Dublin: GBIM's summer hotspot

GBIM Europe's summer hotspot for positive spiritual activity is Dublin!

River Liffey—Dublin, Ireland

Scott and Rebekah Becker just wrote saying:
"Just wanted to share some of the exciting things that are happening here in Dublin. Last week I shared with our small group that my hope was that we would:

1) have more guys
2) run out of food and plastic plates
3) have more people coming to know Christ

I wanted to share with you what happened tonight:

We had a full house! There were people on the floor and we ran out of room.

We ran out of food and plastic plates. Fortunately, two of the people who came for the second time brought pizza and garlic bread. We spent almost six hours hanging out, with food, games, some singing, prayer, and reading God's Word. This week we focused on Matthew 8 and 9. Miriam told me that here 19 year old daughter told her she is interested in the Bible too…."

Melanie professed Christ as Savior!

Maria and Paula: sisters, and now sisters in Christ!

A TEAM EFFORT
Roy and Holly Angle have been cultivating spiritual soil and sowing seeds through their relational bridges: "knitting night," a philosophical society, rock climbing, hiking and camping. One of Will and Cheryl's friends led her sister to Christ. Melanie, Joe and some others claim to have "given their lives to the Big Guy"!

Roy (center) and friends—Wicklow Way

In what phase of the church planting process is the team right now?
The soil analysis phase, begun in 2002, though in many respects a continual process, is complete. The team participated in data gathering with the Evangelical Alliance. Will and Cheryl have an especially strong tie to the Alliance, and Will has been asked to oversee a cultural engagement research project for them.

What are Dubliners really like?

Right now evangelism is the Dublin team's prime directive, Will and Cheryl focusing on the north side and the Angles and Beckers on the south side of Dublin. The two sub-teams are in the soil cultivation and seed sowing phases, praying specifically for over 100 of their unbelieving friends; the couples have twelve evangelistic/relational bridges and are sowing seeds of personal testimony and gospel reading. A very encouraging development is that the new believers are "sharing with family, friends, co-workers and neighbors."

Larry DeArmey and Paul discussing Ministering Cross-Culturally with the Dublin team

What does the emerging church look like?
The team envisions a network of house churches, interconnected with other evangelicals of like heart and vision.

The team is experimenting with two different approaches. One is to serve as leaven, permeating extant communities so that the gospel will spread through people and birth spiritual communities. The other is to reach individuals wherever they may be found and bring them together to form a new spiritual community.

On the south side of Dublin, for example, there are two discipleship groups that meet weekly for prayer, study and accountability. On Sundays there is what one attendee calls the "Matthew study church," with an attendance of 10-14 believers and unbelievers.

Rebekah describes the incipient south side church: "Hours disappear as we eat together, play games, talk and read God's Word…. We are seeing Christ lived out in our small groups and people keep asking questions."

"One friend is struggling to understand Christ's sacrifice and why there is punishment. In a world where everyone makes up their own truth Matthew 7 was a hard chapter to accept and read." Another asked, "Why does God make us choose Jesus? Why can't everyone go to heaven?" "We are seeing God working in peoples' lives as they wrestle with the truth of God's love and sacrifice for them."

How can you pray for Jesus' work in Dublin?
"MORE PLEASE DADDY…. This is often the prayer that leaves our lips as we pray to God. We are asking God to bless… and to add to our numbers daily, weekly, monthly," wrote Scott and Rebekah.

For leaders to emerge in the “Matthew study church” group, and for the Angles and Beckers as they share, mentor and encourage those believers, so as to have a strong testimony.
For good fruit to be borne from the twelve relational bridges, that people would agree to read the gospel together.
Pray for a major evangelistic breakthrough from both approaches—permeating existing communities with the gospel and from broadly sowing the gospel.
Pray for spiritual protection over the team and the new believers during this time of intensely positive spiritual activity in Dublin.

FAQs about GBIM church planting in Paris

I thought an appropriate blog for Bastille Day would be some responses to frequently asked questions about the Paris team.

Parisians need hope !

FAQs about GBIM church planting in Paris

Where is the team headed?
The GBIM team (Dennis and Jeannie Martin and Rob and Nichole Plaster) is pursuing a network of house churches throughout Paris, led from their inception by French people. God can, of course, direct in other ways as He provides leadership for His church, but this is the approach we are currently following.

Ask Rob about his gospel reading adventures with his friends

How does the team plan to get there?
The Paris team's methodology is a non-linear application of the ACT strategy. Their primary focus is to "make disciples." An indispensable key to the pursuit of that great mission is evangelism. The team's basic evangelistic method is: pray, spend time with people and invite them to read the gospel together.

Bible table at Jussieu, one of the 14 major universities in Paris

What is the current status of the ministry in Paris right now?
Prayer: The Plasters and Martins have 95 evangelistic contacts for whom they pray regularly.

Jeannie's specialties are English and Good News clubs

Evangelistic bridges: A Gospel choir, film club, Bible stand, game night, kids clubs, teaching English, cafe-conference (at Starbucks) and other activities are means by which teammates spend time with people in order to invite them to read the gospel.

Dennis and his choir at the Paris Music Festival

Gospel reading groups: Three evangelistic mini-groups currently meet where seekers read and discuss the gospel with a member of the team.

Professions of faith: Since the beginning of the work in Sept. 2000, seven people have professed Christ as Savior.
Discipleship groups: Four mini-groups of believers meet to grow in obedience to Jesus and pray evangelistically.
Spiritual families: Two home groups have been formed, one at the Plasters' and the other at the Martins'. The total number of people participating in the Grace Paris menu of options is about 15.

A spiritual family chez Nichole (left)

Celebration: The people of Grace Paris meet monthly for celebration, equipping, or a Day Away (laidback day outside of the city for discussion, picnicking, testimony) with unbelievers and those from other home groups of like heart and vision—the Southern Baptists, the Constantinis (French couple with a home group) and Agape (Campus Crusade). The largest of these monthly gatherings was about 25 people, the average is 15 - 20.

How can I pray for the Paris team?
Please pray for:

The Plasters' financial support. They have proven themselves as excellent contact makers and were recently approved for career missionary status which caused their support level to jump. They have made good progress over the past few weeks and have a current need of $29,338 ($2,445 / mo).

A major evangelistic breakthrough in Paris, for the new believers to have fruitful testimonies with their friends, that those in the gospel reading groups would entrust their lives to Christ, that those involved in relational bridges would agree to read the gospel.

French leaders to emerge within and for the spiritual families/home groups.

For details and specific people for whom you can pray please contact the Martins and Plasters directly at: dennismartin@gbim.org or plastersofparis@gbim.org
Happy Bastille Day !

Unexpected opportunities in Paris & Sarajevo

Out of the blue, the Lord dropped two unexpected ministry opportunities on me this week, one in Paris, the other in Sarajevo.
PARIS
On Sunday, I received an e-mail from my Paris colleague, Dennis Martin; Dadje Samuel (Chadian apostle-equipper) had contacted him. Dadje had extended family members in Paris interested in starting an African house church. They wanted Dennis to get involved.

So I hopped a train for Paris the next day. Dennis and I met with Dadje, Simon Pierre (president of the Chadian GBCs), Cyril (Chadian evangelist) and Abraham. Abraham had come to Christ and was baptized in a Grace Brethren church in the Chad. He graduated from bible school and pastored a church before moving to France in 1987. He is an economist, and has participated in both a Reformed and a Baptist church.

He said that many Africans come to France and are distracted from the faith by materialism and secularism. Abraham would like to gather these stray sheep into an African house church and he knows two other African leaders in Paris who would like to do the same!

The discussion went well, so we are taking two weeks to pray and reflect about next steps. What are the unknowns? What are the expectations? What sort of equipping would be best? Ultimately, is this a divinely opened door?

So if God lays this on your heart, I would appreciate your prayers for wisdom. This could be Cornelius-type opportunity (Acts 10) for us in France.

SARAJEVO, BOSNIA

The press building in Sarajevo (2002)

Tuesday night, Louise and I watched yet another movie about the Balkans war (our collection continues to grow), "Harrison's Flowers." Wednesday night, I received a call out of the blue from Paul McDonald, youth pastor at the Washington Heights GBC in Roanoke.
Paul and I had never before spoken together. He had been in the IMC (GBIM office) and spoke with Wayne H. and Steve B. about his upcoming ministry trip to Sarajevo. Knowing of my dream for a Euro-American church planting team to go to Sarajevo, my brothers put him in touch with me.

Pastor Sasha and Paul in Sarajevo

Edite - Porto (left), Miguel - Lyon (center), Rejane - Dijon (right)
were part of Charis Europe's 2002 love-in-action trip to the Balkans

The smile kept growing in my heart as Paul McDonald shared. In mid-July, he and three teammates from Liberty university will invest two weeks playing street hockey with bosnian youth, as part of a Christian sports outreach. I am sure that Paul would appreciate your prayers, for opportunities to share good news and to connect with Christian leaders, as well as for safety. I'll be praying Paul!

It was a moving experience to share the Word of God with this Bosnian assembly of believers in June 2002

Barlows & Weavers (GBIM London team) safe

You have by now seen the news: terrorist attacks in the heart of London.

I spoke with Mary Ann Barlow this morning (Thursday). The Barlows and Weavers are safe (Tom and Megane Barlow are in the States).

Mary Ann heard helicopters right outside of her window, turned on the news and learned of the explosions. The security troops were focusing on Scotland for the beginning of the G8 summit, but the attack came in London. The French news reported that cell phone networks have been shut down either to hinder terrorist transmissions or to allow better rescue communication (consult the BBC web page for further information).
The Weaver and Barlow children were all at school and are now safe at home. Brian Weaver was on the other side of the city. Rhonda just wrote, "Just got a call from Brian, who is in Kingston (another part of London), and is fine....He doesn't know how he will get back home as all zone 1 public transport is shut down."

Thank you for your prayers for the Barlows and Weavers, for safety, for comfort and for opportunities to show Jesus' loving touch in the midst of suffering.

Three steps forward in Le Creusot, France

The church in Le Creusot, France took three steps forward this year; Lawrence, Jacqueline and Jean-Pierre all gave their lives to Jesus!

Lawrence in Le Creusot, France: your new sister in Christ!

Some members of the Le Creusot church family

Dave and Susan Griffith have been among the Europe team's best evangelists over the years, consistently praying, sharing the gospel and bearing conversion fruit. They are part of the "established churches" squad of the GBIM Europe team. The established churches team's short-term mandate is to see the European churches in which they serve transition to national leadership.

The Le Creusot church was so-o-o close to achieving that objective, when it took two steps backward. This year, both of the French elders resigned due to internal church problems. As Paul Hiebert says, "We assume that if we do things right we will succeed, whether this be running a company… or planting a church" (Anthropological Reflections: 1994, 139). But this past year in Le Creusot reminds us that church planting is messy, less like a business and more like a battle.

Marc, Didier, Grif and Cèdric

So now I would like to ask those of you who are part of the Griffith's support team to renew your commitment to do battle on your knees for them as they begin another round of elder, deaconess and deacon training. Pray especially for Didier, Andrée and Cèdric who are currently in training to help lead the church with deacon Marc Lagarde. Pray for protection, progress and fruitfulness. Pray that Jesus would give a decisive victory, a fully French led Le Creusot church. Merci!

Grace Brethren or Christian? (response to Dean)

Thanks Dean for your observations in response to my report from the teachers/shepherds' workshop (see June 30 blog comments).

You are right, it is amazing how quickly one can lose sight of Jesus when on mission for him (see Rev. 2:2-4 for an example of a theologically orthodox/activist church that fell into that trap)!

The GBIM Europe team strives to be characterized by hot hearts, sharp minds and skilled hands, but we fall short. So we periodically get together to seek Jesus through the Word, prayer and dialogue.

I agree with you Dean, my desire is to continually align myself, our Europe team and churches with "being Christian." (I think I will pick up on the "results" part of your comment next week.) And that is how Dr. Ron Manahan describes what it meant historically to be Grace Brethren. He writes:
"In fact our roots go back to Germany in 1708. The issue for these ancestors of ours was concern that right doctrine be matched by the right practice of life. Orthodoxy included faith and practice. They wanted to see the biblical message lived out to the fullest" (Grace College and Its Pietistic Heritage: Our Commitment, August 22, 1989:2).

The nation of Israel was composed of tribes that had Yahweh and His Law in common. Yet the individual tribes had specific character traits that developed due to geography, genealogy and other factors. I am "American," but also from the "house of Klawitter." For me, being "Grace Brethren" is like that; it recognizes a spiritual heritage, being part of a Christian "tribe" of people, with a particular spiritual lineage, who want to live the biblical message out to the fullest. So at the teachers/shepherds' workshop we went back to Scripture, praying for God to help us realign our lives and ministries.
It is interesting to note that Nicholas von Zinzendorf, who founded one of the great missionary movements of modern times, who was intensely evangelically ecumenical, said, "The Saviour has a hand in the fact that there are so many [Denominations]" because "each (one) is generally possessed of some Jewel (a clearness of Truth…) peculiar to itself," (A. J. Lewis: 1962, 102). These "jewels" of the multifaceted grace of God, entrusted to denominations, would probably be lost in a "vanilla" or "melting pot" Christianity. The danger is focusing on the jewel and missing the Jeweler. The danger is the uniformity of insisting that all believers must wear the same kind of jewelry.
Being on mission in intensely postmodern, pluralist Europe, the Spirit has impressed on me that unity in diversity is key (1 Cor. 12). Observable love for all born again believers is key (John 17—regardless of whether I agree with them or whether they value jewels precious to me). I have found missioners of other "tribes" with whom I am of one heart and common vision, more than with some Grace Brethren people. We are part of a very large "holy nation." And regardless of tribe, church planting approach, ecclesiology, doctrinal conviction, together we "declare the praises of him who called [us] out of darkness into his wonderful light" (I Pt. 2:9-10).

Declaring the praises of God to kids in Dijon
(most of these children are from unbelieving families)

To guide us in our church planting, I have presented to the GBIM Europe team four tribal traits of a Grace Brethren church. We want to plant churches composed of disciples who:

Love Jesus, each other, and the lost
As Jesus stressed, love is the mark of the Christian (Mt. 22:37-40; Jn. 3:16; 13:33-34-35; 14:23; 1 Jn. 4:19-23).

Are culturally progressive (see link: Dijon music festival for an example)
Henry Holsinger (you'll find him in the Grace Brethren genealogy of the late 1800s) saw the difference between form and essence. He distinguished between that which was cultural and that which was biblical (1 Cor. 9:19-23).

Are theologically conservative
Alva McClain (a key figure in the GB genealogy during the mid-1900s), at a time when many were saying that the Bible was no more authoritative than the works of Freud, Nietzsche, Marx or Mohammed, strove to give us the heritage that Scripture is the Word of God (2 Ti. 3:14-17).

Are on mission
Jacob Cassel (early 1900s), rather than getting sidetracked on which hymnal should become the standard, mobilized those of like heart and common vision to pray, give and go to make disciples of the nations (Mt. 28:19-20) and see churches planted.

The Dijon GBC family loved this breakfast and they palpably love each other

For me, these values are the essence of what it means to be Grace Brethren. My conviction is that this is very Christian. I feel privileged to have predecessors who blazed these trails. My desire is to continue to multiply disciples who will incarnate these values, who in turn will start churches full of people who will do likewise.
That is a tall order which is why the GBIM Europe team needs your prayers. Would you pray now for a member of the GBIM Europe team whom you know personally? Pray that s/he would have a hot heart, sharp mind and skilled hands as s/he participates in Jesus' mission here on the Old Continent.

What in the world is God doing in Europe?

Sean, Rebekah, Meghan and Scott Becker

Did you know that within the last few weeks:

• one of Rebekah and Scott Becker's friends in Dublin bowed the knee to Christ?
• four people were baptized in the Dijon, France GBC?
• the London team celebrated its first baptism?
• Gert and Matthias from the Aalen, Germany GBC presented the church's love-in-action ministry (computers and aid for Africa) in French GBCs, soliciting their prayers and help?
  Aalen GBC leaders (Gert, 2nd left / Matthias, 2nd right)

Possibly there are other aspects of GBIM Europe's ministry that you would like to know more about, questions you've been dying to ask, but did not know where to go for answers? Maybe you felt uncomfortable posing the hard question to a missionary? Perhaps you simply ran out of time to ask when they visited your church?

Now is your chance to ask Dr. Klaw (GBIM Europe Regional Director) any and all questions about the E.T. (GBIM Europe Team). The sky is the limit! Want to know about church planting in Europe, the GBIM missionary team, strategies, progress, cost, support, how to pray?

You may write me, Paul Klawitter, directly at: paulklaw@gbim.org or post a comment and I will be glad to get back to you!

The GBIM Europe Team families and friends from Ashland and Penn Valley GBCs