Religion The Catholic Church has prevailed in Spain since the 1400s and the defeat of the Muslim occupation. Though most Spaniards still identify with the Catholic Church, her influence over culture and daily living has diminished in recent decades. A growing wave of African immigrants have brought Islam back to Spain and Madrid is now home to the largest mosque in all of Europe. Meanwhile, Evangelicals make up less than 0.5 percent of Spain’s population.

Language Castilian Spanish is the official national language. Basque, Catalan, and Galician are recognized as official regional languages.

Customs In many regions of Spain retail stores still close during the afternoon for two or three hours in the custom of the siesta, which helps alleviate the long, hot summer days. Another popular tradition is having a coffee or drink with a friend at the local café. Spain has more cafés per square kilometer than anywhere in Europe; this is a great way to develop friendships over time.

SPAIN Fiesta! Walking the streets at 6 A.M. in search of

breakfast after spending all night out on the town is not

uncommon for Spanish young people. They love to be

where the action is and don’t want to miss any week-

end activities. It’s no secret that Spaniards take great

pride in their food; from vintage red wines to ‘tapas’

appetizers.

Their love for spending time with friends and family

around the table beckons an invitation to the Grand

Fiesta, the banquet of the Lamb - where one day all

will enjoy a time of real community and celebration!

World Team

History Situated on the Iberian peninsula, Spain is a crossroads between Europe and Africa. A host of independent kingdoms ruled the region prior to the Muslim occupation that began in the early 8th century AD and lasted nearly seven centuries. The small Christian strongholds of the north began the re-conquest, culminating in the seizure of Granada in 1492. This event completed the unification of several kingdoms and is traditionally considered the forging of present-day Spain. The Spanish Empire spread far into the New World until it’s demise at the close of the 19th century. Civil war and competing political parties brought great hardship until the relative stability that was ushered in with the end of Franco’s dictatorship and the establishment of a democracy in the 1970s.

Spain Today Spain is experiencing a whirlwind of change. Recent years of economic growth, increasing secularism, and the impact of a liberal government have served to dull people to their tremendous need for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Traditionally known as a bastion for the Roman Catholic Church, many Spaniards have stopped going to church and no longer believe in God. The void left behind is being filled by secularism, materialism, gambling and the occult. Waves of immi-grants from North Africa are flooding Spain’s job mar-ket and contributing to rising social tensions. And yet, the Evangelical Church has experienced growth in recent decades. Historically missionary work has focused on urban areas, leaving many towns and villages largely unreached. There is a great need for missionaries who can creatively communicate an unchanging Gospel message while living in community with Spanish friends and neighbors.

Vision for a Hopeful Future

World Team has more than 30 years experience church planting in Spain. Currently teams are focused on the regions of Madrid, Salamanca, and Cáceres. Workers are involved in evangelism, discipleship and developing leadership in the national church. Recent years have seen a shift of focus from local ministry to national vision. World Team Spain is working in part-nership with other churches and organizations toward a shared goal of seeing church planting movements spreading out across Spain. This vision is beginning to unfold through three minis-try priorities: mentoring Spanish leadership to take the lead in several existing church plants; partnering with a Spanish couple to touch the lives of a growing Moroc-can immigrant population through practical mercy ministries; and laying the foundations for new church plants in some of Spain’s least-reached communities.

Our team is committed to a set of common values that guide our ministry: the Gospel, interdependence, prayer and worship, and training and releasing lead-ers. Spain Team firmly believes in teamwork and investing in the lives of young people who are willing to step out in faith to serve cross-culturally. Internships (7 weeks) and apprenticeships (9-24 months) comple-ment our long-term ministry and provide a unique op-portunity for personal spiritual development while serv-ing. Opportunities to reach out to Spaniards are numerous and our desire is to empower each person to maximize the use of his/her God-given gifts to serve in the king-dom. We are actively seeking like-minded servants to join us in forming authentic, God-seeking communities in Spain. Consider how God could use you in one of these specific areas of ministry as part of multicultural team:

� pioneer church planters; gifted and creative evangelists

� administrative/computer skills such as graphics and web design

� youth ministry workers with a view of training youth leaders

� outreach/discipleship/training

� networkers to promote partnership with other churches and organizations

� workers with Muslim (North African) immigrants

� English as a second language (in the context of church planting initiatives)

� teachers at an international Christian school

Spain Team has a passion to work in multicultural teams to reach the Spanish people with the Good News of Jesus Christ. We invite you to join us through prayer, encouragement, finances or as a short-term or career missionary. Contact World Team today learn more: mobilize@worldteam.org

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