‘To be honest, some people see EMF (European Mission Fellowship) as a bit fuddy-duddy’, a pastor recently confessed to mission director Andrew Birch.
Well, if the next conference is anything like this year’s, it will be fresh, joyful, challenging, and totally encouraging. ‘Fuddy-duddy?’ Not so much!
Everyone wants ‘the next one’ to be soon. Thirty years since the last conference was t-o-o long. This one, in the picturesque ‘Betania’ Christian conference centre in in Ciudad Real, Spain, buzzed from the start, and friendships made in the lively table-talk were strengthened during a (slightly zany!) outing to a historic village.
Newer members of the EMF family introduced themselves: workers such as fresh-faced church planters Irina and Mihai Chisari (see photo) in Moldova, with stories of a young, vibrant, focused congregation; plucky 30-something Martin Hjellvik co-pastoring a tiny church far away from any like-minded congregations; two Romanian pastors who look like teenagers, each of them pastoring three churches.
But even the less ‘dramatic’ stuff is exciting! Who could not listen with silent admiration to reports from missionaries with decades-long service in secular, apathetic cities, or rejoice at solid examples of Spirit-given stickability given by folk who have for years been despised as members of a sect by Europe’s majority religions? Workers like Michael and Mary Steedman (in their 70s), still engaging friends and neighbours in inductive Bible study in Forlì, Italy, set the bar high, as does Spain’s José Moreno, with weekly evangelistic events in the local prison for 23 years, as do two couples who can never share publicly about the real struggles faced in their steady work amongst Muslims.
The Ukrainian workers were not well-known to many of their colleagues, but when Volodia Kostyshyn appeared on screen in a report session, speaking with total sincerity of the strain he, his family, and his church are under, nobody was unmoved. Prayer times for him, for each other, for Europe’s lost millions, seemed too short.
Three Northern Irish ministers (Gareth Burke, Robert McCollum, and Simon Curry) spoke powerfully and relevantly on ‘God’s Precious Promises’. It would have been difficult to have heard better messages anywhere. When Garry Williams (London Seminary) presented two talks: ‘The Christian and the Law’ and ‘Why theological training and ongoing study matters for ministry’, pens moved fast, and keys were tapped enthusiastically.
