April 28, 2003
Arlington missionaries find disbelief among Swiss
___By George Henson
___Staff Writer
___ARLINGTON--Singles from First Baptist Church of Arlington hope they did not see a foreshadowing of things to come in America during a recent mission trip to Zurich, Switzerland.
___They found the people there so content they felt no need for God in their lives.
___Working with the International Baptist Church in Zurich, the Texans took to the streets surveying residents about their religious affiliation, the needs of the community and what a church could do to be more relevant to their lives.
___More than 1,500 people were surveyed, and only five said they were Christians. The rest said they were either agnostic or atheist.
IRAQI refugees in Switzerland attentively watch the "Jesus" video during an outreach by singles from First Baptist Church of Arlington.
___When asked about the needs in their community, the answer was not crime, education, employment but instead, "nothing; we have no needs" for more than 90 percent of those questioned. Of those offering an answer other than "nothing," almost all said more human interaction was needed.
___Ricky Chelette, minister of singles and outreach at the Arlington church, first heard of the difficulty in reaching the Swiss a little more than two years ago when he traveled there to perform a wedding ceremony for a friend.
___When he returned home to Arlington, he was surprised to learn during a missions emphasis that there are no International Mission Board missionaries in Switzerland. The idea for a mission trip began to germinate.
___"Truthfully, though, I tried not to go there, because I knew when I said we were going to Switzerland for a mission trip it would be like saying we were going to Hawaii," Chelette recalled.
___But he couldn't shake the thought that the believers there could use some help, so he contacted Scott Corwin, pastor of International Baptist Church in Zurich. It was only later that Chelette discovered Corwin's parents were members of First Church in Arlington.
___He also later discovered Corwin was a former North Texas minister, serving at South Fort Worth Baptist Church as pastor and as singles minister at Lakeside Baptist Church in Dallas.
___The Arlington group of 21 people ranging from age 27 to 67 was the first group ever to come to the aid of the Swiss church.
___"Since this was the first time they had ever had a mission team come to help, a big part of our job was encouraging the local church in evangelism," Chelette said.
___To help the church find ways to reach out to the community, they took to the streets, questionnaires in hand. The results were not encouraging, however.
___The culture there is not one of interaction with anyone unknown, not even eye contact, Chelette said. "When you first talked to them, they were shocked we were even talking to them, but they were pretty responsive. Our being Americans and Texas Americans helped."
___The Texans were in turn shocked by the answers they heard, Chelette reported. "In the midst of this enchanting land of medieval streets, Gothic buildings, beautiful mountains and rich Christian history is a people who have lost their way, a generation who knows not God."
___While Switzerland played a key role in Protestant history and ornate churches abound, no religious passion lingers in the hearts of most Swiss, the team reported.
___"We discovered that not only did they not know God, they sincerely felt there was no need for him in their lives. They knew of God, as he was a part of their history, but they didn't see any reason to have a personal relationship with him," Chelette lamented. "To be in the midst of all that Protestant history and for there to be no spirit was pretty amazing."
___"Surveying the people on the street and hearing them say over and over: 'I have everything I need. I don't need God,' is truly heartbreaking," confirmed team member Krista Stevahn.
___"I asked one gentleman if he didn't realize that it was God who created the beautiful country of Switzerland. He thought I was crazy," added LaFaun Guillery.
___Particularly frightening was the thought that Americans could reach the same feeling of self-sufficiency--that God was unnecessary.
___"One could not help but realize that the United States could easily come to the same disdain for God and trust only in oneself," Guillery said.
___"I have seen where our nation is going, and I'm energized not to let it happen," Greg Fenn agreed.
___Surprisingly, the warmest reception to the gospel came from the people the United States went to war with on the day of their meeting--Iraqis.
___Switzerland recently relaxed its immigration laws, and people from many nations are coming to the affluent country in hopes of a better life. The team's plan was to minister to people at one of Zurich's several refugee centers--to bring them snacks and allow them to practice their English as a means of getting acquainted.
___"We called ahead and were told the center we could come to housed about 20 males, about 15 of whom were Iraqi," Chelette said. "When we arrived, they were gathered around a television watching CNN. It was the day the first bombs fell on Iraq."
___The men at the shelter were invited to watch the "Jesus" video two days later, and every one of the men came.
___"For some of them, it was the first time they had ever really heard about Jesus," Chelette said. After the video, the men were given New Testaments with the plan of salvation outlined, and "we thought it was over."
___The next day, all the men unexpectedly attended services at International Baptist Church. The group that day also included other refugees from Nigeria and South Africa.
___Later, the team prayerwalked the University of Zurich, a school of 30,000 with two professors and about 10 students who profess to be Christians.
___The Texans were astonished at the faith of Rachel, who has taken on the daunting task of trying to reach the campus for Christ.
___"My heart almost broke when we met Rachel at the University of Zurich," Kelley Cogdell said. "She has so much hope for reaching the lost and so much work to be done."
___
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