IMPATTO ITALIA | NEWS
April 2018
"In a country locked in by empty, traditional religion and secular superficiality, hopelessness grows. The gospel of grace is the ‘better story’ needed. Impatto is committed to see healthy churches planted, grow and multiply. We are encouraged by what God is doing. Below some brief news to give you a sense of some of this."
PALERMO
LifeHope is the new gospel-centered church-plant which focuses on reaching this generation in Palermo. We have begun to take our first steps forward and are already engaging with a number of contacts and especially praying for the university with its 55,000 students!
PISA
Over the past months the new, growing group in Pisa has been meeting up every two weeks and there have been multiple opportunities to engage with unbelievers. It is a joy to study Mark and enjoy a meal together. We are also encouraged by a strong core group.
AZZANO
La Quercia (The Oak) Evangelical Church (part of the Serenissima church family) is set to be launched during May with a vision to bring the gospel to this town close to Pordenone. The core team (three couples) is already encouraged as God is evidently moving in the lives of contacts.
SERENISSIMA
Non-believers are involved in almost every one of our 11 gospel communities (called LifeTeams). There are also two Bible studies in the refugee camps nearby. Additionally, we just inaugurated a mobile "Life Lab" for training refugee men in soldering and welding which is in high demand.
TRIESTE
God has faithfully been bringing transformation in TRE church and we are now seeing the effects. Three baptisms are planned, new people are enthusiastically attending and we are multiplying our missional groups and praying that one of these will soon become a church.
BERGAMO
The gospel continues to be preached in this needy area of northern Italy. Samuel and his family, originally from Ghana, have lived for many years in Italy and Samuel works as a bi-vocational pastor. The small gospel communities in Ponteranica and Bergamo (city) are growing.
GENOVA
A number of unbelievers are drawing closer to faith in God and He is transforming their lives. There are also zounds of opportunities to spontaneously share the gospel with many people as we distribute food and clothing to needy people in our immediate area.
BUDRIO
We are thankful for a couple that were recently saved and baptised, a contact had through their young daughter who attended our camps and activities. La Piazza church is also committed to serve the refugee minors in a nearby center, most of whom are Muslims.
IMOLA
We are seeing a time of spiritual growth and increase in the sense of community and are understanding better it's need to reach out into the neighborhoods and towns that are unreached in the area. Praying for great Gospel connecting points in these locations.
BOLOGNA
Despite many challenges we are grateful to God for His care for us. Nella (pastor Gian Luca’s wife) is undergoing treatment (for cancer) and we are all praying for this. We are currently strengthening the church leadership. We also rejoice as Alberto soon begins attending Bethlehem Seminary.
SALERNO
A great season of growth in both depth and number but we are left with the question, now what? Please pray as we seek to understand our next steps towards reaching our city. Pray as we seek to train and empower leaders, and begin to envision a church planting vision.
- Training - an intense and comprehensive training program continues to take shape
- Support - the sense of being ‘family’ is really growing and we are growing together. A culture of mentoring is helpfully developing.
- Resources - we are committed to continue providing a spectrum of resources for the churches. Events, ImpattoPrint literature and international partnerships are of great encouragement.
- Donne Impatto - an exciting project is taking shape to provide gospel-centred growth (resources, teaching, support) to the ladies in Impatto and beyond!
PARTNER WITH US!
Pray! - receive news to pray
Partner! - twin with a church or church-plant
Send! - team or yourself
Give! - support one of many gospel-projects
RELAZIONE 2017 | 29-02 AGO-SEPT 2017
Isola del Gran Sasso, Italy
We’ve just completed four great days here in a family retreat for Impatto. We’re in the Italian central area of Abruzzo in front of beautiful mountains and it has been a great time. Families from the Impatto community have come together just to chill out, hang out, and also to enjoy fellowship and to be challenged from God’s Word.
It’s really been an exciting experience just to see families come together: children that are playing together, parents playing with their children but also praying and playing with other children. To be able to open God’s Word, we’ve been looking to Habakkuk, and to be encouraged by the fact that even though sometimes it’s really hard, and in Italy it is really hard. And yet the knowledge that God is working and we can find true strength in Him.
We’re grateful for all the prayers and the support of those who are thinking of us in Italy and we ask you to continue praying for us that we might really see a community, people welded together with a passion for mission in Italy and see churches planted throughout this wonderful country.
