We had a wonderful time at our Central European Gathering at the end of May. We were so blessed to have Loren and Darlene Cunningham sharing at the staff gathering., as well as Sasha, from the Ukraine share at our leadership gathering. Click here for a more detailed report on what happened.
We also asked people to tell us what they felt God did at the gathering or what they have taken away and here is some of what they said:
- Hear God, obey Him, don’t quit! Darlene’s advice on how not to quit – wonderfully practical! Darlene’s session on family in ministry was essential teaching that we should hear more often about. Keep rehearsing the words God has given you. It’s ok to ask for confirmation of a word that is taking a long time to come to fulfillment.
- I was so challenged and inspired by Sasa, hearing what is happening just across our Eastern border in Ukraine. I never thought of looking East for resources and support before. “good ministry comes out of good community” advice on what to do when your location is in decline and the different phases of ministry (pioneer, building, etc) were super-helpful.
- It was the first time that almost our complete team attended the gathering and it felt so good to experience the worship, input and fun together. It reminded us what we are connected to, who our family is and where our roots are (in the CE area and more importantly the history and words that have shaped YWAM international). One long term staff member who attended the CESG for the first time said “It’s good to be reminded of why I like YWAM!”
- It was such a great blessing to listen to Darlene, not only the teaching she gave full of encouragements and challenges, but also to see her inspiring passion and faith in fulfilling the dream God has given.
- God reinforced STRONGLY my calling to be father-pastor to the younger YWAMers in my country, and He gave me new ideas about how to do this.
- The vision of Loren with the Bible in every house in the world: I also want to be a part of that.
- God increased my faith! To not just hear God and Obey, but to never give up and He is still working!
- The Czechs, Slovaks and Poles are going to skype every month for prayer & support. Perhaps it will develop into working more closely together in the future. We will implement the Crisis Manual, Emergency Staff Info Sheet and Child Protection Policies in our locations. We will go through the Signpost messages as a staff and consider what they mean for us.
- Encouragement from the Cunningham’s : hearing God’s voice, obey it and don’t quit.
- Recognize the stages where you are in your ministry and make the right shifting in God’s timing by including others and giving space to other gifts to operate.
We hope these testimonies will give you a small taste of what God was doing during the gatherings and how we all went away encouraged and refreshed and able to continue in what He has for us in this region!