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

Godliness makes a [person] commune with God, and gives [them] a partnership with God in his glorious designs; and so it prepares [them] 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.²

The evidence shows that this group of ‘nominal’ Christians also outweighs the number of religiously unaffiliated (atheist or agnostic) in most European countries, and the number of nominal Christians outstrips the number of people of all other religions combined (Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists etc).³ There are more nominal Christians in Europe than on any other continent on earth. Nominal Christians in Europe are increasingly seen, not only by concerned Christians from outside of Europe, but in many cases by their own concerned pastors, as ‘unreached people groups’ in need of hearing and understanding what Jesus has done for them. 

The Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation in Manilla, held a workshop titled, ‘Nominalism Today’. In it they divided nominal Christians into four categories;

• ethnic-religious identity
• second generation
• ritualistic
• syncretistic nominal.⁵  

Many of the churches throughout Europe have representatives from each category and have become in themselves, and sometimes by their own admission, a mission field. 

Former ECM cross-culture worker Simon Ball served a church plant in Ireland for ten years. 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 truly Irish… I know three guys whose wives divorced them when they became bible-believing Christians.” Being a Christian in Ireland is certainly part of their ethnic-religious identity, often identified by certain rites and rituals that are still practised by many today who wouldn’t even profess to believe in the Bible. 

Europe is also full of second-generation Christians, who were brought up in homes where going to church was part of life, but they haven’t truly experienced God’s grace for themselves. For many ritualistic Christians (not all) God is more like a deity who needs to be appeased rather than a personal Father God. 

ECM cross culture worker Richard W has encountered this in Italy. “If the Catholics were actually Catholic it would be easier to talk to them about Jesus! But as it is, most Catholics don’t live the Christian life, have no knowledge of the Bible, God talk is irrelevant  and they just don’t care. That is hard to overcome.” 

Defining the term ‘nominal’ Christian has been fraught with tension as it is a fine line between truly discerning someone’s heart, and judgmentalism. How do we identify a true Christian? 

Typically, the categories of believing, belonging and behaving have been used over the years to describe the various stages of faith. Believing usually refers to having ‘faith in’ the God of the Bible, but must be differentiated from having ‘faith that…’. Conviction versus conversion. People can be convinced that the gospel is true, and even enjoy good preaching, but deep down there is no real awareness of sin, no real change of heart, and no real change in their lives. Similarly nominal Christians can attend church regularly, and even serve in some capacity, but for all the wrong reasons. A faith community can be an attractive thing in our individualistic culture. Simon says Catholic mass in Ireland was often ritualistic and second-generation Catholics 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!” 

Finally, behaving encompasses outward works of holiness spurred by a deep spiritual inner life marked by prayer, repentance and spiritual growth. A Christian is often singled out by their behaviour in the public sphere, and often expected to be or become- through refinement by the Holy Spirit - near perfect. However nominal Christians tend to be very syncretistic or practical atheists in a sense. 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 does one persuade someone who thinks they are a Christian (because they sometimes go to church, or because of their family heritage), to become one?

Aaron Menikoff, in his article “Evangelising Nominal Christians’,⁶   has some helpful insights. He says that having a humble heart is critical at the outset, 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, especially if making the audacious claim that what they think about themselves is actually wrong. We must 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 should grow in holiness. A nominal Christian probably isn’t aware of this. He or she needs to be taught.  

Sharing the story of Jesus with a nominal Christian will look very different to sharing Jesus with a non-believer. They are likely to even tick all the boxes in the “Two Ways to Live” pamphlet, but fail to fully understand its implications. We must be willing to disciple them, and help them understand what the Bible says of Christ’s Lordship and the coming judgement. 

Reading the Bible one-to-one will usually show where someone’s heart is at. A study of 1 John will show that a genuine Christian has personal knowledge of Christ, is striving to live in holiness and has a real love for the body of Christ. However it is very important to keep in mind that…

“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 Solomon to know which is which.”

Friendship is often the most valuable tool God uses in Europe to share Christ. Simon says he had to ‘incarnate what it looked like to be a follower of Jesus in Ireland’. He also found it more helpful to refer to himself as a ‘follower of Jesus’ as opposed to a ‘Protestant’ or ‘Evangelical’, as they are often very loaded terms. He says “most churches don’t actually preach from the Bible so many Irish people don’t have any idea who Jesus really is, even though they may think they do.”

Jaume Llenas, General Secretary of the Spanish Evangelical Alliance and chairperson of the Lausanne Movement in Spain, contributed to a document entitled, “The Missing ‘Christians’: A global call”. He says that discipleship in Christ-following 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 be enough. He says both Jesus and Paul gave 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.”

It’s this kind of ministry that helps nominal Christians come to a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus, both inside and outside the church.

1. Pew Research Centre, “Being Christian in Western Europe”, May 2018.
2. https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/the-form-of-godliness-without-the-power/#flipbook/
3. Pew Research Centre, “Being Christian in Western Europe”, May 2018.
4. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/christian-mission-in-europe/
5. Kuzmic, “The Christian Mission in Europe” Vol 18, Issue 1, Themelios, The Gospel Coalition
6. Menikoff, “Evangelising Nominal Christians”, Perspective, 2018.
7. 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.