“A city on a hill cannot be hidden” is an accurate observation. Italy is a mountainous country where it is easy to spot hilltop towns. My wife and I ministered for 36 years in central Italy, reaching out to many small towns in a wide radius around our home. While looking up at the many towns perched on the hills, the thought always came “not one of those places has a gospel witness because they are too small and out of the way.” We prayed for the Lord of the harvest to send them a witness of the Savior’s love. Whenever we stopped in one of those towns, we left a tract or shared a gospel testimony with a local resident or two. Usually, they had never heard any part of the Gospel before our visit. From Val d’Aosta in the Alps to the shores of Sicily, and from Liguria on the western coast to Puglia in the south, very little of God’s Word is being preached. Modern Italy has a great need of workers in the countless mountain towns, and down along the vast coastlines, and even in the densely populated cities. The cities cannot be hidden, but for too long the Gospel of Christ has been hidden from lost souls in the harvest field of Italy.

Denmark, home to almost 6 million people, guards the mouth of the Baltic Sea. Second on the Happiest Country index, fourth on the Global Peace Index, and tenth overall Best Country according to US News & World Report, Denmark has been declared by some world travelers to be the most beautiful place they have ever been. However, the need for biblically solid churches is overwhelming. One believer, whose church just lost its missionary pastor, recently wrote the following:

“There is a tremendous need for good churches and Bible teaching here in Denmark. The state church is Lutheran, and only a few of the state church pastors are believers. Churches not part of the state church are called ‘Free Churches.’ Most Danish Baptist churches are pretty liberal, most free churches use modern music, and many of the free churches cling to Lutheranism and don't even preach the whole Bible. As far as we know, our church and a Filipino church are the only Independent Baptist churches in the country. We are praying earnestly that God will send a pastor for our church so that it can continue.”

How could God use you to meet Denmark's staggering spiritual needs? 

by Tim Berrey

France greatly needs laborers who preach the Gospel of Christ. Of the 67 million inhabitants, 1% are “evangelical” Christians and 21% are atheists. A majority of the population considers themselves Catholic, but only a small proportion are “practicing” Catholics. France has one of the highest percentages of Muslims in Western Europe, and ministry opportunities are abundant. There are scores of cities, towns, and villages with little or no gospel witness where evangelism and church planting are urgently needed. In addition, many aging pastors are approaching retirement, and there are very few men who are prepared to take their places. Two churches in our immediate area in northeastern France are without pastors. Both are in large cities, highly strategic for evangelism. Other opportunities for service include summer camps, Bible institutes, and church planting.  Perhaps God wants you to consider this field that is white for harvest.

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by Walter Loescher

Recently I have been looking at the map of our area and have recognized there are numerous larger towns within an hour of our present ministry that, to our knowledge, have no gospel witness. I have been praying specifically about two* of the towns. In each of these two towns we know of one family that bears a burden for the community. If either of them would give me the green light and be willing to approach church planting in a biblical, separated way, I would be happy to spring into action on their behalf. Beyond these two towns, there are other larger places, yet unexplored, but upon which I have cast my gaze. The size of our immediate harvest field is adequate to keep me and others occupied for years to come. Here are the towns on my radar, with their populations: 

*Haldensleben – 19,000

*Brandenburg an der Havel – 72,000

Wolmirstedt – 12,000

Oschersleben – 20,000

Aschersleben – 30,000

In the United States you might have one or more Bible-believing churches in a city of 5,000 people. Here we consider ourselves fortunate if we have one or two churches per 100,000. We have many areas with fewer than one church per 100,000. We would welcome laborers into this neglected part of Germany! 

by Brad McKenzie

As Tim and Claire Petersen begin their deputation for Poland, the overwhelming need and accompanying opportunities have impressed upon them the value of a team of co-workers. My wife and I visited Tim and Claire when they were serving as short-term missionaries in a ministry not far from Warsaw. We have visited dozens of countries around the world, but Poland may well be the most religious of them all. As history teaches us, most of the Jews living in Poland were killed by the Nazis, and other non-Catholic minorities fled the country. The result is maybe the world’s most Catholic country. Neale Pease, Yale professor of history and a specialist on Polish Catholicism, entitled his 2009 book Rome's Most Faithful Daughter: The Catholic Church and Independent Poland. In walking the streets of Warsaw with Tim and Claire, we saw evidence of deep religiosity. For example, some of the churches held five masses each Sunday. We came away burdened for this country, religiously free, but also deeply scarred by countless wars and darkened by entrenched Catholicism. The Petersens would love to have another couple and other co-workers join them. The door is open. Would you consider joining the team?

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by Alan Patterson