Encountering Italians with love

Italy is known as a popular holiday destination, but beyond the beautiful lakes and beaches, the grand monuments and the delicious food, many Italians live in spiritual darkness. The OM team in Italy wants to change that.

Christianity in Italy has been shaped by Catholicism. “The Catholic Church is still a very important institution and continues to shape Italians’ understanding of what ‘Christian’ means,” explains Christine, an OM in Italy team member. “Although religious freedom has existed since 1984, Italians still automatically identify as Catholic. It’s a legacy, a tradition that has always been followed.” This can make it difficult to talk with Italians about having a personal relationship with Jesus. The small evangelical church in Italy makes up about 1.1 per cent of the population*.

OM in Italy operates in Rome, Pisa and Asti. Through art, youth events, prayer, visits to nursing homes, outreach to women in the sex industry and supporting local churches, the team aims to help more Italians know Jesus. “Italy is a warm-hearted culture based on relationships,” says Christine, an OM worker from the Netherlands. “We build trusting relationships and want to encourage local churches to adopt an evangelistic mindset and equip them with tools to reach those around them.” This work is done in partnership with other organisations and short-term ministry teams.

Long-lasting friendships

According to Christine, building relationships often takes a very long time, as “Italians are very friendly, but it can take years before they truly open up. That’s why it’s important to be faithful and consistent, and to allow people to observe your life.” Her OM colleague Gabriele has experienced this firsthand. He and Claudio have known each other for years through a mutual friend from Gabriele’s church.

“Claudio was always curious and engaged compassionately with our church, and he showed appreciation for our faith,” Gabriele shares. “But he never expressed a desire to personally deepen his faith.” The friendship continued, even though Gabriele often didn’t know if, or when, he should talk more about Jesus. “But my love for Claudio and the desire for him to know Jesus gave me the courage to make a concrete suggestion,” he says.

A birthday party for a mutual friend provided the right setting. In a relaxed and familiar atmosphere, Gabriele asked Claudio and his friend a question: “What do you think about starting to read the Bible together?” To his great surprise and joy, both sincerely and enthusiastically agreed. Now they read the Bible together, and Gabriele hopes the Holy Spirit will speak to them through it.

For many Italians, reading the Bible on their own is a daunting challenge. “Here in Italy, you don’t just open the Bible — reading it is almost revolutionary,” Christine confirms. “In some Catholic churches, it was even said that you need a priest to read the Bible, someone who has studied it and can explain everything.”

Missions is so much more

While older generations are still strongly oriented toward the Catholic Church, the younger generation is increasingly distancing itself from it. “Many say: 'I’ve seen Christianity and I don’t like it. So I’m looking for something else,'” Christine explains. As a result, younger people are turning toward atheism or seeking fulfilment in lucky charms, horoscopes or occult practices.

OM wants to share God’s love with the younger generation through camps and retreats. “In a world that teaches young people they have to earn everything — even love, appreciation and acceptance — we want to show them that the greatest gift, salvation in Jesus, is completely free,” explains OM team member Patricia, describing the goal of these retreats. “It’s incredible to see how this simple message of grace can change lives and break through legalism.”

After a youth missions event in June 2025, a short-term ministry team from Germany visited the OM team in Asti to support their ongoing ministry efforts. The team went on prayer walks, connected with people, visited nursing homes and helped garden on a property where OM plans to build a training centre with a discipleship school.

“I learnt that missions is so much more than just going out on the street, telling people about Jesus, and maybe going to a church service to preach,” says participant Lea. “We talked about Jesus at the market, but we also did gardening. We worked practically, but we also went into nursing homes to share Jesus’ love there. So, missions is much more than just telling people about Jesus. It’s about serving them and meeting them with your heart — we show them love so that through us they can see God’s love.”

The visits to nursing homes were particularly impactful on both the short-term ministry participants and the residents. Seniors in the home were delighted by the visits, attentively followed the skits and songs, and were happy to connect with the Germans with the help of translators.

Pray for the ongoing conversations in Italy with young and old alike. Pray that many more people would hear about God’s love for them and respond by putting their faith in Him.

* https://operationworld.org/locations/italy/