flourish, thereby creating a solid basis for whatever the Lord wants to do in Tor Bella Monaca in the future.