IRELAND

Ireland (Southern Ireland) with its capitol, Dublin, has a population of over 4,580,000 people. Almost 90% of these still consider themselves Catholic, or and have a connection with the Roman Catholic Church. However the younger generation is increasingly and widely moving towards materialism, atheism, or new age religion. The young generation which is disillusioned with politics, the economy and traditional Catholicism, is seeking for something more real.

It is presently reckoned that there are about 71,000 Bible-believing Christians in the nation who look to Christ Jesus alone for salvation by faith through His finished work on the Cross. These believers make up about 1.5% of the total population. More than 60% of evangelical churches have started in the last 30 years; 40% in the last 15 years. Nearly half claim no denomination. The majority of these Evangelical Christians came from a Roman Catholic background and are native born Irish.

We believe that Ireland is an important mission-field that it is mostly untouched by the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Religion and tradition has blinded people to their personal need of a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ. Religion blinds, binds and kills. Christ open's the eyes and sets people free. A part of our task at Limerick City Church will be to reach out to Irish people with the true Gospel just as Christ and the apostles preached in the 1st Century and Patrick in the 5th Century.