GERMANY

Faced with a dwindling church membership and growing secularization, the mainline Protestant churches in Germany are launching one of the most radical reforms in recent history. The former “people’s church” in Martin Luther’s home country has suffered continuous losses since the 1970s. Today, the mainline Protestant churches have close to twenty-six million members. If nothing changes, this number will drop to seventeen million by 2030. Protestant leadership, including Bishop Wolfgang Huber, have proposed changes that include more missions, a greater focus on the Great Commission and the proclamation of the gospel taking top priority. The label “Protestant” must be filled with meaning and content, Huber said. (idea)