Mission to the Forgetful

Psalm 138                            Amos 8:4-12                        1 Timothy 2:1-7                      Luke 16:1-13

Mission To The Forgetful

What causes people who have known the power and presence of the living God to stop following him?

According to Moses, it begins with complacency. It begins when God’s people forget to honour him as the Father who lovingly formed and watched over them and instead relegate the Almighty Creator and Saviour to the sidelines of their lives.

That is not only ancient Israel’s story. It is Europe’s story. Once the cradle of the Reformation, Europe is now a mission field. The Netherlands, where Louise and I serve, is a vivid example of what happens when nations that once knew God slowly forget Him.

Let me paint the picture for you. At 6% of the Dutch population and rising, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the Netherlands. Compare that to only 4% who identify as Evangelical believers, most of whom live in the so-called Bible Belt, far from the province where we work. Religiosity in general is in decline: in 2010, 55% of the population considered themselves religious; in 2023, that number dropped to 42%. Among 18–25-year-olds, over two-thirds say they are non-religious. In Christ Church, Heiloo, our young people tell us that confessing Jesus at school is like committing social suicide.

Even among those who still call themselves Christian, church attendance is rare. Less than half of Protestants attend monthly, and three-quarters of Roman Catholics rarely or never go. In short, the Netherlands is religiously plural, spiritually restless, and largely post-Christian.

Why does this matter? Because the gospel is not just good news for Africa, Asia, or Latin America…it is still good news for Europe as well. And Europe needs to hear it again.

David began Psalm 138 with these words: “I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart… for your unfailing love and your faithfulness” (vv. 1–2).

Even when nations forget God, he does not forget them. Even when generations drift, God’s steadfast love remains.

The Dutch may have forgotten their spiritual heritage, but God has not forgotten the Dutch. The empty church buildings, some of which are now cultural centres, apartments, and breweries…the young people who have never opened a Bible…these are not signs that God has abandoned his people. They are challenges for us in which God is calling his people to rise up again, to proclaim his faithfulness in a generation that has lost its way.

Mission begins not with despair, but with worship. David praises God “before the gods”…in the midst of rival powers, false hopes, and competing voices. And that is our calling: to lift up the name of Jesus amid secularism, materialism, Islam, and every false god of our age.

But what happens when a people persist in forgetting God? Amos warned Israel of a devastating judgment: not a famine of bread or thirst for water, but “a famine of hearing the words of the Lord” (v. 11).

Dearest beloved brethren, this is the famine of Europe today. Our neighbours are not starving for food; they are starving for truth. They are surrounded by entertainment, information, and prosperity, but they have no word from God. They are spiritually malnourished.

Think about North Holland. Once the home of Corrie ten Boom, Brother Andrew, missionaries like Willibrord and Boniface, and historic churches that shaped world mission. Today, many of those old church buildings are museums, apartments, or breweries. The structures remain, but the Word has been silenced.

Amos says people will “wander from sea to sea, seeking the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it” (v. 12). Isn’t that what we see today? Young Dutch people searching for identity, belonging, meaning, yet looking everywhere but to Jesus. Loneliness, anxiety, depression, even fear of war…these are symptoms of a spiritual famine.

Did you know that in the Netherlands, suicide has become the leading cause of death among teens and young adults? In the last few years, the number of young people seeking help for suicidal thoughts has risen by 75%. This is not just a statistic. This is Amos’ prophecy lived out: a generation fainting or perishing for lack of hearing the Word of the Lord.

So what is God’s answer? Paul tells Timothy: “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people… for God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (vv. 1–4).

Mission begins with prayer. Before strategies, before programmes, before sending missionaries, Paul says: pray. Pray for rulers. Pray for nations. Pray for the lost. Pray for us. Why? Because God desires all people…even secular Europeans…to be saved.

The gospel is not just for “mission fields in poor countries.” It is for all people. And Paul reminds us: “There is one God, and one mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (vv. 5–6).

That is why we serve in North Holland. That is why you have sent us as your  missionaries. Because Christ died for all: for the Dutch teenager who thinks Christianity is a fable, for the lonely widow in Alkmaar, for the immigrant family in Hoorn, for the businessman in Heerhugowaard.

Mission is not about nostalgia for Europe’s Christian past. It is about proclaiming that Jesus Christ is still Lord today, and that he gave his life as a ransom for all.

Finally, in our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus told the parable of the shrewd manager. It is a strange story, but his point is clear: use what God has entrusted to you for eternal purposes.

Jesus said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” (v. 10). Mission is about stewardship. We cannot change Europe alone, but we can be faithful with what God has placed in our hands: our prayers, our resources, our partnerships.

North Holland is spiritually dry soil. But we believe God has placed us there to plant seeds of hope and raise up disciple-makers for the future. We often meet people who are spiritually curious but biblically illiterate… they believe everything and they believe nothing. What will it take for them to hear? 

Faithful witnesses. Faithful sowers. Faithful stewards of the gospel.

So let me return to the opening question: What causes people who have once known the power and presence of the living God to stop following him?

It happens slowly. Through compromise. Through complacency. Through forgetting.

But what will bring them back? The faithful witness of God’s people. The Church praying, proclaiming, and preaching the gospel with boldness.

Psalm 138 tells us God has not forgotten his people. Amos warns us of the famine of hearing God’s Word. Paul reminds us to pray for all, because Christ died for all. And Jesus calls us to be faithful stewards of what we’ve been given.

Europe may have forgotten God, but God has not forgotten Europe. He is not finished with the Netherlands. Revival is possible. But revival begins with us…when we take seriously the call to go, to give, to pray, and to serve.

And that is why we are here: to remind you that you are partnered with us in the Gospel….that you labour alongside us in the barren fields…and together we can ensure the gospel is not just Europe’s past, but Europe’s future.

“Whoever is faithful with little will also be faithful with much.” May God find us faithful, for the sake of the nations, for the sake of Europe, for the sake of his glory.

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2025