Introduction. History Demographics Culture Spiritual Climate Conclusion

Transcription

1 VALENCIA

2 Introduction Valencia is a beautiful city situated on the eastern coast of Spain and the western edge of the Mediterranean Sea. The city has a subtropical Mediterranean arid climate with very mild winters and long warm to hot summers. Valencia is an attractive city with rich history and is known internationally for its Las Fallas festival, paella, ceramics and the modern architecture of the City of Arts and Sciences. Valencia is also home to beautiful beaches and the Mediterranean s biggest port. The economy is obviously struggling as with many other cities in Spain. In the midst of this, the spiritual need is huge almost overwhelming! In September 2012, a team of Christian Associates (CA) staff based in Spain visited Valencia for three days to add to previous research and conversations with a view to paving the way for CA to send a church-planting team to this city. The team was made up of Amy Swacina, Kelly Crull, Chris Peterson, Justin Powell, and Al Dyck. We invite you to take a serious look at this report to see the needs and consider if God might be inviting you to help point people in Valencia to Jesus. This report is a summary of their findings and is categorized into five sections: History Demographics Culture Spiritual Climate Conclusion

3 History Valencia has been the home of many cultures over the course of its history. Although the Iberians and later the Greeks inhabited the area, the city itself was founded by the Romans in 138 BC, and eventually ruled by the Visigoths, Moors and Aragonese. In the last years of the Roman Empire in the 4th century, an early Christian community arose in response to the Martyrdom of San Vicente Martir. The church assumed power and replaced many of the Roman temples with religious buildings. In 714 AD Valencia was consumed by the Moorish expansion and became a flourishing part of the Moorish empire for five centuries, with an explosion in agriculture, sciences and the arts. In 1238, King James I of Aragon conquered Valencia. He founded the Kingdom of Valencia under a charter that permitted Jews, Muslims and Christians to live as citizens in the city. These three communities coexisted for a time, but lived in separate areas of the city, and eventually religious unrest led to riots and the disappearance of the Jewish quarter altogether. By the end of the 15th century, Valencia entered into its Golden Age as one of the most populous, dynamic, rich and cultural cities of Europe. Some of the most emblematic buildings were built during this period, including the Serranos Towers, the Lonja, the Miguelete, and the Chapel of the Kings of the Convent of Santo Domingo. Between 1499 and 1502, the University of Valencia

4 was founded. The first printing press in the Iberian Peninsula was located in Valencia, and the first Bible printed in a Romance language was printed in Following the discovery of the Americas, the European economy shifted towards the Atlantic, leaving Valencia in economic crisis. The Counter Reformation also contributed to the financial ruin of many nobility as the Jews and Muslims who made up much of the agricultural labor force were forced to leave. Valencia s decline hit bottom with the War of Spanish Succession ( ) that marked the end of the political and legal independence of the Kingdom of Valencia. Top civil officials were no longer elected, but appointed directly from Madrid. Fast forward to the Spanish Civil War, and Valencia aligned with leftist Republicans against General Franco s forces. Valencia was the last of the major Spanish cities to fall to the Nationalists in The dictatorship of Franco forbade political parties and began a harsh ideological and cultural repression led by the church. Teaching or speaking Valenciano, for example, was forbidden. After Franco s death in 1975, democracy led to the recovery of the Valenciano language and culture. Valencia resisted annexation to Catalunya and received autonomous status as the capital of the Comunitat Valenciana in Valencia has experienced a surge in its cultural development during the last thirty years. Cultural projects such as the converted riverbed, the City of Arts and Sciences, and the metro, as well as hosting the America s Cup and the Formula One Grand Prix have made Valencia one of Spain s most promising tourist destinations. The possibility of becoming a world city instead of remaining a provincial capital hangs in tension as Valencia has been hit hard by the current economic crisis and crippled by political corruption. Also, the investment in making Valencia a tourist attraction may have come at the expense of meeting the basic needs of the people who live there.

5 Demographics Valencia has a population of 800,000 people with as many as 1.7 to 2.3 million in the metropolitan area, which makes Valencia the third largest city in Spain. 86% of the population is Spanish. The population of foreigners rose from 3% in 2001 to a high of 15.1% in The number of foreigners is now in steady decline (13,9% in 2011) as the economy has forced them to look for work elsewhere. 40% of foreigners are from South America. 31% are from Europe. The Asian population (mostly from China and Pakistan) is the only group of foreigners that has shown significant growth recently a 11% increase from 2010 to The current unemployment rate in Valencia is 24,63%. 85% of the economy is generated from the services sector.

6 Culture Valencia is a city with an identity crisis. Just a few years ago, Valencia was thought to be the next up and coming international city in Spain, but due to the economic crisis, unemployment has skyrocketed and many international businesses have left, including the coveted America s Cup. Very few people speak or desire to learn English. As a result, our church plant will be bilingual with a strong emphasis on Spanish. While a couple of people we spoke with said Valencianos are considered uncultured, we found the Russafa neighborhood to be an exception. Many people referred to this neighborhood s vibrant art scene and emerging, postmodern culture. The city s culture is divided between the more traditional Valencianos that are concerned mostly with appearance, fútbol, partying, the Fallas festival, and tradional Spanish culture in general, and the younger generation that is pushing the boundaries and becoming more globally minded. A few Christians mentioned that if you are looking for community in Valencia, you don t go to church, you either follow a fútbol team or join a falla. The fallas are clubs that anyone can join for a fee. These clubs spend time throughout the year organizing social events to fund the construction of large, paper mache, sculptures that are then burned in March during a week long festival called Las Fallas. The University of Valencia is substantial in size and has a number of international students. (This is where the English-speaking side of our ministry will be expressed and developed.) The university was listed a couple of years ago as one of the four leading Spanish Universities. Valencia is a very easy city to navigate without a car. There are buses, metro, and the tram. Valencia is also a flat city with many bike trails, so lots of people use bicycles as their mode of transportation. One other interesting point about Valencia is that although it is located on the Mediterranean Sea, most people who live in Valencia don t think of it as a beach town.

7 Spiritual Climate A number of evangelical churches and denominations already exist in Valencia, though very traditional in their approach. Many of these churches date back at least 100 years, and the pastors are not foreign missionaries, but Spaniards from Valencia. Church leadership is predominantly male led with distinct and maybe distorted views of female leadership. Besides the Catholic presence in Valencia, the evangelical church can be divided mainly into Baptist (mainly Spanish) and Pentecostal (mainly Hispanic) roots. These churches are strongly networked, but within smaller groups they don t have much overlap or unity, and it seems the network is mainly for organizational purposes. A select few meet Wednesday mornings for prayer and fellowship. There is a saying, Catalans like to save their money, and Valencians like to spend it. Valencians have an obsessive pursuit of looking good in front of others, dressing well, and having the right possessions. Out of the four largest cities in Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville), Valencia has been hit the hardest by the current economic crise with the fastest growing unemployment rate in Spain. The crisis has created an open door for the gospel as many Valencians are having a wake up call in their state of need. While faith is considered personal and not something people casually talk about, Valencians are spiritually-seeking. They re just looking in all the wrong places. It is becoming more common to meet people who have left the church but who are still seeking Jesus. They no longer attend church services but still hang out and do life with their Christian friends. They desire to grow in community with those they love, but refuse to put evangelism before friendship. These people are earnestly looking for a community to call home. A place where life and their pursuit of Christ is woven together. While there are ministries that have mission as their focus, for example, the six churches that help the poor through Misión Urbana, there are no present missional communities that are self sustaining and not regarded merely as a ministry. As one pastor said, We have lots of churches but none that are effectively reaching the local emerging culture. The people we met all welcomed the idea of planting a new church to reach their city using a missional approach.

8 Conclusion Christian Associates in Spain CA s history in Spain started with planting The International Church of Barcelona in the 1990s and currently has a team in Barcelona planting a new missional church. In the last decade, CA has planted three churches in Madrid: Mountainview International Church an English Speaking church with a Spanish flavor, Oasis Madrid an English speaking international church, and most recently Decoupage a Spanish speaking church in Madrid s Malasaña neighborhood. We believe God is calling us to be a part of extending His kingdom in Valencia. Our strategy will include a non-traditional approach with a focus on young people. We envision an innovative expression of church that incorporates fresh artistic expressions, authentic relationships, and an environment of grace. The community will consist of a network of multiplying missional community groups. The community will also be bilingual in English and Spanish with a strong emphasis on Spanish. The university is significant to our bilingual approach as we mobilize English-speaking university students to reach out to their Spanish friends. We will center our missional efforts in the Russafa neighborhood as it is considered young, postmodern, and artsy. We cannot overemphasize the importance of building solid relationships with the existing churches and ministries as well as coming alongside them to serve. Our desire is that all of the CA church plants in Spain would help lay this foundation. We suggest taking several teams to Valencia in 2013 to serve with individuals, ministries, and organizations already at work there, perhaps even helping to organize a Serve The City event. We would like to see a churchplanting team embedding in the city by January Is God calling you to be a part of planting a church in Valencia? Have you been wondering how to put the Spanish you ve learned to good use? Consider joining us. Take the first step by joining an intro to CA Skype call. christianassociates.org/contact