Tag: church-planting

Our Rhythms of Rest

Stefan and Monica in downtown Boston

Starting at the end of October, we will take a sabbatical. We will disconnect from work responsibilities for three months, investing our time into our relationship with God and each other while also including more time for rest. This may seem like a detour from our mission, but our ministry sees it as a vital rhythm to our missionary life.

WE’LL FOCUS ON 3 SPECIFIC THINGS:

  1. Investing in our relationship with God through lots of time in prayer and Bible study, as well as self-reflection and meeting with spiritual mentors regularly.
  2. Investing in our marriage and family through time together.
  3. Rest.

Please pray for deep rest and refreshment during this time.

But before we go, we want to give you a few highlights from a busy six weeks.

  1. 147 European church planters from 9 different organizations came together in Germany to discuss best practices and how we could collaborate. It was a beautiful time of mutual encouragement and praying for God to move in Europe. A personal highlight was that 9 of our friends from Finland joined us, and it was a sweet reunion.
  2. 118 church planting organizations met in Dallas, U.S.A., for the annual Global Alliance of Church Multiplication (GACX). All we can say is wow! The Lord is at work worldwide, and we see even greater fruitfulness as we join hands together.
  3. This weekend, we were able to visit Monica in Boston for her parent weekend and confirm her reports that she is doing well and enjoying her studies. Enjoy some photos from the autumn leaves – we rarely see the change of colours in Orlando, so this was a real treat.

WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR YOU!

 A Life-Changing Dream

With Marie’s Mom at the Disney Yacht Club Hotel

Like most people in her closed Central Asian country, Alina* followed the majority religion. She believed Jesus was a prophet but nothing more.

When our local staff team members came to her village to distribute food and clothing, Alina welcomed them gladly. She listened as they talked about Jesus. At the end of their visit, Alina told them about friends who also needed help. The team was happy to provide them with meals as well.

Alina insisted on going with them as they visited each home. She watched team members express the kindness of Jesus in a tangible way, and she listened as they talked about His eternal hope.

A few days after the team delivered aid, Alina urgently asked to talk with them again — she had seen Jesus in a dream.

Alina told the team members about meeting Abraham, Isaac and Jesus in her dream. At first she thought she was meeting three of the main prophets of her religion. But then Jesus walked up to her and said, “You’ve heard about Me. You know I’m the Way. It’s time to start following Me.”

Alina realized that Jesus was more than a prophet. She was ready and eager to follow Him. The team members prayed with Alina as she joyfully responded in faith to His message. 

Today Alina is part of a house church in her village. Over the past six months, team members have seen others experience the kindness of Jesus and come to faith in Him. Six new house churches have been established in this previously unreached area!

Encouraging our workers and church-planters to remain strong in the Lord is one of the highlights of Stefan’s work and he recently heard this and other stories of what God is doing in some very hard to reach places. 

Family News

Unexpectedly the doors opened for Marie’s Mom to visit us for a few weeks. It’s been lovely to have her here.

Kenneth is home doing an internship with a surveying company. He entertains us each night with stories of snakes and fire-ants as he is bundu bashing through swamps to locate things for various construction projects.

It is a treat to have a house full of people, and we savour the time because we know we will soon be empty nesters, with Monica also leaving for university in August.

*name changed for security

Prayer Requests:

  1. Praise the Lord for the people He draws to Himself in hard-to-reach places.
  2. Pray that Marie’s Mom will have a good visit with us.
  3. Pray for Marie as she is working on a big communications project.

What Is On The Braai?

South Africans always crave a good braai. This past weekend, Stefan experienced a great braai with a twist. 

After preaching at a church in Sant Cugat, Spain (close to Barcelona), the congregation invited him to a braai where they served Calçot, a green onion that is not round but long shaped. They grill the onion plants in the flames on the braai. They then remove the charred pieces and dip the delicious inner parts into an almond sauce. Scrumptious!

The Calçot (bottom right) is lined up to go on the fire.

But more encouraging than the delicious braai was seeing the growth and missional focus of the church. Non-Christians came to church, and the Youth eagerly studied the Bible together. The photo shows them looking up Scripture on their phones.

Another treat was visiting a church called “Imperfect,” which focuses on helping refugees find Jesus and teaching them employable skills. Stefan enjoyed a good meal prepared by refugees learning to be cooks and restaurant managers.

The entrance to the church and the restaurant training fascility.

The Lord is at work around the world, and His children are finding ways to serve their communities. Thank you for helping us be a part of His work.

Prayer Requests:

  1. Stefan is currently in Malta, meeting with partners working in North Africa and the Middle East. Pray for good connections and for strategic opportunities to partner.
  2. Pray for the churches in Europe that are shining the light of Jesus in difficult times.

4 Things To Pray For

A Florida sunset viewed from our street

This week, Stefan meets with church planters from Europe as they gather in Turkey for mutual encouragement and to learn from each other. In some places, the “soil” can be very hard, so they trust the Lord for new ideas and ways to connect with people in societies where they often question the relevance of the church. 

In addition, the ongoing Ukrainian war and the refugees are creating opportunities for the church to show the love of the Lord. Believers have done a lot already, but coordinated efforts can enhance this even more. Pray that this gathering will help make those connections stronger.

In Africa, the coordinated efforts of our church planters in 36 countries during May resulted in great fruit. 

  • 256 trainings took place, equipping 22,357 people for church planting.
  • 1,672 (676 new churches and 996 groups were planted) 
  • 863,145 people heard the Gospel of Jesus 
  • 101,566 people prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.

Each of these numbers represents a person that the Lord touched. There are many stories, but let us share this one from Guinea-Bissau. In one of the villages, a young lady who suddenly went dumb and lame in both legs six months earlier started to talk after one of our church planters ministered to her. She responded to the prayer of faith to the astonishment of everyone. As a result of this miracle, 20 churches were planted in that area.

We praise the Lord for what He is doing and how He continues to draw people to Himself. Thank you for joining us in making Him known.

Prayer Requests:

  1. Praise the Lord for His provision for our passports. Stefan, Marie, and Kenneth received new passports, and each passport has a miracle story as there were many complications in getting it.
  2. For the European church planters to be refreshed and inspired as they meet in Turkey.
  3. Next week, Marie will also travel to Turkey for meetings with the Global Executive Team. She is coordinating their program and will also facilitate two sessions. Pray for wisdom, insight and stamina for our leaders.
  4. Monica is starting to submit her university applications. Pray that the Lord will show her where He wants her to attend and reveal what He wants her to study.

Church Planting in Europe

Church Leaders in Finland

With travel restrictions resulting from Covid lifting slightly, Stefan had the privilege to visit three countries to be part of gatherings where strategic church planting conversations took place. 

A personal highlight was visiting a young pastor couple in Finland that we have been coaching over the past few years but have never gotten to visit. Stefan meets with the husband Pyry and Marie with the wife, Anniina. They are experimenting with a model of church planting that is attracting young Finns who are church-less, but looking for authentic faith. It is exciting to see young families finding Jesus and being obedient to His call to make disciples.

Stefan is currently in Moldova. 

This story from Moldova is a reminder of God’s power to transform someone and use them for His Kingdom:

“Oxana stood apart from the others, arms crossed, cigarette in hand. Everything in her body language said, “Leave me alone.” She had reluctantly come to the picnic in the woods that afternoon with other non-Christians after some Jesus Film® workers invited them.

One staff member took the initiative to talk with Oxana about Jesus, and she became curious about the hope God offered.

She agreed to attend the next group meeting, and it was there she gave her life to Christ. Within the week, her mother, sister, and niece did the same. Turning her indifference into a passion for the Lord, Oxana quickly shared her faith 100 times. After watching Magdalena, an evangelistic film about the life of Jesus from the eyes of Mary Magdalene, she invited 25 people to meet in her home as a small group. Oxana is now part of the church planting team in Moldova. She said she cannot imagine her life without God.”

Thank you for your partnership in helping to bring the gospel to people all around the world.

Left to Right: Martin, Stefan, Tanya, Aliona & Igor in Moldova

Prayer Requests:

  1. Pray for safe travels for Stefan and good connections with the church planters he is meeting with at the moment.
  2. Pray for Kenneth and Monica to walk closely with the Lord.
  3. Pray for our friends Pyry and Anniina as they help plant churches in Finland.
  4. Pray for Igor, Aliona, Martin, Tanya, and Stefan as they give leadership to our church planting efforts in Europe.
  5. Thank the Lord for protection and good health.