About us9th Hour is based in Brussels, Belgium and is focused on bringing a culture shift to Europe. We believe that the only thing that will revive Europe is through an encounter with Jesus and by bringing up a new wave of young people who are passionate and excited about the things of God. We are doing this by establishing a training base focused on returning to Christian values that have long since been lost.
Why Europe?
Though many Europeans still say they consider themselves to be Christians, far fewer actually attend services. Why is this? It is because the young people have developed a pattern of "believing without belonging." Their belief in a God is not genuine. This leaves Europe in a very precarious position. One need only see the overwhelming number of grey heads in the church pews to know that attendance at Churches will keep falling if something doesn’t change dramatically.
Throughout the European continent, Islam is the only religion growing in the number of adherents. According to the Center for the Study on Global Christianity, at the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the decline in Christian influence "is most evident in France, Sweden and the Netherlands, where church attendance is less than ten percent in some areas."
The most documented evidence of Europe's secularization comes in moral terms. As USA Today reports, the number of marriages is dropping throughout much of Europe. "There is virtually no social stigma for unmarried parents," the paper explains. "More than half of the children in Sweden and Norway are born to unmarried mothers, according to the European Union." In other nations, the statistics are similar.
We want to see a culture changed and the only way to do that is to begin changing the patterns of the youth. We feel that it is important to begin this change in Europe, as these young people do not have the luxury of amazing mega churches and dynamic youth groups to choose from. Most churches in their areas are dead and the music they listen to are all translated songs decades old. They view church as something dead and God as someone far away who has no relevance in their every day life.
We also feel the need for examples of young, established married couples with young children to teach by example how to be a wife/mother and husband/father. That is significantly lacking in a world where divorce and immorality produce jaded young people with no grasp on how to be in a Godly relationship.
FACT: Belgium is only 3.9% evangelical Christian
FACT: Operation World considers Belgium to be one of Europe’s spiritually neediest nations.
FACT: Brussels is the capital of the European Union
Why Brussels?
Brussels is known as the heart of Europe and we feel the Lord has given us a mandate to change Europe from the heart out. Even though there are other organs vital to the body, if the heart isn't alive and pumping, then all the other organs will die. We want to start by transforming the lives of the youth in Europe, because they are truly an unreached people group. Each member of our team feels a different focus geographical from the Lord and we feel that by meeting at the heart, the paths will open up all over Europe and beyond.
Life transformation is the only thing that is going to save this generation and bring Europe back into full relationship with God and that is our focus.
Why 9th Hour?
Throughout the New Testament, Jesus did significant things at the 3rd, 6th and 9th hours of the day. Specifically the 9th hour was known as the hour of prayer.
Most significantly:
• The 9th hour was the time in which Jesus gave His life as the ultimate sacrifice and the veil in the Holiest of Holies was literally torn so that now we may have free access to God. (Matt 15:33-38)
• Signs and Wonders happened at the 9th Hour. Matthew 14.
• God revealed Himself. (Acts 10:30-33)