IWC leaders plan for biggest ministry season ever
An IWC volunteer interacts with a Czech boy while on a trip to Olomouc, Czech Republic, last summer. One of the trip goals was to meet people on their level in order to point them to Christ. Spitler/Hope Communications
Last week approximately 75 project leaders from four continents gathered in Prague, Czech Republic, to prepare for the largest ever International World Changers (IWC) year. The program is planning 31 trips worldwide with a capacity of about 2,000 participants in 2009.
Volunteers are aimed to reach 11 European countries via 18 projects from spring break through the summer.
“Man, what an opportunity, to have students come and invest five days of their lives in the Roma people. This could be a good thing,” thought Jerry Goss, an International Mission Board (IMB) worker, when he heard about partnering with IWC four years ago.
Jerry, who leads the Roma work in Poland, is teaming up with his third IWC group. This year he looks forward to hosting 50 students who hope to run a five-day Roma (Gypsy) family camp in southern Poland.
“I like their enthusiasm, youth, vitality, flexibility and being able to work under any conditions for the main goal, to see people hear about Jesus,” he said.
Jerry booked a retreat center in southern Poland with the capacity of 115, thanks to money raised for ministry to Roma through the FUGE missions offering. He said some Romany participants will be able to use a shower for the first time.
IWC volunteers also plan to minister to Roma in Romania. IMB workers Bob and Gayle Hill are preparing to host student teams leading children’s programs, playing sports, teaching English classes and painting kindergarten classrooms in five different villages. This is the Hills’ third year to partner with IWC.
Meg Wood, the trip’s volunteer project coordinator, participated in an IWC project with Bob and Gayle last year, and said she was impressed with what she saw and experienced.
“I love the vision. That’s why I got involved,” she said.
Her group was one of the first to impact a Romanian village where missionaries have been able to maintain a presence, thanks to those students.
“We have continued that new work and it has grown,” Gayle said. “That (effort) did a whole lot to open the area.”
IMB worker Gary Miller is partnering with IWC for the first time, although his ministry in Hungary has a long history of working with students. This summer volunteers hope to build a playground that national believers can use to reach both Hungarians and Roma.
Each of the 18 IWC teams headed to Europe is still looking for volunteers. Meg said participating is more than worth it.
“As a student, it broadens your worldview and get you out of your box,” she said. “They have to go out and … tell their testimony, and I feel that gives them more confidence to go back and do that (in America). Being a leader, it gives me something to look forward to in the summer.”
It is not too late–explore how to join any of these projects and make a difference in Europe at thetask.org.
Posted by Natalie Kaspar on Jan 20, 2009
Similar: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania
