The story of Greater Europe Mission

You could say that the seed for Greater Europe Mission was planted in France during the Second World War. It was in 1944 when a U.S. Navy chaplain’s motorcycle struck a landmine. Bob Evans was the first Navy chaplain to enter combat zones during WWII, and it was while he was recovering he realised the deep spiritual needs of Europe would only increase after the war.

Following the Lord’s leading to equip Europeans for Gospel work after World War II, Bob established the European Bible Institute in Paris in 1949. The following year, he established Greater Europe Mission emphasising educating, training, and discipling Europeans to reach Europe with the Good News of Jesus across post-war Europe. Under Bob’s leadership spanning 30 years, GEM started additional Bible institutes in Germany, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Austria, adding graduate-level seminaries in Germany.

After establishing fruitful European Bible Institutes, GEM missionaries began recognising deeper spiritual needs across Europe and embraced different expressions of Christian ministry and outreach throughout the continent. Greater Europe Mission broadened the scope of ministry from education to include evangelism, creative outreach including sports, camps, music, the arts, business as mission, church planting, and discipleship multiplication.

Accentuating GEM’s defining shift towards becoming a truly international mission, Jon Burns became the first European to lead the organisation as GEM President and CEO in 2014.

Then, in 2022, GEM closed its US office and relocated the International Headquarters to Frankfurt, Germany. Furthering the belief that they must continue to engage European Christians in missions.

Today’s Greater Europe Mission holds to its historical vision: to see Europe transformed by the love of Jesus. As geopolitical and economic shifts change the landscape of Europe, GEM presses forward with missionaries from North America, Europe, and other parts of the world to see more Gospel workers in more fields across Europe, sharing the love of Jesus and making more disciples.