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.

Miki* recognized the group of ladies that entered the bar as workers from a local ministry dedicated to reaching prostitutes in the red light district of this Southern Europe city. Every week they visited the businesses and brothels in order to befriend the women and talk to them about Jesus.

This week something clicked, and Miki found the courage to pull the group leader aside.

“She heard we could get her out of this line of business,” related Kim*, one of the ministry leaders , “and she wanted to know how.”

The ladies gave Miki a phone number and told her to call the next day. It took several weeks to set up the meeting. In the meantime, Miki became desperate. Walking down the street one day, she decided she would end her life by throwing herself under a bus.

“She felt something pull her back just in the nick of time,” Kim said, “and before she could understand what was happening, one of our group found her there on the curb, sobbing.”

Kim’s colleague brought Miki back to their office, where the ladies ministered to her. As they shared the Gospel, hope began to dawn. Miki prayed to receive Christ and immediately knew a peace and comfort she had never before experienced.

“Her whole appearance changed from that point,” Kim said. “You could see the light of the Lord in her–she really seemed to glow.”

This unique ministry has been ongoing in Southern Europe for several years. The team of ladies who spend their time in the red light district is composed of nationals and missionaries from the International Mission Board and other organizations. Every Thursday they visit bars and brothels to talk, give away Bibles and share the love of Christ. They have developed a positive reputation among the businesses and are welcomed by many. When they are able to rescue someone like Miki, all their years of work are worth it.

Shortly after her conversion, while Miki was trying to free herself from her present lifestyle, she was involved in breaking up a fight between some mafia men in the bar where she worked. She suffered two broken arms, requiring extensive surgery. In this country where prostitution is legalized, the job comes complete with insurance and worker’s compensation. The injury allowed her to quit her job with benefits and finally sever ties with the industry.

“God used this situation to get her out of the bar for good,” Kim said. “She says she would pick trash off the streets, rather than to go back to that line of work.”

Miki continues to grow as a believer and recently began a discipleship program.

“She is on fire for the Lord and His Word,” Kim said. “What a testimony of God power and the hope that we have in Him.”

For more information on this ministry, or to find out about other opportunities in Southern Europe, contact Randy at rancov@everyheart.net.

*Names have been changed for security purposes

Village elders congregate in the city center each evening to visit and discuss life, but none know about eternal life through Jesus Christ.

When a Pomak says no, he shakes his head up and down; when he says yes, he shakes his head back and forth. This cultural anomaly is not just a random characteristic–it has a history that goes back to the very core of Pomak identity.

When the Turks invaded Bulgaria 500 years ago, they forced many to convert to Islam under threat of death. Three hundred years later as Orthodox Christians re-took some of the territory, the Pomaks were again forced to convert or die. Their identity became a pawn in the fight for power, so they learned to adapt. They agreed among themselves to give the answers required of them while holding to the truth of who they were.

If asked about their Muslim beliefs, they would shake their head ‘yes’ to appease the interrogator, while saying no quietly to themselves. When asked if they changed their name from Muslim to Christian, they would say yes, while shaking their head ‘no.’ In this way, they protected their soul while avoiding persecution.

Crossing Signals Today

This survival instinct is still in tact today. The Pomaks live in a synchronistic world that includes Easter and Ramadan, mosques and churches, burkas and jeans. Known by the Bulgarians as Muslims and by the rest of the world as Bulgarians, the Pomaks are living between two worlds.

In village K, in the Rhodope Mountains, Vladimer* takes time from renovating his school building to visit with Mark*, a Southern Baptist (SB) volunteer who is working to reach the Pomaks for Christ. Vladimer has been to visit Mark in America and Mark and his wife have spent extended time in Village K fostering friendship and offering assistance.

When Vladimer was asked about his beliefs, he admitted to knowing little.

“I know only a little about Muslim,” he said. “I know mostly that God sent prophets to tell us to obey Him.”

When questioned on his willingness to receive help from Christians in his Muslim village, Vladimer responded, “Communication with others is normal, even by our Imam. We believe in the same God, so there is no problem.”

At the same time, Islam classes are now being held for children because more radical middle-eastern Muslims have taken an interest in village K. Also, the mosque in the center of Village K is new.

A Need to Hear the Truth

Peter*, an International Mission Board missionary working among the Pomaks described these Bulgarian Muslims as “hanging out in their Islamicism.”

“Many of these people accepted this Islam and they don’t really know what they believe,” Peter said. “They haven’t really been pushed to become some kind of Islamic nation, but when they’ve heard the Gospel, it has been shrouded in ‘you either accept our religion or you die;’ so they haven’t felt the peace and hope that comes from knowing Jesus Christ either.”

The goal of Peter and Mark and the other SB churches partnering with them is to introduce the Pomaks to the true Christianity.

“We need to grab their hearts and show them that there’s something better out there,” Peter said. “We want to love these people and bring them hope.”

Through providing English teachers, serving as an educational resource for Vladimer and retaining a consistent presence in village K, SB believers are hoping to introduce the true Gospel to the Pomak people.

Please pray for the Pomaks to accept the truth with open hearts and minds. Pray about your involvement in reaching them for Christ. To find out more about ministry among the Pomaks go to hope4rhodopes.com.

*Names have been changed for security purposes

Normally when Paul pulls into the small Macedonian village of Radovish* he parks with a quick exit in mind, just in case violence erupts. He’s never been hurt before, but speaking about Jesus to Muslims in South Europe is a dangerous calling and Paul is aware of the risks involved. He is in these communities officially as an aid worker, so when he received a call from the Mayor of Radovish asking him to come and share about Jesus, Paul was excited that God had opened a door, hurried to meet him and parked in a tight, inaccessible spot.

Though the mayor summoned Paul and the meeting had gone well, Paul was frightened when he stepped into the street and saw a group of villagers surrounding his car. He realized then how poorly he had parked, knowing that escape would not come easily from a mob. However, there in the center of the village, in the shadow of the minaret, the Mayor surprised Paul by publicly pledging his support and loyalty to him.

“He said that I was a bringer of peace and hope to his people,” Paul said, “and because of that he would help if I needed it, call ahead and prepare the way into villages I wanted to visit, and even go with us to share Jesus.”

Paul marvels at how these men who are such strict Muslims that they won’t even swallow their own spit during the Ramadan fast are willing to go with him to tell fellow Muslims about Jesus.

Paul developed relationships in Radovish through a sheep project he developed to help Muslim people and open doors to share the Gospel. Twelve farmers in eight villages have received 100 sheep to help them start a livelihood. As the sheep reproduce, the project grows and the invested money is repaid. The project has given access to the hearts and minds of the local people. However, there are barriers.

“My progress is limited in this village and others like it because I don’t speak Turkish,” Paul said. “I can speak to them in Bulgarian, but it is not their heart language. I need a Turkish speaker to come and help me.”

Paul’s ministry focuses on several groups of Muslim people scattered throughout South Europe. Each group speaks the language of the country in which they reside, and many speak a dialect of Turkish as well. Paul’s work is based out of Bulgaria so that is the language he has learned.

In another village, a young man named Moosa* took his stand for Christ after coming to know the Lord through the sheep project. His wife has continually been ill since his conversion. In exasperation with traditional doctors who could find nothing wrong with her, she consented to go and see an Islamic witch doctor, which involves taking some kind of sacrifice. But Moosa would have none of it.

“We don’t need to sacrifice. We’re done with that. God gave us Jesus. He is our sacrifice,” he said.

This testimony was at risk to his life, but Moosa was courageous. He has now been baptized and wants to be an evangelist.

God is working among the Muslims of South Europe. Through Paul and other Southern Baptist workers who are laboring among them, many have come to faith in Jesus. The barriers erected by their culture and religion, are formidable and can only be leveled with persistence, prayer and partnership. Please pray for national workers who have the language ability to come alongside these men and women to work and pray for their salvation.

“God is at work,” Paul said. “We just have to join Him.”

*Names of people and places have been changed for security purposes.

However Mark and Shea Massengale, also of the IMB, would like for that to change. These two missionaries have an interesting means of connecting with the culture in which they serve—they work as assistant coaches with an American football team in Krakow, Poland.

This unorthodox strategy for doing missions has allowed Mark and Shea to connect with a group of young professional men that is often considered very hard to reach. Mark said that through their work, several of the guys have opened up and invited the missionaries into their homes and lives.

But two men can only do so much.

Enter seven men from First Southern Baptist Church Bryant, Ark. With years of coaching and playing experience, these men traveled to Poland under the auspices of leading a football clinic for the Krakow Tigers. Their real purpose, however, was to make an eternal impact on the men of the country.

This group from Arkansas brought with them much-needed knowledge and experience in football, but they also brought in themselves a handful of Christian men who could build relationships at a pace that Mark and Shea simply could not.

Not only did the men from Arkansas come as coaches, but they also came to play, as three of the men dressed out with the team. They literally worked shoulder-to-shoulder (or shoulder pad-to-shoulder pad) with men from completely different cultures and backgrounds for the sake of the Gospel of Christ.

Many people define missions as going door-to-door and preaching to massive crowds of people. Yet in many places the most effective missions involves building relationships based on shared interests and passions.

“It may be music. It may be sports. It may be English. God can use you in so many ways, and we need you to come,” Mark said. “When you come, you accelerate what we’re already doing because you bring so many more people in contact with the truth.”

To find out more about joining Mark in reaching Poles for Christ, send us a note on our “Connect” page. You can come as a volunteer, short-term missionary or long-term missionary.

Approximately six years ago Fath* and Sina* escaped Iran and sought spiritual fulfillment within the Orthodox Church. Their searching left them disappointed–to them, the worship seemed too similar to the Muslim faith they had left. Then a few weeks later they accepted an invitation to an International Baptist Church.

Upon entering the service Fath and Sina said they knew the faith practiced there was different than anything they had experienced before. The pastor did not welcome them with an extended hand, but with a warm embrace. He then invited them to his home for lunch, where he showed the men the JESUS film. Soon after both Fath and Sina began relationships with the Savior and started meeting regularly with the pastor for discipleship.

Six years years later, the father and son pair recognized God’s call to leave the comfort, wealth and security of their new lives and follow Him as missionaries to their people group in a South European city.

Making the Connection

In August 2007 Tom*, an IMB missionary to South Europe, met Fath and Sina while visiting the International Baptist Church they attended. The service Tom witnessed was special–the Iranian Muslims received commissioning to follow God’s call to share the Gospel with other Farsi-speaking Muslims in Tom’s country of service. Tom was excited for the pair and hoped things would work out well for them. He hardly expected to ever see them again.

Six months later Tom was visiting an IMB ministry in his country when he recognized the pair he had met at their commissioning. Tom learned of how God had been using the two men during the past six months and was amazed.

Fath and Sina had arrived shortly after the ministry lost their Farsi translator. Sina easily filled the need to communicate between his heart language and Engish, while his father stepped into a Farsi preaching role. Both men have played key parts in leading many Farsi speakers to Christ, while some of these converts have since returned to their home country as Christian missionaries.

After witnessing Fath baptize another Farsi speaker, Tom’s friend and fellow IMB missionary, Dan*, spoke of “the joy of seeing a formal Muslim consumed with the light of Christ so much that he can’t contain it.

“It’s amazing to see a national brother help us lead his people to the Lord,” he said.

*Names changed for security purposes