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GEOGRAPHY

Area 41,293 sq.km. Mountainous land; 26% agriculturally unproductive. The Swiss Alps are one of the greatest tourist attractions in the world.

Capital Bern (admin) 327,000. Lausanne (judicial) 289,000. Other major cities: Zürich 984,000; Basel 631,000; Geneva 515,000. Urbanites 68%.

PEOPLES

Indigenous 78%. Swiss German 4 mill.; Romande French 1.2m; Italian 250,000; Rheto-Roman 50,000; Roma (Gypsy) 23,000.

Foreign residents 22%. Italian 360,000; former Yugoslav and Albanian 350,000; Portuguese 130,000; German/Austrian 120,000; Spanish 105,000; Turk/Kurd 80,000; French 54,000; Tamil 40,000; Other Asian (Chinese, Vietnamese, etc.) 45,000.

Literacy 99%. Official languages German, French, Italian, Rheto-Roman. Languages with Scriptures 4Bi 3NT 3por 1w.i.p.

ECONOMY

A strong and wealthy industrial state. Both tourism and banking are important foreign exchange earners. Recovering from a recession in the 1990s. Surrounded by the EU, but hitherto has rejected joining it. Living costs are high. HDI 0.914; 12^th/174. Public debt 36% of GNP. Income/person $43,060 (137% of USA) – one of the world's highest.

POLITICS

Confederation founded in 1291 and federal state in 1848. Federal democratic government with the constituent 20 cantons and 6 half-cantons retaining a high degree of autonomy. A strong policy of non-involvement in world politics and strict neutrality – so is not even a member of the UN despite hosting the offices of many UN and other international bodies.

RELIGION

The federal constitution guarantees religious freedom, but relationships between cantonal governments and the churches are decided locally. The post-Reformation confrontations between Catholics and Protestants helped determine the majority religion of each canton.

Missionaries from Switzerland
P,I,A 1,481 in 90 agencies to 113 countries: Brazil 55, France 50, Burkina Faso 50, Cameroon 48, Guinea 42, Peru 39, Bolivia 32, Japan 26, Kenya 24, Senegal 23, Chad 22.

Missionaries to Switzerland
P,I,A 556 in 44 agencies from over 30 countries: USA 70, Germany 26, UK 41, Korea 21. C 1,200. M 200.

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Answers to Prayer

1 The development of a trans-denominational vision for saturation church planting in the nation, of which FocuSuisse is a part.

2 A strong, growing prayer movement which is raising expectancy for revival – 3 national 40-day fasts have been held, and the 24-7 prayer movement is gaining momentum among young people.

3 Continued Swiss commitment to world evangelization despite the relatively small community of Evangelicals.

Challenges for Prayer

1 The great reformers, Calvin and Zwingli, expounded the truths of Scripture in this land, but few today have any interest or understanding of what real Christianity is. Wealth, comfort, indifference and a vague religiosity have become the norm. The socio-politico upheavals towards the end of the 20^th Century stirred an uncertainty and identity crisis in the hearts of many, but it is the occult and eastern religions that the younger generation are exploring. Many baptised as children no longer retain any church link, and enrolled membership of Protestants and Catholics has halved in 30 years. Pray that the Swiss may find the true way in Jesus Christ, and that the nation might be stirred again by the Holy Spirit.

2 The falling away of the Swiss from the churches is gaining momentum. Lack of clergy in the Catholic Church and widespread espousal of liberal and neo-orthodox ideas in many of the Cantonal Reformed Churches have sapped the spirituality of many congregations. This is only partially offset by the growth of Pentecostal, charismatic and evangelical Free churches. Pray that:

a) Prayerful men and women of God in both the leadership and the congregations may be used to bring revival to the whole Swiss nation.

b) There may be a deeper level of unity in prayer and vision among evangelical leaders across the denominations. The Evangelical Alliance and Federation of Free Churches have been cooperating well since 2000.

c) Congregational outreach may increase through personal evangelism, home Bible studies and cell/house church planting. Pray that true believers in both the State and Free Churches may be more effectively motivated and activated for outreach.

3 Renewed vision is being generated.

a) The Swiss Evangelical Alliance, Free Churches and other agencies are working on a renewed vision for the evangelization of Switzerland. Research in 1998 revealed many hundreds of towns and villages without a resident evangelical congregation. Pray for the doubling of the number of congregations. In 1998 there were 1,078 Reformed parishes and 1,186 Free churches, and over the period 1997-1999 60 new churches were planted and 10 closed.

b) Denominational goals. The Fellowship of Pentecostal Free Churches aimed to double the number of Francophone congregations in the 1990s. The national Federation of Free Evangelical Churches set a similar goal for the country and is growing at 6% a year. The International Christian Fellowship has grown through multiplying cell churches. Pray for the full achievement of these goals in the coming decade 2000 -2010.

c) There is a nation-wide initiative of outreach using Alpha courses. Pray for this and other innovative methods of reaching the unchurched, and for open hearts and changed lives.

4 In the Catholic cantons, predominantly in the south and centre of the country, the small evangelical witness is growing; centuries-old prejudices and religious polarizations are breaking down. Pray that many may find a personal relationship with Jesus and come to assurance of salvation, and that a living fellowship of believers may come into being in every community.

5 Young people are being lost to the churches, which has serious implications for the future. Pray for:

a) Outreach through agencies such as CCCI, OM, YWAM, BESJ (Jungschar) and the Cevi.

b) Specific ministries to young people:

i) SU in schools and with a good camp ministry.

ii) CEF to children; they have an international training centre at Kilchzimmer.

iii) IFES with 50 Francophone groups (GBU) and many German-speaking (VBG). For most students, life has no meaning; suicides are many and drug abuse too common.

c) The ICF Church in Zürich has grown, triggering a wave of new youth congregations being launched – pray for the spiritual development of this movement.

6 Bible training is provided by a number of institutions. From them, graduates have gone out for Christian service all over the world. Remember the:

a) German-speaking seminaries: STH Basel, TDS Aarau, TSC St. Chrischona, TS Bienenberg, BS Beatenberg and Institut für Gemeindebau und Weltmission (IGW).

b) French-speaking Bible schools: Emmaus, Institut Biblique de Genève, IBETO (Pentecostal) and YWAM.

Pray that these may retain their spiritual cutting edge, and become a means of blessing and revival in Switzerland. The number of students is in sharp decline in all but IGW. Pray that these institutions might be both flexible and relevant for today's generation and that many might be called and equipped for service.

7 The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Evangelischer Missionen (AEM) was formed in 1972 to strengthen and coordinate missionary vision and outreach – especially in the Free Churches. There are 45 member agencies representing over 1,000 missionaries. The Fédération des Missions Evangéliques Francophones (FMEF) has the same vision for the French-speaking Protestant churches in Switzerland and France. The Communauté de Travail des Eglises Chrétiennes de Suisse links together eight denominational missions. Pray for a greater awareness and sense of responsbility in Swiss churches for world evangelization, and support of the commendably large missionary force.

8 Peoples and areas where the evangelical witness is small:

a) Cantons. The German-speaking cantons of Luzern, Zug, Schwyz and Uri, the largely Francophone Valais and Fribourg and the Italian-speaking Ticino are culturally Catholic with few evangelical groups.

b) The 30 or more foreign communities. Switzerland has the highest proportion of foreign residents of any major state in Europe. The major cities are becoming internationalized – Geneva is 35% non-Swiss. There are a number of agencies and churches committed to ministry to them – most are linked to the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Ausländermission of the AEM. There are now evangelical congregations, or groups within multicultural churches, among 28 ethnic groups – Italian (16 congregations), Spanish (11), Croat (10), Tamil (9), Hungarian (9), Yugoslav (9), Vietnamese (8), Turkish (6), etc.

9 Local radio and TV stations are well used by several Swiss Christian agencies, and have great potential for reaching the population. The Christian broadcast Fenster zum Sonntag has an audience of nearly 70,000 weekly. Pray for more openness on national radio and television. TWR broadcasts in German, French and Italian through the Astra satellite, and from Albania in German.

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