News > Europe

by Andrew K.

The 2023 Europe National Coordinators’ Conference was held from February 16 to 18 in Ireland, the country of literature that produced four Nobel Prizes in Literature. 40 people attended including 7 native shepherds. The title of the conference was "Have the Same Mindset as Christ Jesus." God blessed this conference greatly with His words. All participants learned Jesus’ mindset and they were joyfully united through Jesus’ mindset. 

On the first day, we heard the opening message after dinner. John, the coordinator for Ireland, delivered the message with a title, “Forget the former things, I am about to do something new based on Isaiah 43:18-19. His message was simple but alive and powerful. His message planted a new vision in the national coordinators' hearts. After coming to Ireland John went through many trials. The biggest trial for him and his family was Anna’s eight-year-long illness. In 2015, God spoke to John not to dwell on past failures and difficult times but God promised John that he would do something new. Since then, God has done something new for the past seven years. He restored Anna Blessing’s health in seven years and gave a good job. He also sent them co-workers Esther and Matthew Choi and resolved their visa issues. John thanked and praised God for the miracles. Ireland's co-workers served the conference wholeheartedly with one mind.

The opening message was followed by a Ukrainian Mission report by Jacob P.. We were greatly moved by his report: they kept their faith during the war and even actively served the gospel ministry. The Kiev and Podil chapters decided to join Europe UBF, while Odesa remained in CIS UBF. We pray that the war may end soon and God may bring healing to Ukraine. We pray that our brothers and sisters of Ukraine and Russia may be united through the mindset of Christ Jesus. Afterward, we divided into four groups and studied the bible passage of Philippians 2:1-11; the groups were divided into 4 separate groups: the Senior group, Junior group, native shepherds’ group, and wives’ group. 

The European Coordinator, Reiner, delivered a message based on Philippians2:1-11. The title was “Have the Same Mindset as Christ Jesus” and his message was powerful. The message was thought-provoking and made us focus on Christ Jesus. All coordinators opened their hearts as they listened. His humility and serving were greatly encouraging to us. Within his message, he touched upon the issues that prevented unity among European coworkers and helped us repent and be open-minded. It was a great work of God that God spoke to us through Reiner's powerful message. After the message, we all wrote sincere testimonies and shared them with one another. Some people shared their testimonies in tears. Everyone repented of his/her pride (in what aspects they valued themselves higher than others) and make up their mind to learn Jesus’ humility. All the barriers among coworkers were broken down and the conference became like a heavenly banquet. 

A few national coordinators freely shared their thoughts on how they can become one. M. Joseph S. of Israel gave a presentation about God-centered unity using the Tabernacle in the Old Testament as an example. This was followed by Reiner’s introduction for the 2023 ISBC and 2024 ESBC. After the conference, we visited and prayed for the University of Dublin (Trinity College Dublin).

There were two things in that this conference is different from other conferences. First, only national coordinators attended. We held an online New Year’s conference for all European coworkers earlier this year. Then we decided to have an in-person meeting for National coordinators. One of the most important prayer topics we had was to make a new vessel of coworking with Reiner as the new European coordinator. So we did not invite any guests from the outside. But the national coordinators' wives and native shepherds were invited. The atmosphere was very good and the coordinators and other participants could comfortably enjoy the fellowship and sincerely focus on the Word. European native shepherds and Korean missionaries became one with the mindset of Christ. Together, we became one with Reiner, the new Europe coordinator.

Second, it was a conference where Korean missionaries and native shepherds shared their testimonies together. The last time when Korean missionaries and native shepherds shared their testimonies together was at the Coordinators’ conference in Bulgaria. After that, they shared their testimonies separately. However, this time, even though it took almost four hours, everyone shared their testimonies together. It was a time for Korean missionaries to understand the native shepherds and for the native shepherds to understand the Korean missionaries' struggles. It became a time for mutual understanding, respect, and love. 

God has given through Pastor Ron Ward the vision for UBF in 2023 to be "United for the glory of God". We learned through the conference the importance of national coordinators becoming one prior to accomplishing unity in Europe. We thank God that through Reiner's message on Philippians 2:1-11, "Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus," God opened the hearts of the coordinators and brought about the unity in Christ. We pray that all national coordinators in Europe will be united in their hearts to serve ISBC and ESBC and give glory to God. Amen.

One Word: Have the Same Mindset as Christ Jesus!