UPDATE FROM EASTERN EUROPE

Transcription

1 SPRING, 2015 Helping leaders build gospel movements in cities A NEW CHURCH LAUNCHES IN ATHENS by G eorge Alexandris Page 2 TOGETHER LA: CASE STUDY OF A CATALYTIC EVENT An interview with Walter Wood Page 4 7 UPDATE FROM EASTERN EUROPE by Robert LaDage, CTC s Catalyst for Central & Eastern Europe Krakow, a city of 1 million, has only 10 evangelical churches. And together they have fewer than 1,000 total members. Poland as a country is only 0.25% evangelical. That means there are more believers in Saudi Arabia than in Poland. Besides Krakow, City to City is at work in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Warsaw, Kiev, and other urban areas in Eastern Europe; and also partnering with some gifted church planters who want to change the existing statistics. Eastern Europe Piotr is one of these leaders from Krakow with a lot of pastoral and ministry experience, and an inspiring story. After communism ended, his wife was killed in a tragic car accident. Piotr, grieving, turned away from God for a time. As God continued working in his life, the gospel became the healer of Piotr s pain. After this transformative journey he became invigorated by the Holy Spirit and sensed a call to start a church. With training from CTC he is helping the citizens of Krakow understand the difference between religion and the gospel. His church has grown from 60 members to 120 in a only few months! By the way, Piotr fell in love again, and his second wife is a movie director. Moscow is another major city experiencing deep spiritual need. It is an enormous city of 15 million, with another 2 million unregistered people. Five million more people live in the outer ring of Moscow. Sadly, when the doors opened to ministry in Russia in 1991, many people bypassed Moscow for areas that were perceived as more remote, specifically, the Far East or areas to the north. But Moscow presents incredible opportunity and need for evangelism. It is estimated that there are only about 30,000 believers in the entire city of Moscow, which is an even lower percentage than in Poland. CTC is working with Constantine, a young leader planting Moscow Bible Church in the center city. Over the last two years God has blessed the church with about 150 members and it continues to grow. The church secured a worship location in the center of the city, and Constantine has built a friendship with a leader in the Russian Orthodox church. CTC is privileged to share about some of the great men and women who lead ministry in the cities of Eastern Europe.

2 A NEW CHURCH LAUNCHES IN ATHENS by G eorge Alexandris Church Planter City to City first became involved in Athens in 2008 through a relationship with Giotis Kantartzis, the Senior Pastor of First Greek Evangelical Church, who believed passionately that Athens needed new churches. Through that shared vision, a small movement of church planting began. Three leaders from Athens received training at CTC s International Church Planting Intensive in New York City, and so far two new churches have been planted in central Athens. Now two more are being planted in Glyfada, a neighborhood 20 minutes from downtown Athens. For three years we have been planning the launch of a new church in the city of Glyfada, one of the southern coastal suburbs of Athens with a growing and diverse population. As we pray and listen to the Holy Spirit, we face a number of substantial challenges, not least of which is basing this church on a different paradigm than the one followed by most churches in our country. Evangelical churches in Greece usually are in peripheral neighborhoods, often hiding or being discreet, so as not to offend the religious sensitivities of surrounding communities. This new church, however, will be in the very downtown of Glyfada, in the middle of the commercial district, where people walk, shop, and spend much of their time. We have lived in the area for many years, and every time we passed by this location we prayed for a church to be there. Now we are that church! The inhabitants are mostly wealthy, educated, and atheistic with a relativistic approach to life. In recent years, however, due to the economic crisis that has affected everyone in Greece, the economic and ethnic diversity of the area has increased and the self-sufficient and optimistic certainties of the past are now dislodged. Many are asking questions (perhaps for the first time) about faith, life, and purpose. It is here, in the midst of this community, that the Holy Spirit is leading us to start a new church to communicate Christ s new life and hope. So please pray for us. This is an example of an accelerating movement of church planting in Greece through a variety of churches and networks. We are grateful to the Lord for all that City to City does for His Kingdom. Title Glyfada Church held its first public worship service on Sunday, February 8,

3 We have lived in the area for many years, and every time we passed by this location we prayed for a church to be there. Now we are that church! Title 3

4 TOGETHER LA: CASE STUDY OF A CATALYTIC EVENT An interview with Walter Wood Assistant Director for Global Affiliates On February 25-28, CTC was privileged to be part of Together LA, a ministry event held in central Los Angeles that featured Tim Keller as one of over 40 plenary speakers. The event involved hundreds of churches from diverse denominations and socioeconomic backgrounds. To our knowledge, it was the first gathering of its kind in that city, and was designed to inspire and move local churches to come to the table, work in concert, and most important, love the city. The event was conceived and directed by Brannin Pitre, the lead planter of Grace Pasadena, and graciously hosted by West Angeles Cathedral in Crenshaw. The conference drew over 3000 attendees. WHY DO YOU THINK A GATHERING LIKE TOGETHER LA IS 1 IMPORTANT FOR A CITY LIKE LOS ANGELES? Conferences like this foster ideas, cast vision and drive momentum to encourage pastors and churches to work together. More prayer, better strategy and the implementation of new ministries that spread the gospel are often the outcome! However, it s good to remember that momentum can be easily lost if nothing is done after an event passes. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE TERM MOVEMENT DYNAMICS, 2 A TERM THAT IS OFTEN USED BY CTC? Movement dynamics happen when support of a particular cause or idea (in this case, the gospel of Jesus Christ) grows and spreads among many. Elements we look for in a city that point to healthy movement dynamics include, but are not limited to: corporate prayer, the starting of new churches, growth of established churches, storytelling about God s work in the lives of others, conversion, new ministries forming to meet a community s needs, and works of justice and mercy done by the local church. Accompanying these movement dynamics will be an intangible buzz in the atmosphere a sense that God is doing something and we re a part of it. WHY DO YOU THINK OTHER CITIES IN NORTH AMERICA MIGHT 3 CONSIDER GATHERINGS LIKE THIS? OR SHOULD THEY? There are a lot of churches out there working independently, and the leaders of a churches are often unaware that they can link together and do mission jointly. Sometimes it s only because they are under resourced and doing what they can to keep up with their own congregations. Pastors with a heart for their cities should be encouraged to come together a process that will take some time and consider what Together LA has done as an example of something they could do to facilitate momentum for the gospel in their cities. Only God can create a movement of the gospel, but pastors can pray, work together, and get their churches involved in a movement of the Holy Spirit. Title Title 4 L - Many local LA leaders facilitated breakout sessions at Together LA. R - CTC s Katherine Alsdorf delivered both a breakout session and a plenary address.

5 Tim Keller addresses Together LA. 35

6 TRAINING THE TRAINERS OF ASIA PACIFIC by Andrew Katay CEO, City to City Australia Christian community is especially encouraging when it crosses cultural boundaries, bringing together people from different races and backgrounds for the purpose of seeing God do great things in major global cities. In early March, several key leaders from four Australian capital cities, Taiwan and other major cities in East Asia, experienced just that. Dr. John Thomas, City to City s Director of Global Training, spent a week and half in Sydney to train church leaders t o train other leaders. The core material was CTC s C hurch Planting Incubator, a 16-module, ministry formation curriculum that was developed by John and Tim Keller. Through training a core group like the one gathered in Sydney, CTC empowers many other local leaders in cities to deliver this training and expand its reach. The Incubator material itself is a rich feast. It is theologically very robust and stretching, constantly pushing participants to ensure that they not only espouse faithful gospel theology, but that their ministry design and practice is thoroughly shaped by gospel theology and their context. It is all delivered within a true adult education paradigm. Many diverse contexts were represented by the leaders who attended, and they brought with them their own ministry traditions and unique experiences. As John created one, cohesive learning experience for these different leaders, I was reminded why CTC is so important in global mission today. It was a significant step forward in progressing one piece of the gospel ecosystem in the Asia Pacific region. Field training delivery is fundamental to CTC s mission to help leaders build gospel movements in cities. 5

7 MEET CTC S NEW VP OF ADVANCEMENT by Doug Thorson VP of Advancement City to City recently welcomed Doug Thorson to the team as Vice President of Advancement. Doug b rings over 15 years of experience in developing key partnerships for charitable impact organizations, most recently from Prison Fellowship International. Here he shares about this new chapter with CTC. Get in touch with Doug, doug@redeemercitytocity.com. It was December 15 at about 5:30 pm when my cell phone buzzed. John Hutchinson s name appeared on the screen and my heart began racing. You see, I was a candidate in CTC s search for someone to lead its advancement efforts, and I knew that John was calling with a decision. His call brought great news; when he indeed extended the offer to join the CTC team, I was filled with excitement, joy, and thankfulness to God for calling me to join this gospel -centered, global mission. As you know, I join a talented team that seeks to steward CTC s ministry in a way that honors Christ. One of my hopes as Vice President of Advancement is for our supporters to be renewed and shaped by the gospel. As my friend and mentor, Wes Willmer, wrote in his book, Revolution in Generosity, true generosity is an act of love that comes from a transformed heart that reflects the image of Christ and is generous because Christ is generous. As we grow in our understanding of Christ s generosity to us, we then become generous, freely giving from all He has given. This is certainly not something that comes naturally to most people, and I am still growing in my own practice of generosity. My prayer is that, together, we experience the joy of giving. I look forward to meeting many of you who support CTC, and I also move forward with great confidence as I meet others who might prayerfully consider supporting CTC. 6

8 1166 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 1620 New York, NY You can give to Redeemer City to City by check, online gift, stock transfer or EFT. Please make checks payable to: Redeemer City to City 1166 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 1620 New York, NY To gift appreciated securities or a mutual fund, please contact doug@redeemercitytocity.com To give online, visit redeemercitytocity.com/give For general gift inquiries, call Doug Thorson: Q1 CTC FINANCIAL SUMMARY PROJECTED $1.2M NEED $1.5M 2015 GOAL: $6M (M) $0 $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 The CTC Snapshot is sent to a special group that helps us continue this work. We thank you for your generosity, passion and devotion. Together we see movements of the gospel spread through the world s major cities, and we are humbled that you join us on the journey.