News > Europe

The annual European directors conference was held from December 27th-28th in Wilderswil at the foot of the "Jungfraujoch“ in Switzerland. The title of the conference was "The Gospel: God's Glory in the Face of Christ“ according to 2 Corinthians 4:6. 

We began on Saturday morning with an opening message on Acts 2:17 delivered by one of our hosts, M. Paul S. Lee from Geneva. I learned from this message that God wants to pour out his Spirit upon us. This outpouring is not based on how rigid our religious life is; it is given by grace and mercy. God wants to give us his Holy Spirit so that we will have a living hope for ourselves and his ministry. 

Afterward we heard reports from 15 various European countries. Our European brothers and sisters in Christ struggled to serve campus ministry while maintaining a self-supporting life. They had different strategies to reach out to the students. For instance, in Geneva they distributed 400 Bibles and 500 “Jesus” DVDs, in Spain M. Joshua and M. Esther have two precious Chinese shepherdesses as co-workers, in Austria, they have monthly Bible schools, in some chapters the co-workers asked the native students to correct the grammar in their Sunday messages. In Eastern Europe the co-workers have discovered that the students are very interested in the Korean culture and language. They use language lessons as a way of reaching out to the students. 

The European summer Bible conference (ESBC) was a source of great encouragement for them and their Bible students and children. M.Elijah Park from Poland confessed that the young European messengers moved his heart and he repented of his lack of faith and wants now to challenge his mission anew. Matheus Singh of Portugal reported how his Bible student was freed from the power of sin after sharing his life testimony at the conference and thereby witnessing the work of the Holy Spirit.

Of course the new generation is also an important ministry and prayer topic in Europe. Many of the young adults are going to college now and are full-fledged co-workers. We can see God's great all-surpassing power working throughout Europe. 

After lunch we had reports from Shep. Reiner Schauwinold and M. Paul H. Lee (Greece). David Shin from the Czech Republic reported on the children's conference that was held parallel to the ESBC. Some 80 children attended the children's conference. They are our precious future for a Bible-based Europe. Then Dr. Charles Kim talked about his function on the history committee for UBF that is to promote and facilitate the publication of UBF history. 

Following a short break, we broke up into Bible study groups and had a lesson on Psalm 119:129-148. Shep. Elijah Lee from Dongkyo UBF, Korea delivered the message for this passage. The title was “The Unfolding of Your Word Gives Light”. I learned that the unfolding of God's word is like folding back the flap of tent – light floods the tent and darkness is driven away. When we read and study the word of God, we are also flooded with light of truth. 

Pastor Paul Hong then held a workshop on disciple-making in Europe today. We had a lively discussion and we perceived the differing aspects that make a disciple and also the hopes and obstacles we have in serving a disciple-making ministry here in Europe. 

On Sunday morning we had our worship service, whereby Shep. Walter Nett delivered the message according to his 2015 key verse 2 Timothy 2:15. He prays to live before God and handle the word of truth correctly in this new year. He wants to be a Bible teacher and Bible messenger in the image of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Once we had worshiped, we went once again into our Bible study groups and learned about 2 Corinthians 4:1-18. Pastor Abraham Kim delivered the message. God's light shines in our hearts, so we do not have to lose heart. We possess the glory of God within us. This Bible passage is very encouraging in our life of faith and our struggle in ministry. In the afternoon we had the time to write a testimony on one of the Bible passages. God encouraged our coworkers with these precious words of light to carry on the good fight in 2015. We have been reassured in Europe that we have this ministry by God's mercy, so we will continue setting forth the truth plainly (2 Cor. 4:2) and let the light of God shine brightly in our hearts for God's great work in Europe.