“In Fair Verona”: Church Planting in Italy
GDip graduate Daniele Bozzini speaks of his calling to planting a church in Verona, and the challenges facing the church there.
Verona is a well-known city in the north of Italy, especially due to its beautiful Roman amphitheatre named Arena, and to Shakespeare and his Romeo and Juliet.
If someone had told me in 2009 that I would be involved in a church planting programme in my city within a decade, I would probably have regarded it as a clumsy attempt at encouragement.
At that time, I was morally wounded, disappointed about fellowship, and churchless. But mercifully God was leading me to healing … a little way from Verona, however. A friend of my family invited me to a theological conference at IFED in Padua, about 90 km from my city, and after a couple of months I decided to join his church in Vicenza, a city halfway between Padua and Verona.
Internal difficulties
As a result of this choice I began a journey of healing, renewal and growth. In 2011 I started a five-year course in theology and in 2017 the church gave me the opportunity to attend the new Union School of Theology Learning Community in Rome.
During those years a new sense of my calling to ministry rose in me and I began to serve the church as the youngest of three elders. Planting a church in Verona was already on the hearts of the church in Vicenza, as some believers from Verona had been travelling to Vicenza to join us for church meetings. In 2019 the elders thought that the time had come to start a new witness in Verona.
However, just when we were deciding on the best time to start the plant, some difficulties arose between two families of the founding nucleus of the Veronese church, and the launch for the church in Verona was postponed.
Sadly, then next year one family chose to leave the church, instead of reconciling and renewing their commitment to Verona. As the book of Acts shows in chapter 5, sometimes the spreading of gospel must deal with internal conflict.
External challenges
These events led the group of Veronese believers to a deep engagement with the Scripture, looking for awareness and sanctification. In the meantime, God gave Luigi Dalla Pozza, one of the elders in Vicenza, the opportunity to start a new job in Verona.
As elders we looked at this shift towards Verona as a strong encouragement for the planting project, but at the same time as a great challenge for the commitment to lead two churches with the same plurality of elders, at least initially.
The beginning of the Sunday services in Verona was rescheduled for the end of summer 2020. Early last year we were excited and confident while looking for the right venue to rent for the church, when the Covid-19 pandemic dramatically challenged Italy.
Because of the legal restrictions, we were unable to rent any location, while Luigi and his wife had to face the challenge of failing with his commercial start-up due to the lockdown. Despite the evident difficulties we continued to pray, believing that God was calling us to plant a church in Verona.
“Despite the evident difficulties we continued to pray, believing that God was calling us to plant a church in Verona.”
Finally, Verona
Mercifully, on the 11th of October 2020, God allowed us to celebrate the first Sunday service in a civic room rented from the municipality. A new Christian witness began in Verona. During the second wave of the pandemic, we couldn’t use that room any longer, but a place was providentially put at our disposal in the start-up building, allowing us to continue the meetings in person. Then, from the 25th of April 2021 we found a venue to rent in a very visible place in a large district of the city.
“A new Christian witness began in Verona.”
We have just begun, and we see many challenges facing us, but as a community of disciples we trust in God’s providence and in his favour to the very end of the age.
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