Destination Spain
Three years ago, Ian and Ruth Batey packed up their home and bundled their three children Samuel, Emma, and William onto an aeroplane. Their destination was Spain – or more specifically Seville, the fourth largest metropolitan area in the country.
Ian is the pastor of the small Church of the Ascension, where the Bateys are working to help Christian people in their area to stand firm and to reach out with the gospel. Ian writes home to share a little of what it’s like to be a part of God’s people in Spain.
Our local church in Seville
Our local church is a congregation of the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church (IERE), a denomination that is proudly Spanish in its origins and history. At the same time, the IERE relies on the strength of the worldwide Anglican Communion, in which it has been an extra-provincial diocese since 1980.
Our congregation in Seville regularly consists of about fifteen Spanish people and seven English-speaking immigrants, including our family of five. At the moment we are in a state of transition, gathering each Sunday with another (equally small) Anglican church in Seville while we look for new premises to meet in. These circumstances mean that our small group life is all the more important. Currently we have three Bible study and prayer groups, as well as a youth group, which all meet weekly.
Temptations and difficulties
Evangelical churches in Spain do not share in the social privileges enjoyed by the Roman Catholic church in this country. Nor are evangelical churches immune from the verdict now passed by many modern Spaniards on Christianity in general: ‘Outdated and irrelevant!’ Instead, modern social forces favour personal enjoyment, health, and wealth. Evangelical Christians are often seen as sectarian, unpatriotic party-poopers.
The temptation for many Spanish believers is to conform to the new Spain developing around them, with all the pleasures and opportunities it offers.
Openings and opportunities
On the other hand, it’s true to say that there is a real spiritual open-mindedness in Spanish society today. Also, religious freedom and tolerance has come a long way, meaning that there is sometimes in-principle support for evangelical Christianity. For example, there is a small but lively and active federation of evangelical churches in Spain that is supported by the government. Also, the state school our children attend has an evangelical option for religion classes.
The vast majority of Spaniards still say they believe in God. We have come across Spanish people for whom spiritual matters still have a place, and who sense the need for help from someone ‘greater than themselves’. We have met taxi drivers, shop owners, government officials, and others who have pictures of saints in prominent places in their workplace. We have also witnessed a positive curiosity about the Protestant and Anglican churches in Spain, and about our own personal devotion to Jesus Christ.