Jack Gilliland, a long-term volunteer, meets a few Russian women who attended his spiritual gifts seminar in Izhevsk, Russia. Jack is from Arkansas and serves as a virtual strategy coordinator to the Republic of Udmurtia.

Baptists in Texas are hosting the Engage Europe Summit Oct. 11-13 at First Baptist Church (FBC) of Forney, Texas. The Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention are joining the International Mission Board (IMB) and FBC Forney for the event.

IMB workers from more than 15 Eastern European nations will travel from their ministry locations to interact with conference attendees and share their visions for planting churches among Europeans. They represent missionary work in Albania, Armenia, Bosnia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, southern Europe and Ukraine.

IMB worker Russell Kyzar, who helps lead the efforts of reaching out to Europeans across the globe, said he looks forward to the opportunity to connect with volunteers.

“This summit is like an NFL draft—missionaries come eager to find new team members, and church leaders come ready to sign up,” he said. “The enthusiasm is really contagious. It’s an exciting time for everyone.”

The event will start Sunday night with two missions encounters at FBC Forney and Lakeside Baptist Church in Canton—churches of the Kauf Van Baptist Association of Texas—with testimonies from the field. The following two days will include opportunities to meet one-on-one with IMB workers and discuss partnering with them to reach their respective people groups. Attendees will also hear a challenge from IMB President Dr. Jerry Rankin and “best practice” testimonies from churches aggressively involved in international missions.

Missionaries are looking for volunteers to pray and lead others to pray. They’re also looking for those interested in visiting a ministry location to prayerwalk; help with children’s and youth camps, concerts, student ministry and evangelism projects; conduct English as a Second Language courses; and build relationships with businesspeople, teachers and others for evangelism and discipleship—to name a few opportunities.

“In most places in Eastern Europe a church can’t be started ‘from scratch’ in a week or even in a few months,” Russell said, “but long-term partners can greatly reduce the time that is required and give an encouraging boost to our field personnel.”

Churches looking for long-term partnership opportunities with an unreached city or people group are urged to attend to discover how they can be strategic partners in Eastern Europe.

Register for the summit online at fbcforney.org/EngageEurope.

Twenty-two of the 366 entries have been written by missionaries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). They stand as a testimony to all that God is doing in the hearts of his people in the heart of CEE.

“We spent a lot of time, money, energy and prayers in one village.  It began to look like a black hole with no results,” laments one missionary named Julie. “Then one Sunday, a man from the village told the church he had had a dream in which a man told him to read the Bible! He read through the gospel in a couple of weeks, seeking the truth.,,when we see God moving, we are brought to our knees in worship. We are encouraged that our witnessing is not in vain.”

Michelle in Poland gives testimony that her witnessing was not in vain. In catholicized Poland, grace is a concept not easily understood, but one that Michelle has tried hard to communicate to a young friend. When she finally understood Michelle said,” My heart jumped for joy as I realized that she was not relying on herself for salvation.”

Donna in Bosnia also had the privilege of leading a seeker to Christ. But because of a nearby war she had to leave and lost track of Sasha. She had prayed for him over the years but wondered if he had continued in his newfound faith. She writes, “Six years later, I received an e-mail telling of someone named Sasha looking for me. What a wonderful blessing to hear that…. today Sasha is attending Bible college and has responded to God’s call on his life.”

It is entries like these that are telling the story of what God is doing all around us in CEE. And it is entries like these that are challenging people to pray for their missionaries and the lost world around them.

Byron Williamson, president and CEO of the book’s publishing house, Integrity Publishers, said that his hope is that Christians nation-wide will realize the importance of praying regularly for missionaries. “If it’s used as a daily tool, the impact will be significant,” he said. “Pastors will tell pastors and next year we’ll have 10 times the number of churches participating in this focus.” Williamson also said that 25% of the sales of this book has been from people that are not Southern Baptist, so the book is reaching a large target audience and hopes are that sales will exceed half a million in the first year. The royalties from the book go directly to the Lottie Moon offering for International Missions.

At a recent simulcast to promote this book Moore bowed on her knees in prayer. As thousands of Christians lifted their voices, she asked them to repeat after her: “My Lord, my God, I commit to You that the name of Christ would go into every people group, tribe, tongue and nation.”

For more information about Voices of the Faithful go to voicesofthefaithful.com.

If you would like to promote this book as well as give a special focus to the stories that illustrate God working in CEE please consider using our church bulletin insert: Download here.