Joel & Dennise Smith

Mission Agency: Evangelical Free Church of America International Mission
Country: Belgium (Europe)
Focus of Ministry: Church-planting in the French-speaking part of Belgium

In the heart of western Europe, Belgium is a spiritually needy, often overlooked mission field. Though over 80% of the population would label themselves "Christian", this is more of a cultural description than a spiritual one. A more accurate estimate is that less than 1/2 of one percent of the people have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

We were each greatly touched as college students by the huge spiritual vacuum in Europe. We felt a clear call from the Lord to be missionaries there, and we have been serving in Belgium for the past twenty years. Over these years, we've come to understand the great struggle it is for Belgian believers to be a tiny minority serving in small churches with few resources. We've seen how having so few godly, spiritually mature models has effected the impact and witness of believers in their culture. Yet we know that the church is God's idea to reach a lost world, and so our heart’s desire is to see healthy churches planted in Belgium. This past term, we were privileged to work in Brussels with a church plant called the Lighthouse. Most of our members are in their late 20's /early 30's, and these last few years we were able to accompany many of these young adults through important life stages as well as crucial spiritual stages (idealism, disillusionment, conflict resolution) on to a more stable and mature faith. It has been our joy to see a number come through hard times still standing firm in the Lord. We have even seen how our own past struggles in Belgium have given us credibility with them! God doesn’t waste anything!

We long to return next summer (2006), and see the Lighthouse grow to the place where we have worked ourselves out of a job. It has been a great encouragement to see God's faithfulness to build His church in spite of sometimes overwhelming odds. To Him be all the glory!

Contact Info:
 3802 Vine Circle, Rocklin CA 95765
jlsmith@efcaim.org