Twenty Years of Freedom
Tomorrow, November 17, 2009 marks the twentieth anniversary of the "Velvet Revolution"; the Czech Republic's freedom from the Soviet Union and Communist grasp. This date also falls about midway between two very significant anniversaries for us as missionaries to this nation. It has been just over fifteen years since our first missionary trip to this country and it has been almost twelve years since we took up residency here.
The picture above was taken at a local high school where many of the young people we minister to and with attend classes. They are preparing to celebrate this monumental date but it is interesting to us that no one in the picture was born prior to the day of freedom they are now celebrating. None of them have first-hand knowledge of what it meant to be subject to foreign domination! They know, and have always known, political freedom. The sad truth is that most of them are now captive to far more heinous oppressors; humanism, materialism and atheism. It has been our call and our joy to be involved in the lives of these young treasures and be instruments of freedom from these new captors.
Of late, God has opened new doors of ministry to us. Over the past three years we have grown increasingly involved in the lives of an older generation who grew up with and inherent distrust of strangers. By our constant and consistent presence in their community, we've gained trust and favor and are now at a point that we can talk openly and candidly about our Christianity and its relevance for their lives as well. First fruits are emerging..!
Beginning last summer, we became aware that He is handing us a third generation. Many of the very young (those who were toddlers, newborns, or were born after our arrival) are at an age where we now are ministering and speaking into the lives of their generation as well.
Tomorrow we will be a part of a large, nation-wide gathering of Christians that may prove to be a "Crossroads Experience" where transitions are made and mantles are passed. The time will begin with an address by an acknowledged national leader who will summarize the events, battles and growth that has happened in the church over the last twenty years. His time will be followed by a message delivered by a young, emerging pastor/leader who we met on our first trip to the Czech Republic fifteen years ago. We have been a part of those speaking into his life and he has led and guided us in our quest to being relevant ministers in this culture. His focus tomorrow will be to lay out a vision for the future of the church here; the strategies to follow, the battles to wage and the focus of the churches in their communities as we march together into a new era and millennium.
We are writing to you today to ask that you remember the Czech Republic, and much of the rest of Central Europe, as we celebrate our day freedom and look forward to new moves of God in this nation and its neighbors. Our sense is that He is poised for new things not only for the church at large but for our own lives and ministry. There is a stirring. Will you pray with us and for us in these days that promise a "New Freedom"?
The picture above was taken at a local high school where many of the young people we minister to and with attend classes. They are preparing to celebrate this monumental date but it is interesting to us that no one in the picture was born prior to the day of freedom they are now celebrating. None of them have first-hand knowledge of what it meant to be subject to foreign domination! They know, and have always known, political freedom. The sad truth is that most of them are now captive to far more heinous oppressors; humanism, materialism and atheism. It has been our call and our joy to be involved in the lives of these young treasures and be instruments of freedom from these new captors.
Of late, God has opened new doors of ministry to us. Over the past three years we have grown increasingly involved in the lives of an older generation who grew up with and inherent distrust of strangers. By our constant and consistent presence in their community, we've gained trust and favor and are now at a point that we can talk openly and candidly about our Christianity and its relevance for their lives as well. First fruits are emerging..!
Beginning last summer, we became aware that He is handing us a third generation. Many of the very young (those who were toddlers, newborns, or were born after our arrival) are at an age where we now are ministering and speaking into the lives of their generation as well.
Tomorrow we will be a part of a large, nation-wide gathering of Christians that may prove to be a "Crossroads Experience" where transitions are made and mantles are passed. The time will begin with an address by an acknowledged national leader who will summarize the events, battles and growth that has happened in the church over the last twenty years. His time will be followed by a message delivered by a young, emerging pastor/leader who we met on our first trip to the Czech Republic fifteen years ago. We have been a part of those speaking into his life and he has led and guided us in our quest to being relevant ministers in this culture. His focus tomorrow will be to lay out a vision for the future of the church here; the strategies to follow, the battles to wage and the focus of the churches in their communities as we march together into a new era and millennium.
We are writing to you today to ask that you remember the Czech Republic, and much of the rest of Central Europe, as we celebrate our day freedom and look forward to new moves of God in this nation and its neighbors. Our sense is that He is poised for new things not only for the church at large but for our own lives and ministry. There is a stirring. Will you pray with us and for us in these days that promise a "New Freedom"?