More than 9,000 people cheered and applauded HTB Vicar Nicky Gumbel as he spoke at a major interdenominational Christian conference in Stuttgart, Germany, last month.

He began his talk, ‘I am from England...[pause] I am also a European’ which provoked a gale of laughter among the continental audience.
He went on to describe his background as a non-Christian and how ‘when I experienced the power of the gospel in my life, I longed to tell other people about Jesus.’
The conference, Together for Europe, was an event held by 170 of the largest Christian movements and communities throughout Europe and was transmitted live by satellite to large gatherings in other European cities.
Messages of greeting were read out from the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Chancellor Merkel of Germany, and other European leaders.

Other speakers at the event included Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of Italy, and Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity.

The conference was opened by Alpha’s Emma Barnes, a member of the staff at Holy Trinity Brompton who has responsibility for the growth of Alpha in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
She welcomed everybody on behalf of the organising committee. Later in the day she spoke about the Marriage Course with her husband Jez in a discussion forum.
There were representatives of all the major European denominations present, including Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Evangelical, Baptist and Anglican.

Nicky Gumbel spoke to three Roman Catholic cardinals at the event about how Alpha was growing in the Catholic church.
He was introduced to Cardinal Kasper by the Catholic Bishop of Stuttgart, who remarked to the cardinal how successfully Alpha was being run in parishes in his diocese.
Cardinal Kasper, who is one of the most senior cardinals based in Rome, had a long conversation with the two men after which he invited Mr Gumbel to Rome later in they year to discuss Alpha further.
Cardinal Georg Sterzinsky, Archbishop of Berlin, and Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, Archbishop of Prague, also spoke to Mr Gumbel and other Alpha representatives about the growth of the Alpha course.
In his address to the conference, Nicky Gumbel said, ‘Alpha is a means by which people can experience a living relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. It offers people a practical introduction to the Christian faith.
‘It is designed for those who would not call themselves Christians and for those who would not go to church... The course is centred on what unites us as Christians – the person of Jesus Christ.
‘For what unites us is infinitely greater than what divides us. That is what is so exciting about today’s event; it is wonderful to see leaders from different denominations gathered together with a common purpose: to see Jesus honoured again in Europe, especially among young people.’