When many churches were shifting to online meetings because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the OM team in Belgium decided to also step into the digital world.
According to a study published by PEW Research Centre in 2018, 70 per cent of people in Belgium say there’s no God. Most evangelical churches in the country don’t grow beyond 50 members, and half of self-identifying evangelical Belgians don’t attend church regularly. While French-speaking churches are often buoyed by French-speaking immigrants, Flemish-speaking churches have historically found it more difficult to grow. That is why the OM team in Belgium has focused much of its work on the least-reached region of Flanders.
Sowing the gospel widely in Flanders
According to Martin Turner, the leader of OM’s work in Belgium, who often cohosts the videos, negative feedback they receive about the videos is normally about how it’s impossible to be both rational and a Christian. But for him, that’s one of the main motivations for the videos. Many Belgians have been influenced by atheist perspectives on faith; when they hear Christianity explained, it’s through the critical lens of atheism. Often, the descriptions they hear about the Bible, for example, aren’t accurate.
Part of the purpose of OM’s Flemish-language videos is to “give a non-believer…from a secularist background, who’s never read the Bible” an accurate picture of following Jesus, says Martin; and that includes loving God with our minds.
Instead of structuring the videos like a typical church service, with worship songs and preaching, the videos are structured more like a television show, says Martin. While a video will always include some kind of prayer, it might also have art, music or recaps of a particular book of the Bible. And in the first 30 seconds of each video, the on-screen host will mention that they’re presenting from the point-of-view of a “rational Christian.”
Although the viewership of the videos started growing organically, Martin and the team realised that they weren’t reaching the audience they wanted. YouTube and other social media algorithms prompt users with more videos that are similar to the ones they’ve already watched, but the hope was that viewers who wouldn’t normally watch anything about Christianity would find their videos. So, they began advertising. Now, the videos get roughly 10,000-15,000 views a week, and between 2-4 per cent of people in Flanders have viewed at least one. More encouragingly, half of their viewers are returning users.
OM has also worked with outside partners to develop graphic novel adaptations of different books of the Bible in Flemish and French. There isn’t a good existing Flemish Bible translation, as the only one can seem archaic and strangely worded to modern Flemish readers, so the OM team is also experimenting with AI translation software to see if it can produce a more readable version.
Looking ahead to vibrant communities
What does Flanders and the country of Belgium need? According to Martin, it’s a good Bible in Flemish, evangelism that reaches people who’ve never heard an accurate portrayal of the gospel, deep relationships with Belgians and a church that’s Kingdom-minded. Centring their work on these core needs, the OM team continues to seek out new opportunities for sharing the love of Jesus, especially with Flemish people.
“There’s going to come a point in Belgium when we say, ‘We’ve done it.’ When Belgium is 10 per cent Jesus followers, we’re going to have to stop saying it’s least reached,” says Martin. “But we’re not there yet.”
Please pray for views of the videos to continue to rise, both as a result of advertising and because viewers are telling other people to watch. Pray for Martin and his team as they continue to create engaging content. Pray for the development of a modern Flemish Bible.