OM Europe News

Latest news item: 2008-03-13

OM EUROPE UPDATE  MARCH 2008

1) EUROPE NEWS IN BRIEF

*An exciting new partnership has been forged between OM Norway and the Free Lutheran Church in the country.  This co-operation is expected to generate more young Norwegians to participate in TeenStreet and short term mission opportunities with OM.

*Bertil Engqvist was the guest speaker at a missions conference in Sweden. The theme for the weekend was, "A state of mind - mission as lifestyle". Pray for all those who have heard the call to missions as a result of this conference.  Pray that the church which hosted the conference will be inspired to send out more workers. 

* A group of twelve high school students from Bryan College, Tennessee worked with OM Lifehope during their Spring Break.  One of the highlights of their time was going into schools to share the truth that Jesus is alive.  They prepared a programme called "Shout it Out" based on the triumphal entry as Jesus goes into Jerusalem.   More than 600 children watched the presentation and the response was very positive.

2) FREEDOM FOR ALCOHOLICS - Poland
A weekend outreach among alcoholics in Poland saw 130 people attend a two-day event.  OM Poland leader Arek Delik gave a message based on the story of Lazarus, inviting people to "come out" from their bondage to alcohol.  More than 10 people decided to give their lives to Jesus in response.

During the following week, seven of these people attended a home group meeting.  "We did sense a genuine desire for God in them," shared Donna Delik.  "These are the very first steps for them.  Like babies they need a lot of care.  We need to lift them up in our prayers as it is God who makes things grow."

3) MIRACULOUS PROVISION - Austria
Recently OM Austria received a letter from the Austrian tax authorities stating that because of a change in the tax laws, they were required to pay 43,500 Euro tax immediately.  With no money in the bank, OM Austria informed Austrian prayer partners and other OM ministries around the world of this desperate need. 

"During these past few weeks we feel like we have been watching a miracle," shared OM Austria leader Philipp Eschbach.  "We have 2000 partners on our Austrian mailing list, and their response overwhelmed us. Over 400 wrote back, sending in gifts, both large and small, amounting to over 39,000 Euro! With added gifts from other OM teams we were able to pay the bill on time at the end
of February."

4) ON AIR - Ireland
Two 40-minute radio programmes created by OM Ireland team members will be broadcast on Good Friday and Easter Day.  Using Bible readings, interviews with local Chritians and a radio drama, the Good Friday programme explores the issue of suffering and demonstrates how Jesus suffered on our behalf. 

The Easter Day programme begins with the women coming to the tomb on the first day of the week and finding that Jesus wasn't there.  Team members went onto the streets with their recording equipment to ask the question "Where is Jesus today?"  There was a varied response.  One person commented, "I haven't seen Jesus today because I haven't been to church."  Someone else answered, "I don't see Jesus anywhere!" while someone else said, "Jesus is everywhere". The programme concludes with two powerful testimonies of Irish people who have found Jesus.

The team in Donegal, Ireland has been broadcasting short "Word for Today" devotionals every weekday for the last three years.  These longer Easter programmes, produced at the request of the radio station, provide and opportunity to go deeper.  Please pray for the impact on these programmes in the lives of people in the North West of Ireland.

5) SHINING LIKE STARS - The Netherlands
Exciting and expanding new ministries in the Netherlands are taking the form of youth centres. OM's centre in Emmeloord is called "Heelal" which means "Universe." Explains leader Bart Broek, "We want to be like stars shining in the universe."  The teens that drop in to talk, eat, use computers or play games in this centre are mainly Dutch, but who have had little exposure to real Christianity.

In contrast to this scenario the centre in Delft, called "The Mall," is mostly visited by teens from a Muslim or 
Netherland Antilles (Caribbean) background. Ewout van Oosten says OM is partnering with Youth for Christ for this project, and 15 volunteer helpers come from nine churches in the area.

Both centres have been very well received in their communities. Bart and Ewout,former secondary teachers, explain, "Most youth centres focus on the problems of teens. We want to focus on their possibilities! We are thinking about having mentoring courses and helping the youth find out what they want for the future." Ewout adds, "We're pretty transparent. They know we're Christians. But we have to create a safe place and stay with them long term to gain their trust."

Pray that Bart and Ewout will stay focused, and that more OMers will join the staff this year. Ewout will be visiting a number of schools in Delft this April - ask God to keep opening doors!

6) ENGLISH CLUB - Hungary
From Saturday 15 to Tuesday 18 March the church plant in Tatabanya in Hungary is hosting an English club with visiting helpers from the USA.  The ‘Dove’ English club usually meets once a month for conversational English evenings. This coming weekend will be a special extended time with a walk planned for the Saturday afternoon  followed by pizza and a games time in the evening as well as English conversations and testimonies on Monday and Tuesday evenings. During the day the visitors from a Bible School in America will also visit English classes in the local schools, where they will teach the classes and invite pupils to the evening’s meetings.

Please pray for the young people of the church who usually participate in this and that new people will come.  Pray that the gospel can be shared and that people’s hearts would be touched.