Volunteers sit with a Ukrainian woman who accepted Christ.

As International Mission Board missionaries to the Ukraine for the past 15 years, Arkansas Baptists Mike and Linda Ray face a huge ministry task – sharing the gospel of Christ with Ukrainians living in a region the size of Indiana.

As team strategy leader, Mike is responsible for coordinating ministry in more than 3,000 towns and 10 cities of more than 100,000.

Mike puts his task in perspective. “It would be like if you were responsible for the work in the entire state of Arkansas, but with a lot more people living there, and a lot fewer churches,” he says, noting the ratio of people to Baptist churches can be as low as 100,000 to one.

For this reason, the Rays spend many months of each year coordinating volunteer projects, working with Ukrainian Christians to share the gospel of Christ.

Projects include backyard Bible camps for children, sports camps, offering English practice with native speakers (volunteers) at a university, medical clinics, construction including community improvement projects, prayer walking and building relationships in Ukrainian schools.

Most importantly, the Rays link up the volunteers with Ukrainian churches, whose members are able to continue to minister once the volunteers return to the states.

“Volunteers are here for a short time and are good at drawing fish,” says Ray, “but we also know that many people make decisions in the days ahead, as the Holy Spirit has time to work in their lives and bring about a harvest.

“That is why it is important to design each project so that we are partnering with local Ukrainian believers, who are the long-term fishermen.”

The Rays also help train national church leaders to help develop Ukrainian leaders using conferences and seminars. “Some of the important training we do is simply through mentoring and spending time with younger leaders,” says Mike, who also teaches a few times a year at a regional Bible college.

Linda is actively involved in developing relationships and ministries with women. She also leads seminars on prayer walking.

Throughout the year, they also visit regional churches to “share what God is doing in the region” and “encourage them to be involved in planting churches,” says Mike.

“We try to be catalyzers in our region, to stimulate those we work with to try new things and to facilitate that happening,” says Mike.
First Church of Crossett, where Mike grew up, has recently decided to become involved in the Ray’s mission.

First Church, Crossett ministers

Jamie Staley, pastor of First Church, and Chuck Otts, a First Church member, traveled to Lubny, Ukraine on a vision trip July 2-8.

While there, they worked with a team from Warner Robbins, Ga., helping out at a soccer camp and vacation Bible school.

“Our whole intent was to see where our church might fit into what the Rays are doing to reach Ukrainians,” says Staley.

The team from Georgia served as a great example for First Church. “Everyone knew what they were supposed to do,” says Staley. “They did a great job.”

Because it was the third year the Georgia team had worked in the same area, members were able to build on relationships established previously. “It was amazing to me, the first day we pulled up to the VBS camp, quite a few of the kids that came this year had also come last year,” he says, noting it was “really special” to watch those people reconnecting with team members they had met in previous years.

Staley hopes the same thing will happen for members of his church. He hopes to take teams from First Church on mission to the Ukraine for the next five years.

Most importantly, Staley wants First Church’s involvement to be “an extension of Mike and Linda’s ministry.”

In addition to the Rays, Staley says First Church members and former members are involved in ministry all over the world.

And he hopes to connect with those people to become involved in their ministries, serving as an encouragement to them.

“I feel like our people are going to be responsive to the Lord’s vision for this church,” says Staley.

Staley wants to develop a biblical approach to missions, participating in projects close to home, as well as overseas.

“Not everyone can go overseas,” he admits. “But I want our people to have experiences where God uses them right here.”

Staley says it is an exciting time in the life of First Church as they begin to embark on this mission opportunity with the Rays. “It’s a dream I think God put in my heart years ago, and He’s beginning to allow me to experience it,” he say.

Staley believes his church can make a difference in the Ukraine. “We want to be those people who are the workers, who plant and water,” he says. “We want to make an impact in people’s lives.”

Making an impact

A primary way for Arkansas Baptists to make an impact in the Rays ministry is to pray for them, says Mike.

“Until we have prayed enough, the other things we do don’t make much impact,” says Mike. “We encourage and treasure prayer partners who regularly lift up what God is doing in Ukraine and pray for us and our people here.”

To become a prayer partner, send an email request to mikeray@pobox.com.

Another way to become involved in the Rays’ ministry is to participate in a mission project in the Ukraine.

Many volunteers who work with the Rays often feel led to return to the area over and over again.

This “partnership” can make a great impact, says Mike.

“Often, the more meaningful contributions that churches are able to make are because of longer term partnerships, seeing what God does over a number of years,” he says. “Most work on the field does not happen overnight, in spite of some of the impressions people may get from time to time when reading missions stories.

“Much of the work takes time to cultivate and needs continuity, rather than a one-time, short-term, project,” he says.

Partnerships help volunteers realize they can be part of the ongoing ministry in the country, says Mike, pointing out they are careful not to encourage the national Christians to become dependent on the volunteers.

“But on the other hand, there are many positive consequences and contributions for the volunteers and the nationals when groups are able to see how God has worked over a period of time,” he says.

Mike’s prayer is that First Church volunteers will work together with them to “see God working through us to accomplish His Kingdom purposes, both here in the Ukraine and in their home church,” he says.

“I believe that God is faithful to those churches who have a heart for missions, a heart to see people from all nations around His throne praising Him,” says Mike.

“I believe He is calling every church to be involved in this task in some way,” says Mike. Though he knows that not every person can go on an overseas mission trip, everyone can be involved in a world missions endeavor.

“It takes a whole church to send a missions team, and we know that every time people come here to work with us there are many standing behind them at home who have helped them to come and who have made that possible,” he says.

Through the years, the Rays have had great joy as they have witnessed God at work developing churches and people in the Ukraine.

“When we see young leaders developing and becoming involved in the Kingdom’s work, that is an encouragement,” says Mike. “Seeing churches in our area that weren’t here 10 years ago, that is why we are here.”

The Rays want to see churches planted in the Ukraine because “the church is Christ’s body, and He will not abandon her.”

“When we focus our work on seeing a church planted and developed, that part of the body of Christ will be ministering in that community 10, 20, 30 years from now, long after we have gone,” he say. “Because it is His body, He will continue to work through it and take the gospel to people who have not yet been born.”

The Rays are thankful to Southern Baptists for their support through the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. “These are affecting real lives on the field and are enabling people like us, serving here in Ukraine, to be able to live and eat and serve in the place He has called us to be in,” says Mike. “Please convey to Arkansas Baptists that their giving and praying truly, literally, make it possible for us to be here and do this.”

Visit the original article at Arkansas Baptist News here.

God steps in to do what we cannot when we get to the end of ourselves, and that is exactly where He wants us.

This was the message of the Far East Russia Women’s Conference that took place August 13-16. Karen Jones of First Baptist Church, Crockett, Texas, traveled 30 hours and 15 time zones to arrive at Z Region* to meet with 15 Russian women –pastors’ and leaders’ wives in desperate need of renewal and refreshment.

“As I wrote my materials for the conference I felt impressed to teach the women about how indispensible they are in the home and church, as teachers, mothers and wives,” Karen said. “But it is Christ in us the hope of glory; not our own ability and frantic effort,” she said. “My heart was to encourage and free them.”

The message of reaching the end of ourselves is one that resonates quickly with Russian women, especially those in Z region, an area roughly the same size as Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia combined, but with only a handful of evangelicals. Ministry is difficult, challenging and lonely. Although the pastors and leaders come together for fellowship on a monthly basis, their wives are prohibited by distance, cost and child/home responsibilities.

Jessica*, a missionary living in Z region, spearheaded the conference. Her heart has been burdened with these ladies’ needs since she arrived with her family 3 years ago.

“Most of these women are young believers with no childhood Christian background,” Jessica said. “They have had little to no mentoring or practical training. They get what they can from books, which are very hard to find in our area.”

Even for simple discipleship, few options exist. The older women in the churches were adult converts to Christ so they have had no experience in Christian parenting, marriages or the special situations faced by those in leadership.

“They’ve been learning as they go about Christian living,” she said. “The sky’s the limit for discipleship and training.”

The conference was a target of spiritual warfare from the beginning. The original leadership team from the states cancelled; then half the women invited to attend had to pull out; finally, the conference center fell through at the last minute. But Jessica wasn’t disappointed.

“This was a God-sized task that He accomplished,” she said. “God gathered the Russian women He purposed, with His choice of leader, in the place He wanted.”

Karen was grateful that God opened doors for her to come.

“God had invited me to be a part of (bringing life),” Karen said. “It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”

The 15 ladies left grateful, rested, encouraged and better equipped. They were strengthened to press on in their intimate relationship to Christ and in areas of service to the Lord. And they were challenged to never lose their passion for the lost in their region.

*Names of peoples and places are changed for security purposes.

Streets and homes were destroyed as floods ripped through Northern Czech.

Two weeks ago, swollen creeks overflowed in northern Czech Republic, causing major flooding. At least four people were killed, children’s camps evacuated, livelihoods destroyed and nearly 1,000 homes left without electricity. The damage was estimated at more than $250 million.

Harold Johnson, IMB missionary in Hradec Kralove, has been working with Czech Baptists to get help to the victims.  Two days after the floods, Harold met with pastors and walked the streets of some of the hardest hit areas to access needs and encourage those who lost all their possessions.  He met people who were left without jobs, money or houses. Homes by the creeks were especially devastated, not only by water and mud, but also by crumbling foundations.

Harold saw one man drowning his sorrow in alcohol. Another man, a believer, kept a joyful spirit in spite of the fact that he lost everything. He earned his living making glass from his home and all his equipment was ruined–picked up and hauled away with the trash. His small two-room house was covered with two and a half feet of water; his children have gone to live with grandparents. He has no flood insurance, so there is no real hope of recovering what was lost.

This disaster has opened doors for the Baptist church and other Christian organizations to reach out to Czech people in the name of Christ.

The Czech Baptists are using relief funds to help repair some of the damage. The greatest need was getting things dried out, so they purchased humidifiers, a coveted luxury that cannot be rented in the Czech Republic. Other money is being used for simple start-up funds for families who lost it all. Harold is coming alongside his Czech brothers to help them help others.

“We’re here to help,” Harold said. “Anything we can do to be a blessing to these people, to create a piece of fertile land in their heart to say, ‘if you’re important to Christ, you’re important to us.’”

Unfortunately, when disaster hits a nation of agnostics, their reaction is not to turn to God but to blame him.

“They would say that this only affirms God isn’t there,” Harold said, “or if He is, He doesn’t care about us and we can only depend on each other.”

However, the history of the Czech people is rich with faith and Harold is trusting that in God’s timing the people will turn back to God.

Please pray for quick recovery, opportunities for spiritual conversations and fertile hearts in the days ahead.

Muscovites donned masks to protect themselves from smoke and dangerous fumes filling the air around them the fires increased and being outside became nearly impossible.

Today the skies are sunny and the weather cool in Moscow, but Muscovites still look to the forecast every morning and pray for more rain to keep the smoke at bay. The past two weeks have been devastating for Moscow and other parts of Russia as forest fires sparked by an unprecedented heat wave destroyed homes and pushed smoke into a city sweltering in the heat.

The temperatures soared to 102F outside and 110F inside since windows had to remain closed to keep out the smoke. Buck Burch, IMB personnel living in Moscow, said that normal life wound to a halt as going outside became an impossibility.

“Hardly anyone was on the street, the government requested that people be released from work, and some church services were cancelled as many elderly were passing out from the heat and smoke,” he said.

Although typical Muscovites don’t see any spiritual relevance in the fires, believers in Moscow see them as one more call to get right with God.

“Pray that people wake up,” Buck said.

Russia has been plagued with poor infrastructure, a crumbling economy and political instability. The fall of communism brought to light social problems like alcoholism, which has become a national crisis.

They also continue to deal with the environmental fallout of Chernobyl nuclear plant in 1986. The radiation, which spread throughout the region of Bryansk, Russia, is now in danger of going up in flames. Reports from the region are saying that some of the forests in the most highly contaminated areas have begun to burn. Moscow officials have tried to downplay the danger, and as a result, workers unaware of the potential hazard, have been using their bare hands to fight the flames. As plants and trees succumb to the fire, radioactive particles in the contaminated area will be released into the air and could blow all the way to Moscow.

Although 160,000 emergency workers have been working to put out the fires, it is not enough. Not only are the fires coming from peat bogs under the ground, but the equipment used by those battling the flames is pitifully inadequate. Only rain will saturate it and put it to rest.

“In many locations some firefighters’ equipment is scarce and they are using only a spray bottle to battle the flames,” Buck said. “We need precipitation and lots of it.”

Churches have been praying for rain and God is answering those prayers. Last Wednesday there was none forecasted but it rained anyway.

“The rain came because people are praying,” Buck said.

In Moscow alone, 50 people died from fire and more than 1000 from smoke and heat in the past few weeks. Thousands of homes were lost as well. Today, Moscow is livable, but the danger has not passed.

Please continue to pray for more rain and for the Russian people to turn to God in this hour of need.

The choir Undivided performs at a garden party at the Jetts' home.

For Steven and Susan Jett, reviving an unkept garden yielded dozens of new relationships and opportunities to share the gospel.

The Jetts scoured the city of Brühl for months looking for a place to live. Brühl is the location of their team’s church plant. “We wanted to live downtown so that we would be in the middle of things,” Susan said, “but to no avail. We were not able to find anything. So we told God, ‘Okay, we will look outside of Brühl.’”

Almost immediately, they found a house in the nearby village of Waldorf. The home was just what they were looking for, but its yard was huge, unkept and carpeted in tangled weeds.

Steven and Susan were already busy with ministry, but Susan was determined to make the yard presentable. Often working 12 hours a day, Susan cleared the yard, starting with the vegetable garden. “One evening [I worked] until midnight with a spotlight,” she said. Within a few weeks, the weeds were gone, and Susan had planted corn, pumpkins, gourds, beans and an array of flowers. She had never planted vegetables before, but soon found that she loved seeing things grow.

“Little did I know that the yard and garden would become a ministry in itself,” Susan said.

As Susan worked diligently, trimming hedges and expanding her garden, her neighbors started to notice. “We met all of our neighbors because of the work we did in the yard and the garden,” she said. Because of their home’s location on a busy corner of the village, the Jetts see a lot of foot traffic: neighbors walking their dogs, riding bikes and going shopping. “When I am out working they will stop and stand at the fence and wait for me to come and talk. I have had many opportunities to share about the Christian life, about salvation, pray for them or tell them I will be praying [for] a particular situation.”

After developing these relationships, the Jetts decided to host their first garden party with a concert from Florida State University choir Undivided. Choir members hand-delivered invitations to neighbors, and nearly 50 attended. While guests enjoyed a meal in the Jetts’ garden, they heard the gospel presented alongside the concert.

The concert generated even more buzz in the community, and the Jetts found themselves hosting other events in their garden. Susan shared her harvests with neighbors, allowing neighborhood children to pick pumpkins in the fall. Fifty of Steven’s students attended a party at the Jetts’ home. This summer, more than 50 neighbors gathered for a party on July 4, enjoying American food and games, learning about American history and culture. “Steven shared with the audience about the birth of America, and then about the new birth we can all have through a relationship with Christ,” Susan said.

“We have also built instant credibility and trust from the neighborhood because of the interest and care we have shown in getting and keeping the yard in good shape,” said Susan. “They have been amazed at what has been accomplished and are proud to be a neighbor.

“God has taken ordinary [things]– a yard and garden– and used them to serve and glorify Himself. He is amazing!”

The island nation of Malta is the location of Paul's shipwreck in Acts 28.

UPDATE– When the Apostle Paul shipwrecked on this island, he found receptive hearts that adopted the Gospel. He referred to the Maltese as an “unusually kind” people, a character trait that continues to this day.

The Mediterranean Island nation of Malta was the first country in Europe to embrace Christianity. Hundreds of years later, the vast majority of Maltese embrace Catholicism, but there have been 14 Evangelical churches planted since the nation’s independence from Britain in the 1960s.

While God has done great things among the people of Malta, from Paul’s arrival to present, there is still much to be done. Many still have not heard of the grace and peace found in a personal relationship with Christ.

IMB Missionaries in Malta invited individuals and churches to join them August 8 for the ninth annual “International Day of Prayer for the Maltese Islands.” Congregations and individuals from across America, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Italy and Spain participated, and more than 150 people attended a prayer event in Malta.

At the prayer event in Malta, attendees shared a time of worship through music, then spent time in small groups praying for the individual ministries at work in Malta. IMB missionary Robin Pinkston said that English and Maltese voices mingled beautifully as they voiced their requests and praises to God. The event closed with two Maltese songs, including one specifically written a few years ago for the August 8 day of prayer for Malta.

Following the event, people visited displays for various Maltese ministries and 80 Maltese New Testaments were distributed.

To sign up for monthly prayer emails from the Pinkstons, IMB missionaries to Malta, email Robin at repink@activebox.net.

Vera, who is paralyzed in one leg, was brought to the clinic in a wheelchair. Vera accepted Christ at the clinic.

In communities typically suspect of outsiders, a free medical clinic turned heads– and hearts– toward the Gospel.

A team of volunteers from Mississippi joined missionaries in Kharkov, Ukraine, to participate in a medical outreach. The team saw a total of more than 250 patients in five days, 10 of whom accepted Christ during the clinic.

In five days, the team of missionaries and volunteers traveled to five different locations in and around Kharkov to administer the free medical clinic. Patients received general exams administered by a local doctor. Volunteers checked blood pressure and glucose, and they provided reading glasses to those who needed them.

Residents flocked excitedly to the free clinic. The registration table saw individuals from diverse walks of life, from young mothers pushing strollers to elderly women in wheelchairs.

The medical facility was divided into stations to ensure that each patient received individual care. Each station included an opportunity for volunteers to share their faith with patients. Upon registration, volunteers asked patients if they had any prayer requests, and then asked for permission to pray with them. Most patients gladly assented.

At the other stations, volunteers shared with patients the reason for the free clinic: to meet their needs in Jesus’ name. During the eye exam, patients read John 3:16. Patients had time to ask questions and build relationships with volunteers and members of local churches. After having a chance to meet with the doctor, they received any necessary medication, a New Testament in their own language, and a tract as they went home.

“We chose this method of evangelism because we have had a long-term partnership with [these local churches], and the doors are still open to provide this type of outreach,” IMB missionary Keith Wofford said. “With this kind of volunteer team, we have been able to abundantly sow the gospel, see souls saved, and start new churches.”

Kharkov is an educational center with about 250,000 students. This younger generation is typically open to Christianity as well as other religions and philosophies. The middle-aged generation in Ukraine tends to be open-minded, but skeptical, Wofford said. And the older generation is more closed to Christianity, partially as a result of spending years under communism.

Readers can pray for the 10 new believers to become actively involved in local churches. “Pray that these churches would be excited about being on mission with God and be intentional in discipling the new believers and training new leaders,” said Wofford. “Pray that these churches would send out laborers to work in the harvest field.”

Volunteers for the medical clinic came from the following U.S. Churches:

-First Baptist Church, Grenada, Miss. (www.fbcgrenada.org)

-Longview Heights Baptist Church, Olive Branch, Miss. (www.longviewheights.org)

-First Baptist Church, Itta Bena, Miss.

-Christ Community Church, Greenwood, Miss.

To hear more about how God is working in Kharkov, visit Team Kharkov’s blog at www.teamkharkov.fieldblogs.com.

Students complete an assignment in a Lithuanian classroom.

“Sometimes when kids think about witnessing, they think they have to be superheroes… The small things are really what make a difference.”

Her face radiated joy as Preston Magalhaes, age 15, spoke these words. Sitting beside her on the couch were her brother, Peyton, age 12, and Miss Ausra, who works at their school in Vilnius, Lithuania. Preston and Peyton are the children of IMB missionaries Milton and Lara Magalhaes. The two children were instrumental in Ausra coming to know Christ just a few weeks ago.

Ausra has worked in the performing arts school for several years. She recalls the first day she saw Preston and Peyton four years ago. She was first struck by their dark hair and tan complexion. They did not look Lithuanian, but they spoke the language beautifully.

After introducing herself and learning that the children were from the United States, Ausra asked Preston and Peyton if they would be willing to exchange English conversation whenever they crossed paths at school. Little did Preston and Peyton know that their kindness would radically change Ausra’s life.

Over the next few years, Ausra encountered hardships in her personal life. Grappling with the suicide of a friend, she recalled, “I knew I needed God’s help.” Ausra was intrigued by what she described as a light around the Magalhaes children. They were different– kinder, happier than any other children she had met. Milton said, “She became very interested in knowing what was different about our kids and how she could have it.”

So Ausra contacted Lara, asking if she could attend their church. “I felt like God was calling me,” said Ausra, “Like I needed Him to be in my heart.” So that week, after Milton and Lara shared the Gospel with her, Ausra accepted Christ.

“I’m glad I know a family that is also human, that also has problems just like everybody else,” Ausra said of the Magalhaes family. “But they have a stronghold on Jesus Christ.”

Ausra’s friends and family have already noticed a change in her life. Where Ausra used to be a pessimist, family members now see her express joy she didn’t have before. “They’ve been seeing me change little by little,” Ausra said.

Preston and Peyton were thrilled when they heard that Ausra had become a Christian.

“I never realized that sometimes the little things can count,” Preston said. She always thought sharing her faith meant preaching on street corners or sitting down for a serious conversation. “But with Miss Ausra I realized that, just… saying hello to a person or interacting with them can lead them to Christ, help them see Christ in you.”

Milton said, “I think it’s very important for the children to know in their heart that they are not on the field just because their parents are, but they are also missionaries.”

While preparing to live on the mission field, Third Culture Kids (TCKs) like Preston and Peyton undergo similar training to that of their parents on an age-appropriate level. Children study their host countries, learn how to be servant leaders in their host cultures, and learn how to share the Gospel using illustrations like colors or Bible stories.

TCKs are given their name because they embrace three cultures: their home culture, their host country’s culture, and a third unique culture that comes from blending the first two. Amelia Travis,* a TCK teacher in Richmond, Va., said, “TCKs are just ordinary kids that God has placed into extraordinary places. Unlike many typical American kids, they are used to befriending those who are not just like themselves.” Travis says this makes TCKs uniquely equipped to share Christ with others.

Lara said of her children, “They really help us understand [the culture] in a different way because they grew up here.”

Preston joined in, “So we can help our parents understand what people think and how they think…”

“And why they think it,” Lara added. “They help everything make sense for us.”

Preston and Peyton described the opportunities they have in school to tell their friends and teachers about Christ. “I use every opportunity that I can get,” Peyton said. “Sometimes we have topics about what… you believe in, so I got to talk about Jesus during class.” Peyton also spoke of times when he had the opportunity to quote scripture and share Baptist history with his peers.

Preston added, “I also think that kids shouldn’t think of [sharing their faith] as a chore. They should just have fun with it. I mean, just think about, ‘What if a friend of mine became a Christian?’ That would be so awesome– I’d have somebody else to talk to about my faith, and that would be so cool!”

Lara and Milton noted that, as parents, they have many opportunities to share the Gospel through the school. Lara has given out Bibles to teachers and families and has taught English to the school’s third graders.

“God has used [our children] to be a bridge between us and people we would not meet otherwise if they had not been in public school,” Milton said.

“Like Miss Ausra!” Preston chimed in.

Milton smiled. “Like Miss Ausra.”

Readers can pray for Ausra as she seeks to share Christ with her family and friends. Pray also for the Magalhaes family as they seek to establish twelve churches in twelve years in Lithuania. For news and prayer requests, visit their website at www.lightforlithuania.com.

*Name Changed

Mark Edworthy, Affinity Global Strategist for the European Peoples Affinity Group of the IMB, addressing the partners.

PRAGUE — “This might be the greatest contribution the IMB can make to global evangelization,” said Gordon Fort, vice president of the IMB Office of Global Strategy, “More than anything we’ve ever done.”

Fort spoke of the internationalization of missions– churches all over the globe sending their own missionaries into other countries to share the Gospel.

This week, leaders from the IMB and several international missions sending organizations gathered in Prague, Czech Republic, for the European National Partners in Mission Sending Consultation.

Missions leaders from the United States, Europe and South America gathered to discuss global evangelization. During the consultation, leaders forged partnerships and shared their struggles and victories in sending cross-cultural missionaries. These organizations have a salient common goal: sending people from all nations, to all nations to share Christ.

“We thought this would take years to develop, this concept of the internationalization of missions,” Fort said. “And what has become very apparent is that God has already been doing stuff that we had no idea about, and we’re just beginning to get in on it!”

During the consultation, missions leaders conveyed their passion for reaching the lost. Those from Central and Eastern Europe shared their struggles with churches that still operate under a communist-era mentality. Some shared stories of traveling to more than 300 churches, urging pastors to embrace a focus on missions. Others emphasized the urgency of sending missionaries to unreached people groups in Central and South Asia. The leaders dialogued and shared ideas and needs, pinpointing ways they could assist each other.

“When I see the pictures and I hear the testimonies, I know that we are sharing lots of things, even though we are so far [away from one another] and have different contexts,” said Carlos Gomez, leader of PAAM, a Panamanian missions organization. “We have the same challenges. We find problems with money issues [and] churches with no missionary culture. But overall the main challenge we have is to go back to the Word of God. What were we created for?”

While these international missions sending organizations are growing, sending dozens of cross-cultural missionaries annually, they are still young. IMB leaders seek to help these organizations become more established. “[The IMB] has an incredible infrastructure of 165 years all around the world, and our partners look to us for help in several areas,” said IMB Strategy Training Associate Mick Stockwell. “We need to pour our resources and everything that we have into helping the other nations to reach the nations.”

Throughout the consultation, the IMB provided insight on evangelical strategy, missionary training and equipping. IMB Strategist Scott Holste shared research on the unreached and unengaged people groups of the world, showing missions leaders the urgency of sending missionaries to countries without any evangelical presence. “If you take all the missionaries in the world… only 3 out of 100 are working with these least reached people groups of the world… so we’ve got to partner together. We’ve got to get the whole church involved.”

“We have sensed that God is really stirring the church locally in this generation,” said Fort. “And we have felt that perhaps the greatest contribution we can make to global evangelization is making it possible for those last peoples who have not heard.”

Readers can pray for these organizations as they raise funds for missions sending, develop strong and efficient training programs for missionaries and mobilize local churches to participate in cross-cultural missions.

Participating in the consultation alongside the IMB were the following organizations:

PAAM, Panama (www.misionespaam.org)

College of Theology and Education, Moldova

Asociatia Liga Crestiná Pentru Drepturile Rromilor, Romania (www.lcdr.yolasite.com)

Asociatia Rromilor Crestini Calea Adevarol Si Viata, Romania

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, USA (www.swbts.edu)

Mission Department Baptist Union, Romania

To All Nations, Germany (www.to-all-nations.de)

They dance with abandon, singing rich, deeply emotional songs. They live and travel in all parts of the world. They have large families and little else to call their own. They are marginalized, living on the outskirts of every society they encounter.

We know them as the Gypsies. God knows them as beloved.

“The Roma are the hated and despised people group of Europe,” said Boyd Hatchell, the director of Roma Ministries in Europe. “They face harassment, discrimination and prejudice in all sectors of society. Sadly, they see it in the church as well. They are on the bottom rung of every ladder in every society.”

For Romany Christians in Europe, living a life of hope can be difficult, especially when their families and communities do not share their faith. This is why Mirek Richter, the pastor of a Romany Church in Brno, Czech Republic, chose to organize a conference for Romany Christians across Europe. He titled the conference, “Jesus is our Hope.”

In April, nearly 100 Romany Christians traveled from Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to attend the conference in Brno. There they participated in a missions outreach project and worshipped God together. They enthusiastically shared stories of how God changed their own lives and their communities. People danced and sang loudly, their shouts of praise filling the sanctuary as they celebrated their common heritage and their common faith.

“[The Roma] need to have this encouragement,” said Pavel Coufal, the pastor of Brno Baptist Church, where the conference took  place. “It’s not easy nowadays for them economically or spiritually. I think they have similar problems everywhere, and when they come together, they can encourage each other.”

The members of Brno Baptist church work to break the stereotypes that many hold against the Roma. By holding outreach events, church members have many opportunities to share their testimonies with families. Church members like Jiri Randall enjoy working with the Roma because of their vibrant culture and hospitality.

Randall has worked with several Roma in Brno who were formerly in prison. These men now lead strong Christian families and share with fellow Roma the hope and love found in a personal relationship with Christ. He noted that this kind of radical turnaround is a huge testimony to indigenous Czechs. Randall said, “They can certainly see God is real– God is helping.

“God is helping the Roma.”

You can get involved in ministering to the Roma by engaging in prayer, attending or starting Bible studies in Romany areas of your town, and by giving to projects that will aid the Romany people. For resources, prayer guides and news about the Roma, please visit romaministries.com.