Authentic faith is most clearly evidenced through a transformed life, bearing the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). But in 2 Timothy, Paul exhorts his protege to beware in the last days of people known by “having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Tim 3:5). Charles H. Spurgeon once wrote: 

Godliness makes a man commune with God, and gives him a partnership with God in his glorious designs; and so it prepares him to dwell with God for ever. Many who have the form of godliness are strangers to this power, and so are in religion worldly, in prayer mechanical, in public one thing and in private another. True godliness lies in spiritual power, and as they are without this, they are dead while they live.¹

There are now more nominal Christians in Europe than on any other continent on earth. At best, they attend church rarely, but exhibit few, if any, signs of authentic faith.

According to the Pew Research Centre, 46% of Western Europeans are now non-practicing Christians.²  The number of ‘nominal’ Christians far outweighs the number of church-going Christians in every European country except Italy. The evidence also shows that this group of ‘nominal’ Christians also outweighs the number of religiously unaffiliated (atheist or agnostic) in most European countries. In fact, the number of nominal Christians in Europe outstrips the number of people of all other religions combined (including Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists).  

Nominal Christians in Europe are increasingly seen, not only by concerned foreign mission agencies, but also their own pastors, as an ‘unreached group’ in need of evangelism.³  The Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation in Manila held a workshop titled, Nominalism Today, where they divided nominal Christians into four categories:

• ethnic-religious identity
• second generation or familial identity
• ritualistic identity, and
• syncretistic nominalism⁴   

Former ECM cross culture worker, Simon Ball served a church plant in Ireland for ten years. Because of the country’s strong Catholic background, he says many nominal Christians in Ireland fall into the ethnic-religious category. “Being a Catholic in Ireland is so inextricably linked with identity that to go to a different church is seen as treason; to turn away from Catholicism is to turn away from what it means to be Irish. I know three guys whose wives divorced them when they became Bible-believing Christians.” He says even after people convert, it can take years for them to start attending a non-Catholic church. Being a Christian in Ireland is part of their ethnic-religious identity; often identified by rites and rituals, but practised by people who don’t believe the Bible.  

Similarly, many nominal Christians have been brought up going to church with their parents, but having not experienced God’s grace for themselves. Simon says many in the second-generation category would go to church ‘because mum told me to.’ “I had a friend who said that before she became a Christian, her family would take the Eucharist and not even go back to their seats in mass, but charge right out the door to get a good seat at the pub!” 

Some nominal Christians in Europe are syncretistic in their practice of faith, conflating folk beliefs with biblical theology. ECM cross culture workers, Andrew and Kate Blackwell have observed this in Bulgaria, where St George’s day, a time to venerate the army, involves the sacrifice of a lamb without blemish. The blood, applied in the shape of a cross, is used to mark children and homes in order to ward off evil. Andrew and Kate comment how elements of the Passover can be clearly seen in these traditions, but taken out of the context of God’s covenant and imbued with superstition instead. People believe that they must do the right things in the hope that they will have good fortune, health and wealth. There seems to be limited understanding in the practice of Bulgarian Orthodox Christianity of Christ’s once for all sacrifice and the assurance of salvation that acceptance of this brings.

Many in the ritualistic category of nominalism are also found across the churches of Europe. The entry point of the Catholic ritual is the Mass, and meeting with God involves liturgy, ceremony, and various rites. For many (but crucially not all) God is more like a deity who needs to be appeased rather than a personal father. ECM cross culture worker Richard Wilson has encountered this in Italy: “if the Catholics were actually Catholic they’d be easier to evangelise! But, as it is, most Italian Catholics don’t live the Christian life, have no knowledge of the Bible, and find God talk irrelevant. They just don’t care and that is hard to overcome.” 

With churches throughout Europe having representatives from each of these categories, they have become in themselves a mission field. However, defining the term ‘nominal’ has been fraught with tension, as there is a fine line between discerning someone’s heart and judgmentalism. In the face of nominalism, how are we to identify true Christians? 

‘Believing’, ‘belonging’, and ‘behaving’ is one attempt that has been used to categorise the various facets of Biblical faith: 

Believing refers to a trust in the personal work of Christ for salvation as opposed to the superficial facts surrounding his existence. Nominal Christians can be convinced that the gospel is true, and even enjoy hearing it preached, but deep down there is no real awareness of sin, no real change of life or heart, and no true regeneration. 

Similarly, nominals can belong to a faith group, attend church regularly, and even serve in some capacity, but do so for all the wrong reasons. 

Finally, behaving encompasses outward works of holiness spurred by a deep spiritual inner life (marked by prayer, repentance and spiritual development), rather than from a legalistic rite or penitent obligation. The apostle said, ‘Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works’ (James 2:18b).

Christians can often be identified by their behaviour in the public sphere; not perfect, but ever refined by the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification. However, nominal Christians can often be very syncretistic, and tend towards atheism practically: Christian on Sunday and secularist during the week. Simon said, “when I asked Irish people what they believed, most said ‘I am Catholic, but I’m an atheist.’” 

So how do you convert a European who thinks they are a Christian?

In his article, Evangelising Nominal Christians, Aaron Menikoff offers some helpful insights.⁵  He says that having a humble heart from the outset is critical, as we read in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.” We must approach nominal Christians with deep humility, recognising our own failures, especially if we are to make the audacious claim that what they think is actually wrong. 

We must also understand the serious demands of the gospel: “Holiness is not the fount of Christianity, but it is the fruit. It’s not a requirement to become a Christian, but all Christians will grow in holiness. A nominal Christian probably isn’t aware of this. He or she needs to be taught.” 

Evangelising a nominal Christian will look very different to a non-believer. They may tick all the boxes in Two Ways to Live, but are unlikely to fully understand its implications. We must be willing to challenge them, persuade them of Christ’s Lordship and coming judgement. Reading the Bible one-to-one will usually show where their heart is at. A study of 1 John can show that a genuine Christian has personal knowledge of Christ, a striving to live in holiness and a real love for the body of Christ. 

However, Menikoff also counsels: “Some weaker brothers and sisters genuinely know the Lord but have simply never experienced solid discipleship. In other words there is a difference between a weak believer and an unbeliever. It can take the wisdom of Soloman to know which is which.”

Friendship evangelism is often the most valuable tool God uses in Europe. Jaume Llenas, chairman of the Lausanne Movement in Spain, contributed to a document entitled, The Missing ‘Christians’: A Global Call.⁶  He says discipleship in evangelical churches needs to be both intentional and relational in order to reach nominal Christians. He says it’s not enough to preach a good sermon and hope that will do the work. Both Jesus and Paul give us clear examples of ministering to a small group of people and discipling them intentionally so that they might internalise the Christian faith and pass it on.

It isn’t the church’s administration, or only preaching, but rather other forms of teaching that show what Christianity is like in daily life. If that were to change in our churches, we would see a phenomenal change. When people enter into intentional, relational discipleship, it’s like putting them in a greenhouse! They grow exponentially.

Simon says he first had to “incarnate what it looked like to be a follower of Jesus in Ireland” to those around him. He also found it more helpful to refer to himself as a ‘follower of Jesus’ to locals, rather than the loaded terms ‘Protestant’ or ‘Evangelical’. He says, “most churches don’t preach from the Bible so many Irish people don’t know who Jesus really is, even though they think they do.”

It’s this kind of ministry that helps nominal Christians discover the true Lord Jesus and come to a saving relationship with him.

1.   https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/the-form-of-godliness-without-the-power/#flipbook/

2.  Pew Research Centre, “Being Christian in Western Europe”, May 2018.

3.  https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/christian-mission-in-europe/

4. Kuzmic, “The Christian Mission in Europe” Vol 18, Issue 1, Themelios, The Gospel Coalition

5. Menikoff, “Evangelising Nominal Christians”, Perspective, 2018.

6.  Lausanne Global Consultation on Nominal Christianity, “The Missing Christians: The Global Call”, Rome 2018 statement.

Sam Boog is communications and media trained and has a particular passion for the gospel needs of Europe. She lives in western NSW with her husband and four daughters.

Please Pray

• For ECM workers as they seek to love and disciple nominal Christians, that many people would be brought from death to life. 
• That pastors in Europe would model whole of life discipleship, that their ministry would bear fruit both in and out of the pulpit.

This article appears in ECM News Spring 2024