I was lucky enough to spend a few days with our Three Worlds
teammates and regional ministry partners in Paris in early December and my heart is full! As I’ve
been attempting to share the highlights with Dan and jot down action steps for
the coming weeks, I realized that it would be helpful to share some background,
praises, and needs with supporters and encouragers of what Three Worlds does in
the region.
I’ll write a pair of blogs over the coming days- one detailing the Three
Worlds Leaders Network (3WLN) and information regarding the recent planning
meeting and needs for the network and one sharing about the At Home (@home) ministry
that’s taking place in Paris that our team got to experience this weekend.
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| 3WLN 2.0, May 2017 |
One of the greatest needs among
Christians in Europe and the Middle East is an emotional and spiritual one-
support, encouragement, and knowing that they are a part of God’s global
Church. Europe is the most secular populated continent. While the Church of God
exists in 16 countries in Europe and the Middle East, the size of its churches
averages around under 50 per church. That often includes many family members
and relatives in one church. Imagine if the majority of Christians you know and
fellowship with would be members of your family. To be able to meet and support
other Christians within your own country would mean so much.
That is one of the
reasons that the 3WLN was created- to combat the isolation that exists and foster inter-connectivity in the region. One of the ways that happens in through a gathering that takes place every 18 months. The first 3WLN gathering was in October of 2015, and we just held the second one in May of 2017. The planning team meets after each gathering to debrief and process what we witnessed. We pray for everyone that attended and their churches that they represent. We identify common themes and issues that those in attendance seemed to be struggling with. We praise God for what he is doing and the testimonies that we heard. Then we start to think about planning the next gathering and how it can have the maximum impact while still being of highest quality.
We just held that planning team meeting last weekend.
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| 3WLN planning team meeting in Paris |
My husband,
Daniel, and I have said countless times how we were drawn to working with Three
Worlds because of the team-based concept. We heard Samir say at the @Home celebration
event Saturday night, “those who work alone never finish the race.” During our
3WLN planning meetings on Friday and Saturday, it was abundantly clear that we
greatly benefited from having the gift of such talented and diverse people on
our planning committee.
Sarina Agbodzi has grown
up in Germany but spent significant time in London and now is on staff at the
Church of God in Hannover, Germany. She has a burden for young people to stay
engaged in church during their teenage and young adult years. She understands
the complex dynamics that make it difficult for the church to retain young
people. She actively tries to combat that and keep them engaged.
Laszlo Debreceni
grew up outside of the Church of God and now pastors in Budapest. He has lived and
worked in several countries in Europe, including the Czech Republic. He
understands both the Eastern and Western European worlds of Christianity in our
region and has a passion for creating healthy, authentic churches who live out
the love of Jesus.
Samir Salibi was
born in Lebanon but has been living in France for the vast majority of his
life. He speaks French, English, and Arabic fluently. He has a passion for the
church to live out the love of Christ as in Acts 2, and knows that God has uniquely
equipped and placed him in Paris “for such a time as this.” With refugees
coming from all over Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, speaking those three
languages specifically has opened many doors for At Home to minister where the
need is the greatest.
They represent the
diversity and talent of those in the 3WLN, who then go back to their home
churches and work to support and encourage others in their congregations. The
sense of working in unity multiplies, as they talk about the passions that God
has placed on their hearts to minister in unique ways in their context, and it’s
absolutely thrilling to watch them connect over common dreams, brainstorm ways
to work together in the future, and be there for each other!
3W teammate and 3WLN planner, Audrey Langford, explained it well on her Facebook post this weekend:
Be sure to read more about the 3WLN project here.
Would you
consider a gift to support the work of 3WLN this month? It is eligible to be
doubled through the ImpactX2 initiative until December 31st.
https://youtu.be/vkVfWtBYSW4
Also, be sure to check out this article from Church of God Ministries about 3WLN.
Thank you for
keeping 3WLN and all of the churches and leaders in our region in your prayers!
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