About Us
Ciao! Our names are Matt and Ashley Walton. We met on a summer project with Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC) in 2007. We started dating and two years later were married. We are currently preparing to head to Bologna, Italy this fall for 1-2 years on STINT (short-term international internship) with CCC. We had the opportunity to go on a summer project in 2009 to Bologna for 5 weeks. We developed a heart for the people there and realized the need for Jesus on the University. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to go back and for a longer term to reach the city for Christ. We hope this website is a way to raise awareness of the need for spiritual awakening in Italy as well as update our friends and supporters on the ministry they are apart of. Please e-mail us with any questions or prayer requests. We would love to pray for you!
Contact us:
Matt.Walton@uscm.org
Ashley.Walton@uscm.org
Italy has one of the worst economies in the EU. Every time a new president is elected, the government completely changes. That has happened 62 times since World War II. Corruption is so rampant that in a recent study on the "happiest" countries in the world, Italy ranked last. It's hard to feel happy when you have to be skeptical of everyone's motives toward you (including your government's).The spiritual climate is just as bleak.
Some statistics:* Population of Italy: 57,592,000
* Percentage of Protestants: 0.82%
* Percentage of atheists: 20%
* Only 5% of Catholics practice their faith.
* There are 616 official religions in Italy
* Islam is the second religion in Italy. Jehovah's Witnesses are as numerous as all Evangelicals put together.
* Number of missionaries: 464 (1:124,000)
* Number of full-time magicians: 100,000 (1:575)
* Only 10% of expatriate missionaries on average return for a second term.
* Out of the 33,000 cities in Italy, 31,000 have absolutely no evangelical witness.
* In our region of Italy, there are 4.4 million people and only 400 evangelical Christians. That's one believer for every 10,000 people.So that is a part of our current reality. But also a part are the beautiful people of this country. They are warm and generous and gracious beyond words. Their enthusiasm for anything is contagious because of the passion with which they express it (so imagine if that passion was Jesus!). There is an incredible hopelessness that can be evident among Italians--a lack of any belief that the economic and moral environment of the country could ever change. That their own situation could ever change.
What a heritage the Italians have in the Faith! Paul himself preached the gospel on this very soil. And was imprisoned here too. For every warrior and martyr who has been here and spoken in the name of Jesus, there are just as many countless stories of the war waged over the same. It is a land almost defined by its spiritual conflicts. The conflicts are still waged today.
We mentioned some facts about Italy as a whole, but would like to give you more specific statistics for the city we'll be living in, Bologna.
Bologna is home to the oldest university in Western Europe, University of Bologna, Alma Mater Studiorum
The city has a population of 500,000 with the University's 100,000 student population
Before 4 years ago there hadn't been an organized Christian ministry on the campus in over 20 years
We will be partnering with the few local evangelical churches in the city as well as TEAM (church planting organization) and Youth For Christ. So it is very much a joint effort to reach the whole city for His name.
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Moving to Italy!by Eirenikon1,034 views
I'd like to echo the comment below - saying you couldn't find a church with more than 40 members is at best disingenuous: walk into almost any Bologna church during any mass on a Sunday and it will be more than half full, often completely full even at 10pm! So what did you mean? "Evangelist" church? Or maybe you just didn't try very hard...
To "find a believer... is like trying to find a needle in a haystack"?! See above.
pie314infinity 5 days ago
Three notes: 1-Telling the biggest church in Bologna has 40 members is LYING, Bologna is full of christians.
2-Are you really wondering why there aren't many evangelical churches in a city that was part of the papal state until XIX sec?
3- there's a reason if words like "faith" or "spirituaity" were invented. Stop abusing the word "Jesus", please.
And btw, i've been living in Bologna for 21 years and i've never heard a mandolin. You shold make a bigger effort to know places before you judge them
fedeolly 3 weeks ago
have either of you voured a catholic church or cathedral, and what did you think
ned262626 2 months ago
i'll be praying for you guys, keep us updated:D
samdeo13 8 months ago