Today We Join With Operation World in Praying for

Netherlands

Kingdom of the Netherlands

Europe

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Geography

Area: 41,785 sq km
Northwestern Europe occupying the Rhine delta; over 20% is below sea level.
Population: 16,653,346    Annual Growth: 0.41%
Capital: Amsterdam (administrative capital); The Hague (seat of government)
Urbanites: 82.9%
HDI Rank: 6 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples

Peoples: 60 (20% unreached) All peoples
Unreached Peoples Prayer Card

Official language: Dutch (Nederlands), Frisian. Many also speak English    Languages: 38 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Non-religious

Religion		Pop %	Ann Gr
Christians	7,752,133	46.55	-0.8
Evangelicals	716,883	4.3	0.6
Non-religious	7,803,758	46.86

Challenges for Prayer

The Netherlands has two major claims to fame:
a) A glorious history as a Christian nation – its fight for religious freedom, ministry to refugees and Jews, and a record of extensive involvement in missions to other lands.
b) A decadent present as a secular society that has turned its back on its past. The number of Christians in this generation is dramatically declining, and today’s openly permissive society renounces its heritage. There are few restrictions on drugs, deviant lifestyles, prostitution, homosexuality and abortion. The Netherlands is the first country to legalize euthanasia and is a world leader in promoting post-Christian, secular and New Age worldviews and values. Pray for a revival that restores the nation spiritually. Pray that the government may also be influenced for good.
The tolerance for which the Dutch are famous is strained in Europe’s most crowded country as cultural and religious tensions multiply. It would appear that this vaunted tolerance was largely indifference. The once-liberal immigration policies are now tightening, religious expression and missionary work are often curtailed, and many Muslim communities fail to integrate into Dutch life and society and face increasing antipathy. Pray for this crisis to induce serious soul-searching that would cause many Dutch to rediscover their Christian roots and many believers to reach out with the good news to these groups.
     For an additional 8 Challenges for Prayer see Operation Worldbook, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.

More Information

The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of Netherlands.

Netherlands Antilles

Caribbean

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Geography

Area: 800 sq km
Two larger, barren islands, Curaçao and Bonaire off the coast of Venezuela, as well as three islands in the Leeward Islands 800 km to the northeast – St Eustatius, Saba and the Dutch half of St Martin (St Maarten). In 1986, Aruba withdrew from the Netherlands Antilles as an autonomous territory of the Netherlands.
Population: 200,726    Annual Growth: 1.49%
Capital: Willemstad
Urbanites: 93.2%

Peoples

Peoples: 15 (20% unreached) All peoples
Unreached Peoples Prayer Card

Official language: Dutch. Common languages Papiamento predominates, but use of English is widespread    Languages: 7 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Christian

Religion		Pop %	Ann Gr
Christians	183,825	91.58	1.2
Evangelicals	15,427	7.7	2.1

Challenges for Prayer

Freedom for the gospel has not resulted in a great harvest. Nominalism, superstition and growing marginal sects show how few understand the message of salvation. Catholics are the majority on all islands but St Eustatius, which is predominantly Protestant. Pray that the large majority who call themselves Christian might discover a dynamic relationship with the living Saviour.
Evangelical witness progresses slowly but steadily. A vital, growing Church on every island is a target for prayer. Pentecostal/charismatic (often single-congregation denominations) and Baptist groups are the fastest growing and most outreach-oriented.
     For an additional 2 Challenges for Prayer see Operation Worldbook, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.

More Information

The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of Netherlands Antilles.