Churches are growing as young people sacrifice lucrative jobs and comfort for the Gospel

Churches are growing as young people sacrifice lucrative jobs and easy living conditions to serve the church.  According to Rome city team leader, Sarah Bennetch, “These young adults are caught up in a historic and very difficult economic crisis. By faith they are giving up all the comfort and security of home to make a church home for themselves and others in the capital. As a counter-cultural choice they are intentional about staying in the city in order to be available to minister and build a sense of community rather than going home to enjoy Mama’s Sunday dinner.”

Gemma, a 30 year-old believer, left her close-knit family and loving church community in Naples to move to Rome.  It wasn’t a great job prospect or promises of an easy life that drew her here; it was her firm belief that “the Lord called me to Rome.” In fact, her decision has meant that she shares an apartment with fellow believers involved in the same church plant.  As a leader in the church, she’s committed to discipling and mentoring younger women and leading Bible study.  And when she recently lost her job in city transportation because of budget cuts, she decided to trust God and pursue training in pastoral care to better serve the congregation rather than going back to her family.

And Gemma is not the only one who is bucking the culture to serve the church.  Antonio is a gifted musician from the south of Italy.  He left his family and church in Puglia to serve as worship leader and discipler at a young church in Rome.  His parents, solid believers, still plead with him to come home rather than suffer the financial burdens of living in the big city without their financial support.  But Antonio remains determined to find a job and continue to advance God’s work in Rome, despite the hardships.

A 2010 article in TIME magazine reveals just how counter-cultural Gemma and Antonio’s actions really are.  First, they are going against the Italian feeling that “Your DNA, your self, everything you breathe, everything you eat is very tied to the city where you’re born.”  Not only that, but their refusal to accept potentially lucrative jobs is hard to understand under normal circumstances, let alone in recent years, when young Italians have struggled to find good jobs.

This struggle has caused many Italians to leave Italy to find work or live with their parents well into their 30s so that they can afford to live on the decreased salaries they can find in Italy.  Approximately 30% of Italians aged 30-34 still live with their parents, three times as many as lived with their parents in 1983.  According to this 2013 article, the situation has not improved much since TIME’s article in 2010; 40% of young workers, many of whom have college degrees, were unemployed.  Nearly all of those unemployed lived with family in order to make ends meet.

But there are numerous examples in Rome of individuals who are living in shared apartments and taking whatever work they can get, all so that they can serve the church. And through their work, God is growing the church.

The church just marked its third birthday. Over its three years, it has grown from half a dozen (including Gemma and Antonio) to over 100 attendees. At the anniversary celebration, many testified about how they had found a true family, a spiritual home, thanks to the encouragement of Gemma, Antonio and other young leaders.

Could you see yourself as part of this gospel movement among European millennials?  Consider joining the Rome city team for a 1 or 2 year internship