Cero, is a church plant in Madrid, Spain that welcomes people with doubts and questions. Silvia, a skeptic, found solace in Cero, rediscovering her belief in God and experiencing love and acceptance, prompting her baptism.
Church plants can be a space where we can invite people to share their questions, doubts, and perspectives. A place to listen to their stories and experiences and show them respect and compassion. By doing this, we can build trust and friendship and demonstrate the love of Christ.
Jonathan is the pastor of Cero, a church plant he helped start in Madrid, Spain. He is also the associate director for the Global Mission Center for Secular and Post-Christian Mission. The goal of the center is to better understand secular and postmodern people and to help them live a real experience with God. They’ve discovered that people who may not feel comfortable in a traditional, established church setting are often open to joining a new, developing community that is friendly, authentic, and diverse.
“Today, Spain is the most secularized, it has the highest secularism ratio in Europe. Up to sixty percent of the people don’t believe in God, or at least don’t practice any religion at all.”
Silvia’s relationship with God had ups and downs from as far back as she could remember. Based on her childhood experience in a Christian school, she thought of God as strict. But she also questioned if there was more to Him, so she started searching.
“I can't remember what I typed, but one day I was Googling and I found Cero.”
“And I went there on my own and to my surprise I felt really comfortable. I enjoyed the experience and I started seeing God In a different light. I wanted to open that door again, to let Him come into my life again. I went from I don't believe in You to This cannot be a coincidence. He was knocking on my door again. I started looking at Him in a different way. I wanted to know Him better, to rediscover Him through Cero with no prejudices. That is something I have to thank my church Cero for.”
“She started a relationship with us and step by step she got baptized after two years.”
“In Cero I feel loved and that is something absolutely beautiful. To me that is the main difference. With God I used to feel judged, but now to me God is just love.”
Silvia is just one of the people whose life was transformed because of Cero. While this community continues to grow, they are building a new space to facilitate more people and expand their services to help relieve societal issues.
“We don’t want to just open on Sabbath. We want a center of influence that helps people with mental health.”
“A cafe where we are going to sell vegan and vegetarian food. The revenues are going to support mental health for people who can’t afford mental health therapies.”
“Especially in Europe and I would say in Spain’s case, it’s tripled the number of suicide cases in Spain after COVID.”
Please pray for the members of Cero as they serve with compassion and kindness. To learn more about church planting efforts such as Cero, visit GlobalMissionCenters.org. Thank you for your prayers and support of Global Mission!
Since filming this video, Jonathan and his family accepted a call to serve as missionaries in Switzerland as part of the 150 year anniversary of JN Andrews. to follow the JN Andrews family’s path to mission in Europe.
Notes:
Church planting is not only a way of expanding your church, but also of revitalizing it. It challenges existing members to grow in their faith and to share it with others. It also creates opportunities for leaders to emerge and to use their gifts for God's glory.
