Lommel School
This school serves between five to ten churches in the East Flanders region of Belgium.
Gent School
This school serves between four to seven churches in the West Flanders region of Belgium.
History of Belgium Belgium is an interesting little nation with a rich and varied history. The nation officially began in 1830 through a declaration of independence from the Netherlands as an amalgamation of the Dutch speaking area today known as Flanders and the French speaking area known as Wallonia. Before the mid 1800s, the French, the Spaniards, the Hapsburgs of Austria and the Dutch controlled what is today Belgium at one time or another. It is an extremely divided nation between the people of Wallonia (French speakers) and the people of Flanders (Flemish Dutch speakers) and the politics and much of life reflects this division. Brussels is also the headquarters of NATO and the European Economic Community, causing the small nation to be known as the capital of Europe. Many devastating battles of both WWI and WWII came to pass on Belgian soil with perhaps one of the most famous being the Battle of the Bulge bringing WWII to a close. Spiritually, the nation has been controlled by the Catholic Church for its entire history. In the 1500s & early 1600s there was a major move of the Spirit of God in what is today Belgium through the Protestant Reformation, but when the Spanish Hapsburgs took the throne, the drove out or martyred most Protestant believers there. Today, there is a massive need of new churches, new leaders, and a powerful move of God in the land.
Quick Facts
- Full name: Kingdom of Belgium
- Population:10.4 million (via UN, 2006)
- Capital: Brussels
- Area: 30,528 sq km (11,787 sq miles)
- Major language: Dutch (local variant called Flemish), French (local variant called Wallon), German
- Major religion: Catholic
- Monetary unit: 1 euro = 100 cents
- Main exports: Machinery and electrical equipment, chemicals, vehicles, metals, diamonds
- GNI per capita: US $35,700 (World Bank, 2006)
PI currently has two schools in Belgium, one in the NE region of Limburg and another in the NW city of Gent.
Limburg, Belgium Team – The Limburg team is comprised of four families from different areas of Belgium who all serve as pastoral leaders of churches. Team leaders, Conley and Madelaine Annandale from South Africa, have served in Belgium for over six years. The Annandales work together with Willi & Ester Smit, Rinus & Evana van Kuil, and Daniel & Martine Haklebracht.
Gent, Belgium Team - In the Northwest part of the nation, PI works out of city of Gent where they hold a growing school made up of primarily young people. The leadership team of this school consists of Wim and Lanielle van Vreckom, Robin & Kathleen Dhave, and Josiah & Kris Rocha.
Click on flag to see more facts about Belgium from the CIA World Factbook
