Last weekend, on February 28-March 2, Christian political leaders and prayer movement leaders from various areas of Europe gathered to consider the future of the the Prayer Breakfast movement in Europe. This was the first gathering hosted by Prince Charles-Louis and Princesse Clotilde de Merode in their newly-purchased Chateau of Rixensart. Carlton Deal acted as facilitator for the discussions.

The attendees included Alojz Peterle, an MEP for Slovenia, and the convener of the European Prayer Breakfast, as well as Jean-Luc Treschel, a prominent European evangelist. Topics included “The Person and Principles of Jesus,” “Europe’s Christian Roots” and “Jesus-Centered Movements in Europe Today,” among others, with presentations by various members followed by discussion and prayer. (You can see some of our attendees in front of the castle in the photo above.)

The group ended by reviewing the status of every parliament in Europe: whether or not there is an annual prayer breakfast or prayer group taking place within the government bodies. They listed all of the contacts for known groups, and compiled possible contacts in parliaments lacking either a prayer group or prayer breakfast. The goal is to have a prayer group for parliamentarians that is both interdemominational and inter-party in each country, that could eventually host an annual prayer event around the person and principles of Jesus. Please pray for this group as we follow up on these discussions and make contact with existing and potential prayer leaders around the continent.

One discussion that was of particular interest to Carlton and me (Shannon) was when a Belgian parliamentarian expressed his view that it was too difficult to get Belgian officials to share personal prayer, because that was not the accepted way to do things among Catholics. (Most people who would call themselves followers of Jesus in Belgium are also Catholic.) However, an assistant to an Austrian parliamentarian—also a majority Catholic country—shared about how in two years their prayer group had grown to 25 attendees a week, with a list of 40 on their WhatsApp* prayer group. In a parliament of 183 members, that’s around a quarter showing interest in personal prayer to Jesus! Our Belgian friend was very impressed, and is now planning to visit Austria to see if there is a way to learn from them. Please pray for the two friends we have in the Belgian Parliament, as well as the Prince and Princess, who would love to see a prayer group begin there.

And what fun it was to be the first group hosted by our friends in their castle! The castle had previously belonged to Charles-Louis’ father, but he gave it many years ago to his younger brother. Charles-Louis’ 98-year-old aunt still lives in the castle, rebuilt in a Spanish style in the 1600’s. He took us on a tour of the building — some fantastic rooms but in need of some modernization for 21st century standards! They need to monetize the castle/grounds in order to keep up the payments for it, but they also wish for it to be used as a place to host gatherings that would further Jesus’ name in Belgium and all of Europe. Please pray for them that they would have sufficient income to maintain and improve the castle, and that we could work together to use it to further God’s glory.

*WhatsApp is a messaging app commonly used by Europeans.