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How YWAM Lausanne Is Responding to the Decline in Bible Engagment.
At YWAM Lausanne, Bible engagement is at the heart of our training and ministries. We live in a time when access to God’s Word is easier than ever before—yet across generations, we are witnessing a significant decline in actual engagement among Christians.
Switzerland reflects a broader trend seen across many Western nations. Recent research shows that Bible engagement among evangelicals has dropped by 30% over the past decade. Belief in God and regular church attendance are also in steady decline.
As part of YWAM's global commitment to the Ending Bible Poverty initiative, we’re asking what that mission looks like here in Europe—where the Bible is available in abundance, but where the real challenge is helping people engage with it in meaningful, life-changing ways.
To address this growing disengagement, we’ve developed two courses designed to serve the local church and reignite a desire to follow Jesus and read his Word. Our perspective is that Bible engagement is first motivated by a deep, loving attachment to Jesus. When you love Him, you grow in a love for His Word.
Our first course focuses on this foundational relationship. Over five sessions, we explore what it truly means to follow Jesus—not just as a believer but as a disciple who aims to be Jesus’ apprentice and follow His way of life. We dive into the twofold truth: Jesus came not only to reveal who God is but also to show us who we were created to be. Each session highlights a specific practice Jesus modelled—practices meant to be adopted by His followers. The goal is to help participants be with Jesus, to do what He did (Mark 3:14).
The second course builds on this foundation with a hands-on introduction to the inductive Bible study method. Through five sessions, we guide participants in learning how to read Scripture in context—understanding what it meant "back then and there" so it can be applied "here and now." This course equips believers not only to love the Word but to know how to study and apply it in daily life and vocation.
We recently completed our second round of the Following Jesus course with a church in Fribourg. We're excited to see the fruit of these efforts. We truly believe that when people encounter Jesus and engage with God’s Word, transformation follows. It’s through this engagement that believers are empowered to walk in the fullness of life God has for them.
We are trusting God to open more doors to serve local churches across the region, with a wider goal to find collaborative ways to reverse the decline and increase Bible engagement.
These local initiatives are rooted in our ongoing three- to nine-month Bible courses offered at YWAM Lausanne, designed to equip believers with a strong foundation in God’s Word.[Explore our Bible courses here.]
Bible Engagement Team
