Evangelical growth is both a source of encouragement and a serious challenge.
Church unity must remain a priority in prayer, even as it was for Jesus in John 17. Unity is often difficult in contexts where evangelicals are a smaller minority, such as in Portugal. The large number of small congregations and denominations creates the risk of making relationships among evangelicals fragmented. Nearly half of those attending evangelical churches are foreigners (especially Brazilians), yet this diversity has the potential be a powerful testimony of unity in Christ. Most pastors state that there are no major barriers to unity in their local congregation.
- Pray, as Jesus did, that His disciples might be one!
- Pray for church planting efforts in Portugal. Many congregations closed down, and many others have appeared. Nearly half of current evangelical congegrations were started since 2001, and the vision to grow and plant more churches is widespread. Several groups adopted cell-church models but face the difficulty that, for many Portuguese, a physical building is what communicates religious legitimacy.
- Pray for continued church growth, for affordable and appropriate meeting places and for leaders for these future churches. While there is reason to be encouraged, evangelical growth is quite uneven across the country.