Europe Is a Furnace of Collaboration
Reflections from Exponential Europe 2025
I love history, and Berlin is one of those cities that carries history in its bones.
You can sense it in the cobblestones of Unter den Linden, the eerie silence near the Wall remnants, and at Checkpoint Charlie, where the division’s tension once paralyzed the world. Naturally, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is equally poignant.
Berlin has suffered and survived through many eras—war, ideology, reconstruction, reunification—and yet somehow it always becomes a place where new ideas are born and hope insists on rising again.
Berlin has always been a city of paradoxes—where walls fell, ideas sparked, and movements began.
This October, it felt like something similar was happening again—not in politics, but in the Church.
Exponential Europe gathered leaders from across the continent, from Norway to Romania, France to Albania, and Ukraine, all converging in one of the world’s most historic crossroads to dream together about the future of the Church.
And what I witnessed there can only be described as a holy furnace of collaboration.
The Spirit Is Moving Across Europe
Over the past few years, I’ve seen signs of revival stirring quietly across Europe. But in Berlin, that quiet became a chorus. Leaders from 20 nations gathered with a shared conviction: that the Church in Europe is not in decline—it’s being refined.
Conversations in the hallways were just as inspiring as the sessions on stage. Pastors, planters, and practitioners talked about multiplying disciples and starting networks, not protecting turf. I met leaders from Romania, Germany, the UK, and Norway—each carrying stories of courage, creativity, and conviction. They’re not just maintaining churches; they’re reimagining what the Church can be when it moves from addition to multiplication.
You could feel it: the Holy Spirit is igniting movement again.
In one conversation, I sat across from a Catholic priest who told me he’d come because he wanted to understand what God was doing through church planting and renewal movements. We shared stories, prayed together, and left with plans to keep the dialogue going. That kind of open-handed friendship—the willingness to learn from one another across denominational lines—is precisely what Europe needs right now. It’s a glimpse of the Great Collaboration at work.
Networks: The Next Wave for Europe
At Exponential, we frequently discuss how networks are the backbone of church-planting movements. In Europe, that’s more than a strategy—it’s becoming a necessity.
Across conversations, I heard the same theme: leaders are hungry for collaboration but often isolated by geography, language, or denominational tradition. Yet beneath the surface, you can see networks forming—organically, relationally, prayerfully. Whether in the UK’s regional gatherings, Germany’s micro-church initiatives, or Romania’s city-level collectives, there’s a pattern emerging.
These aren’t top-down movements. They’re friends on mission—small, interconnected communities of leaders who share vision, resources, and encouragement. The very thing we’ve been calling “the Great Collaboration” is beginning to take root.
One of my favorite moments was seeing European friends lead a pre-conference on the Movement System. They weren’t waiting for outside expertise; they were teaching others from their own context. That’s the beauty of what’s happening: this isn’t a borrowed movement. It’s indigenous, local, and Spirit-born.
Europe doesn’t need another imported model—it needs a catalytic network of relational leaders who believe they’re better together. And that’s exactly what’s forming.
Better Together
It’s easy to underestimate what God can do through collaboration. But when you sit at dinner with leaders —each with different accents but one heartbeat—you realize that borders don’t hinder the Kingdom.
In Berlin, I spent extended time with friends from Albania, France, the United Kingdom, and Norway. Each conversation left me inspired. In Albania, young leaders are dreaming of a national network. In France, pastors are beginning to unite around city-based initiatives. In the UK, regional gatherings are pointing toward something larger—a multiplying ecosystem of networks that could change the trajectory of the church across the Isles.
The most potent part of Exponential Europe wasn’t the programming, although the main session speakers were terrific and the band led us through powerful moments of worship. It was the posture. These leaders didn’t come to consume—they came to contribute. They came with a desire to GO as God calls them. (I recall praying over a young Norwegian man who is wrestling with God’s call on his life.)
Everyone I met had a “can-do” spirit. No cynicism, no nostalgia. Just courage, creativity, and faith that the future belongs to those who collaborate for the sake of the Kingdom.
The Great Collaboration
We’ve been talking for a while now about the Great Collaboration—the idea that the future of the Church will depend less on individual brilliance and more on collective obedience. What I saw in Europe is that this idea is no longer theoretical. It’s happening.
The Great Collaboration is what Jesus prayed for in John 17: “that they may be one… so that the world may believe.” It’s what Paul modeled as he connected house churches across cities and nations. It’s what the early Church practiced as “the Church in Ephesus” or “the Church in Corinth”—one body with many expressions.
In Berlin, you could sense that same spirit. Different languages, same Lord. Different strategies, same Spirit.
Europe is realizing that multiplication isn’t just about expansion; it’s about cultivating deeper friendships to serve the mission. The continent is increasingly adopting multiplication and collaboration.
It’s simple but hard: When leaders collaborate, movements multiply.
Go Love Together: The Rhythm of the Great Collaboration
The phrase we’ve been using—Go Love Together—isn’t a slogan; it’s the operating system of collaboration. Berlin gave me fresh clarity for how this rhythm plays out on the ground:
Go — We are a sent people. Every table conversation in Berlin had the scent of mission on it. From city hubs in Romania to micro-communities in Germany, leaders are saying, “We can’t stay put; we must go.”
Love — Love is the fuel and the filter. It’s choosing friendship over rivalry, blessing over suspicion, and unity over uniformity. I saw it as Catholic and Protestant leaders prayed together, and as nations shared resources.
Together — The Kingdom moves at the speed of trust. Networks turn good intentions into shared practices. Together, we build frameworks, share language, and hold one another accountable for multiplication.
If you’ve been following my Substack, consider this Berlin reflection a field report from the front lines of Go Love Together —leaders actually living it.
The Furnace of Collaboration
There’s a reason I keep coming back to that word—furnace.
A furnace is a place of heat, refinement, and transformation. It’s where raw material becomes something new. That’s what I saw in Europe: leaders being refined by one another’s presence, sharpened by honest conversation, and renewed by shared vision.
There’s a holy heat in collaboration. It melts pride. It softens old divisions. It purifies motives.
And from that fire, new movements emerge—movements that look less like institutions and more like the book of Acts.
If you walked the halls of Exponential Europe, you would’ve seen it: leaders praying for each other, not competing with each other. You would’ve heard stories of partnership—churches pooling resources, networks sharing training, and teams forming to reach unreached regions.
Europe isn’t cooling off. It’s heating up.
What God Can Do
If there’s one phrase that keeps echoing in my heart after this week, it’s this: Look what God can do when His people work together.
We sometimes forget that collaboration isn’t our idea—it’s God’s design. From the Trinity’s mutuality to the early Church’s unity, the entire story of Scripture points toward shared mission.
The question isn’t whether God can move—it’s whether we’ll move with Him.
What if Europe became a model for the rest of the world of what humble collaboration looks like? What if, instead of lamenting decline, we celebrated the seeds of renewal already being planted in quiet corners of the continent?
I believe that’s what’s happening right now.
A Call to Action
If this message resonates with you, pay attention—you’re likely being invited into the Great Collaboration.
Let’s connect. Whether you’re part of a network or denomination eager for multiplication, or a leader aiming to explore city-level collaboration, reach out. Exponential is here to help you develop frameworks that turn relationships into movements.
Explore other articles on this Substack. Utilize the insights and practices to establish or enhance a network in your local area.
If you sense that now s the moment for networks in your country, I’d love to hear from you. Truly. Let’s seek what God might do *together.* The future of the Church isn’t built by individual heroes but by friends on mission.
Hope for Europe, Hope for Us All
As I left Berlin, I felt a strange mix of exhaustion and exhilaration—the kind you feel after something sacred.
Europe is not a post-Christian wasteland; it’s a pre-revival furnace. God is doing something new through collaboration, and we get to join in.
The Church in Europe is reminding us all that multiplication is not a technique—it’s a posture of trust. Networks are not bureaucracies—they’re families on mission. And collaboration is not a compromise—it’s Kingdom power expressed in unity.
The Great Collaboration is not something that will come someday. It’s already here.
And it’s burning bright in Europe.
Because this is our moment—to link arms, share resources, and trust the Spirit to do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine. Europe is showing us the way.
The question is: will we join the collaboration?
Cheering you on!
✌️
Patrick
A Prayer for the Leaders of Europe
Lord Jesus,
You are the Lord of the harvest and the hope of every nation.
We thank You for what You are doing in Europe—
for the pastors who persevere, the planters who dream,
the friends who choose collaboration over competition.
Breathe Your Spirit into their work.
Where there is weariness, bring renewal.
Where there is division, sow friendship.
Where there is fear, kindle faith.
And where there is apathy, ignite holy fire again.
May networks become families of mission.
May movements rise from ordinary obedience.
May the Church in Europe shine as a light of hope to the world,
reminding us all that Your Kingdom is still advancing.
Unite us, Lord—not around methods,
but around Your mission and Your love.
Amen.
Inspiring
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