Like much of Europe, Italy is mainly unreached, with numerous towns and cities lacking any biblical witness. Most Italians would consider themselves Roman Catholic, but are increasingly disillusioned with the Church.
Sadly, the perceived choice before them is either Catholicism or secularism. Moreover Protestantism tends to be weak and divided, and congregations lack trained, funded and mature leadership. There are also very few written resources for the broader church.
It is estimated that only 0.8 per cent of the population is evangelical in the broadest sense. Within that grouping there is a small presence of Brethern, Baptists, and Pentecostals, and increasingly churches coming from immigrants who have settled in Italy.
So it is with this background that Coram Deo Ministries was formed in 2007, with a vision to take the gospel to the Italian people. Preaching is central to this vision, and a commitment to proclaim the Christian faith and to plant churches in areas of Italy where currently no gospel witness exists.
An integral part of the work of Coram Deo is publishing literature, because it is important that Italian churches are strengthened in their faith by having in their native language the wealth of evangelical literature found in the English-speaking world.
Coram Deo Ministries planted its first church, Sola Grazia Church, in 2008 in Porto Mantovano. It is to the Sola Grazia Church that PCI missionaries, Alan and Tracey Johnston, are involved.