Data and graph: “Relatório 2023 – Igreja Evangélica em Portugal: vista de perto” / Portuguese Evangelical Alliance.
Over 73% of people who have professed a conversion to the Christian faith in evangelical churches since 2020 have a Portuguese nationality. 4 in 10 come from evangelical families and one third belong to the Generation Z (born after 1997), many others convert from a Roman Catholic background.
Portugal has historic links with other parts of the world, and this is also reflected in the leadership of evangelical churches. 38% of evangelical pastors were born in Brazil, and another 2% come from Portuguese-speaking Africa.
Data and graph: “Relatório 2023 – Igreja Evangélica em Portugal: vista de perto” / Portuguese Evangelical Alliance.
In 47% of the churches, over half of the attendants are from another national background, whereas in 30% of the congregations over three quarters are Portuguese.
The report shows that “most pastors affirm that there are no barriers to deep unity and cooperation among the different nationalities present in their local church”.
Despite de positive figures, the AEP also found less encouraging realities for evangelical churches.
No new churches were started since 2020 in 6 of the 10 largest municipalities of Portugal.
In the interior regions, like Portalegre (east), six in ten churches have less than 25 people, and over 70% have seen no new baptisms since 2020.
Evangelical Christians in Portugal now represent 2.1% of the population, according to the official census of the year 2021.
The same source says Roman Catholics are 80% of the population (although with a deline of a 8% of its membership since 2011), and the “non-religious” double their growth from 7% to 14%.
The Portuguese Evangelical Alliance celebrated 100 years of existence in 2021.
Published in: Evangelical Focus – europe
– Portugal: 6 in 10 evangelical churches plan to plant new congregations
Source link : https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/22775/6-in-10-evangelical-churches-in-portugal-plan-to-plant-new-congregations
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Publish date : 2023-07-12 07:00:00
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