New Plans Underway To Evangelize Europe

Missions Resource Network
International Soul Winning Workshop
by Alan Phillips, Associate Director
The largest single gathering of
Christians in churches of Christ is
about to happen and you don’t want
to miss it! Get the word out—10,000
Christians will be gathering in Tulsa,
Oklahoma on March 21-23 for a time
of focus upon the church’s mission,
“Christ for the World.” National and international
speakers will share what is happening for the cause of
Christ around the globe. It will be held on the Tulsa
State Fairgrounds.
Christians from around the world will come together
to set “issues” aside and call the body of Christ back to
“seeking and saving the lost.” Included in the program
will be success stories from Ethiopia, Croatia, Ukraine,
Australia, South Africa, Ireland, and many other places.
The exhibit hall will highlight mission efforts in a “Hall
of Nations.” Each day will feature more than 20 class
sessions and keynote presentations.
Daily Global Forums at breakfast
and lunch will be offered for those
interested in the current state of
churches of Christ on particular continents
(pre-registration for these is required). The complete
program and housing information is available by accessing
the workshop web site at www.tulsaworkshop.org or
call them at 918-663-3000.
A committee of church leaders and missions ministries
have worked with director, Marvin Phillips to put this
program together and call our brotherhood back to the
mission of the church seeking and saving the lost.
Missions Resource Network will be a significant
participant and exhibitor. We invite you to get the word
out and encourage your elders, missions committee,
minister, church leaders, and evangelistic members to
attend. The price is right—it’s free!
Missions Resource Network staff:
Board of Trustees
Dr. Bob Waldron, Executive Director
Alan Phillips, Associate Director
Dr. Steve Smith, Facilitator for South Pacific Church Planting
Dr. Joyce Hardin, Coordinator for Missions Education
Gina Waldron, Office Manager
Truitt Adair
Clyde Austin
Tom Bost
Terry Childers
Seth Cowan
Don Crisp
Ed Davis
Jo Ann Halbert
Joyce Hardin
Bill Hooten
Joe Ivey
Prentice Meador
Royce Money
Howard Norton
Barry Packer
Laura Riehl
Dorris Schulz
Robert Scott
Milton Sewell
Michael Westerfield
Tex Williams
David Worley
For available resources and services, email MRN at [email protected] or call at 1-888-641-2229.
Missions Resource Network
P.O. Box 3655, Abilene, Texas 79604
www.MRNet.org
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Abilene, TX
Permit # 1133
Vol. 1, March 2002
HELPING CHURCHES PLANT CHURCHES WORLDWIDE
New Plans Underway To
Evangelize Europe by Joyce Hardin, Ed.D.
In partnership with Missions Resource Network,
the elders of the Prestoncrest Church of Christ, Dallas,
Texas, announce a long-term commitment for
evangelizing Europe and Russia. Plans call for the
hiring this year of a Facilitator for European Church
Planting, who will office at Missions Resource Network
in their new Dallas offices. This facilitator will be
fully supported and overseen by the Prestoncrest
congregation and work with current and former
missionaries in Europe and Russia to establish a longterm church planting strategy.
“The Prestoncrest congregation has championed
efforts of churches of Christ in Europe, Eastern Europe
and Russia for many years,” stated Bob Waldron,
executive director of Missions Resource Network.
“They have supported missionaries across that continent
and led in the distribution of more than $2.8 million
collected among churches of Christ in 1990 after the
collapse of the Berlin Wall for evangelistic efforts in
Eastern Europe,” he continued.
Ten years later Prestoncrest responded again by
hosting Prayer for the Nations and calling for three
days of rejoicing and prayer for what God had
accomplished in the previous decade. Prentice Meador,
senior minister at Prestoncrest, commented that Prayer
for the Nations celebrated “10 years of raising the
cross in Eastern Europe.” That was how Prestoncrest’s
dream for Europe began and they prayed that the
Lord would keep that dream alive.
Keeping the dream alive is exactly what the
Prestoncrest church will be doing in their new role.
“Europe is our heritage. It’s who we are,” explained
From left to right:
Prentice Meador
(senior minister),
George Miller
(elder), Clyde
Austin (MRN
Chairman of the
Board), Bob
Waldron (MRN
Executive Director)
George Miller, an elder at Prestoncrest. “Europe is in
our blood, so it only seemed natural to accept this
exciting challenge to partner with Missions Resource
Network.”
“Few congregations have the evangelistic vision
and commitment to a region of the world like
Prestoncrest,” stated Frank Farr, president of Eastern
European Mission. “They have worked diligently with
(continued on page 2)
INSIDE:
2
How We
Should
Approach
Europe
3
Europe —
What Is
God Up To?
4
International
Soul Winning
Workshop
How We Should Approach Europe
by Bob Waldron, Executive Director
Anyone who took Journalism 101
learned that a news story should answer
four basic questions: Who? What?
When? and Where? Perhaps another
question is even more important for
our evangelistic approach to Europe.
It is the question of How ? How should
we approach Europeans as we intensify
our efforts to share the message of Jesus with their
continent? I suggest three essential attitudes.
We should approach our task in Europe humbly.
Christianity arrived on the Continent during the first century
when Paul and others preached in the European cities of
Philippi, Corinth, and Rome. For several centuries afterward,
Europe served as the cradle of Christianity. She also was
the birthplace of the Reformation through European leaders
like Luther and Calvin. Even the Restoration Movement,
where many of us trace our roots, had its beginnings in
Europe. Churches of Christ exist in America today largely
because of Europe’s rich Christian history and we should
therefore approach the task of re-evangelizing Europe
with a generous supply of humility.
We should approach Europe thoughtfully.
According to missionary statesman, Jim Reapsome,
Europeans “fear that we won’t do our homework, we
won’t take time to read our history books.” Europeans,
like Americans, more readily listen to immigrants who
show respect for their adopted country by studying its
history and language before arriving, and by continuing
their studies afterward.
We should approach Europe wisely. When the
Berlin Wall collapsed, Americans from many ecclesiastical
backgrounds, including our own, stampeded into Eastern
Europe as if heading for the Klondike Gold Rush, some
even greedily hoping to strike it rich by hitting the mother
lode of conversions. According to Reapsome, “Eastern
Europeans appreciated our concern and our generosity,
but they were wary of our tactics, our individualism, our
buying out local people, and our penchant for public
relations and fundraising gimmicks and gold mines.” A
wiser approach calls for the American church to behave
like ladies and gentlemen, to listen carefully to what
European Christians are saying and to formulate our
evangelistic plans together. Pledging a partnership of
mutual respect with our European brothers and sisters
makes good spiritual sense.
The task is huge, the enemy strong, and we cannot
be victorious unless we link arms with one another and
beseech the help of our mighty God.
Bob Waldron
(continued from page 1)
us at EEM as partners for many years to get the Word of
God to the millions of people still searching for hope,”
he continued.
“We feel convicted to raise our level of commitment
and look forward to working with all congregations and
ministries interested in evangelizing Europe,” stated George
Miller. “We are encouraged when we see the wonderful
results God has accomplished through the twenty-five year
partnership between the Continent of Great Cities ministry
and the Central Church of Christ in Amarillo, Texas, to
plant churches in South America,” Miller continued. “We
believe the time has come for a similar cooperative strategy
for the people of Europe to hear about Jesus,” he added.
“This is what excites us about partnering with Missions
Resource Network,” said Meador. “They approached us
with a challenge to jointly create a comprehensive strategy
to better facilitate new church plantings for key cities
throughout Europe and Russia,” he continued. “After
much prayer and discussion, our elders enthusiastically
have accepted that challenge.”
“One of the first objectives of the Facilitator for
European Church Planting will be to work with churches
currently involved in Europe and Russia, as well as
missionaries and European Christians, to assess the condition
of churches of Christ in that region of the world and to
begin jointly establishing a workable strategy with priorities
for new church plantings,” stated Waldron. “With God’s
help, and all of us working together,” he continued,
“perhaps someday we will look back and see that
Prestoncrest’s decision was a watershed event.”
Europe-What Is God Up To?
by Prentice Meador
Cities Are Sacred
Fourteen percent of the people who live in
Paris are Algerian. One hundred thousand
I met Ray Bakke the other
Turks live in Berlin. Eighty nations, including
day at a meeting of ministers
those from Europe, were represented in the
in Dallas, Texas. He came to
World Trade Center disaster of
Dallas to challenge us to think about the
September 11.
importance of Dallas as “a city.” Bakke first
What is God up to? He seems to be
came to my attention in the 1970’s in his
putting together a world of city-states. Quick
writings about urban Christianity. His fresh,
travel, common currency, instant
biblical approach challenged my mind to look communication, and the elimination of
again at the movement of God – both in the
language barriers are building bridges between
Bible and in the modern world.
European nations. God seems to be linking
Bakke reminds us that the theme of a
city-to-city and moving huge numbers of people
“sacred place” runs
into urban centers.
throughout the Bible. In
It reminds me of
“He led them by a
John 1:51, Jesus says,
the first century when
”I tell you the truth, you
God moved people
straight way to a city quickly around the
shall see heaven open,
and the angels of God
Roman Empire. Reading
ascending and
where they could settle.” Romans 16 acquaints us
descending upon the
with those who were
—
Psalm
107:7
Son of Man.” Jesus is
joining in the movement
thinking of the place
of God in Rome:
where Jacob had a dream and saw the angels Urbanus, Apelleas, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis,
of God. He names it Bethel (house of God)
Philologus, Julia, and many others. Urban
because it is a sacred place. God is present, Christians!
and so it is holy.
God sees cities like Moscow, Warsaw,
Mission is Sacred
London, Paris, and Berlin as sacred places.
To Him, these cities are the focal point for His
Rather than asking God to bless our plans,
presence. “God sees that cities have
what if we look for God’s movement and join
personalities and assets,” writes Bakke. So
His plans? What if we had 24-hour ministries?
there is no throwaway place in God’s mind.
What if we had multi-language ministries
No wonder He calls Jonah to preach
penetrating European cities? What if American
repentance to Nineveh! No wonder He calls churches empowered European missionaries
Paul to share Christ in Ephesus!
to think “outside the box?” Instead of raising
finances, what if our European missionaries
Migration is Sacred
and nationals spent their time strategizing,
fasting and praying, and looking for the Holy
What will London, Frankfurt, Paris, Rome, Spirit’s movement? What if coordination
and Moscow look like in the next 50 years?
replaced redundancy? What if communication
God is clearly re-wiring the world. There are replaced isolationism?
410 cities in the world with at least a million
Look again at a map of Europe. Its cities
inhabitants. The cities of Europe are becoming are sacred places. What will we do
gigantic magnets for people movements. The about it?
British Empire once covered 52 nations. Now
each of those nations is represented in London.
SPOTLIGHT
European Cities
Among the 100
Largest Cities in
the World
CITY, COUNTRY & POPULATION:
Paris, France
9,624,000
Moscow, Russia
9,321,000
London, England
7,640,000
Essen, Germany
6,541,000
St. Petersburg, Russia
5,133,000
Milan, Italy
4,251,000
Madrid, Spain
4,072,000
Lisbon, Portugal
3,826,000
Frankfurt, Germany
3,687,000
Berlin, Germany
3,324,000
Düsseldorf, Germany
3,238,000
Athens, Greece
3,116,000
Naples, Italy
3,012,000
Source:
United Nations, 2000.
World Urbanization Prospects:
The 1999 Revision.