Ministry Overview

Paul and Janice Meiburger serve the Lord in Torino, Italy.  Paul serves as a pastor at the university church, Il Rifugio (the Refuge) which he helped start shortly after moving to Italy in 2000.  Their goal is primarily to evangelize the university students and disciple the young  believers in their walk with Christ.

Torino, Italy is like a modern-day  Antioch – an urban melting pot of internationals.  “Il Rifugio” reflects this international flavor, with Albert from Albania, Bruna from Brazil, Iman from Iran and Keesong from Korea.  Torino is the second largest occult center in the world with an estimated 5% involvement.  While Italy is culturally Catholic, atheism and agnosticism prevail in the hearts and minds of many, and there are less than 1% evangelicals in northern Italy.

Il Rifugio – Torino is in a transition period as we attempt to pass on more leadership responsibility to young European leaders.  Il Rifugio is located near the University of Torino, where we do weekly spiritual interest surveys.  Most of the students are open to discussing their thoughts, yet still cling to their unbelief.  Small groups form a large part of our ministry strategy.