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Jesus is the Way for Europe

Brief Thanksgiving and Prayer Topics by P. Ron Ward

We give all thanks and praise to God for his abundant blessing on the European Summer Bible Conference 2024, “The Way.” In answer to the prayers of UBF members around the world, the Holy Spirit was poured out on all the programs. Jesus Christ was clearly revealed as the Way for Europe. More than 1,100 people from 43 nations heard the word of God and responded with faith and repentance. During a special invitation to come forward at the end of the Saturday night program, about 60 young people expressed their acceptance of Christ. As one of the pastors who prayed with them, I witnessed them receiving forgiveness for their sins, healing their wounds, and freedom from the work of the evil one. Afterward, Sarah Han told me, “P. Ron, Europe has hope!” Yes, Europe has hope! Europe’s hope is Jesus, the way. Let’s pray for the spiritual revival of Europe through young leaders who are following Jesus.

We give thanks to God for the sacrificial, prayerful, and wholehearted service of many who worked hard for this conference: Reiner S., Bruno A., and so many second-generation missionaries on the Orga Team, Hannah S. and the Czech members who hosted the conference in Prague, and for the powerful messengers, the graceful life testimony speakers, the amazing praise and worship team, and the group Bible Study leaders, and all the workshop presenters. Special thanks to those who served behind the scenes, whom only Jesus knows fully. He is our great reward. May his grace and peace be with us all.

<7/31/2024>

by General Director, Pastor Ron Ward

Jesus, the Way for Europe

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (Jn 14:6)

We have been praying a lot for the European Summer Bible Conference 2024, especially for the messengers and life testimony speakers. By invitation, I joined Reiner S. on the messenger mentor team, along with M. Joshua L. (Belgium), Dr. Samuel L. (Cologne), Dr. Henoch H. (Heidelberg), and M. James K. (Bulgaria). Two messenger camps were held in Heidelberg in June. Heidelberg coworkers welcomed and served the team with love, prayer, delicious food, lodging, and whatever was needed. We are deeply grateful to them.

The situation in Europe is challenging. Reiner said: “Europe has a long Christian tradition. But since the Enlightenment, people have questioned the authority of the Bible and faith in God and tried to build all their thinking, their lives, and societies on their own human reason. As a result of this, nowadays, most people in Europe decide by themselves what is the goal and the way of their life--based on their own thoughts, wishes, and situations. Through this, people have the impression that there are many possible ways, and they just have to find the one which suits them best. They also try to be tolerant towards others and not impose their way on others.” So when they hear that Jesus is the way, they think, “That is good for you, but not for me.” They are likely to dismiss the message and forget about it. Underlying rational humanism makes them dismissive. Indifference hardens their hearts. Moreover, the long season of prosperity in Europe has led to spiritual complacency. Behind all of this is the devil, blinding their minds.

It is in such a situation that UBF leaders in Europe are standing. They worship Christ, obey his words, serve one another, and pray for Europe to experience a spiritual revival. Yet their lives are not easy. There are no full-time shepherds. Leaders are all self-supporting. They are extremely busy with their jobs, families and ministries. They suffer daily in many practical ways. They have also experienced some discouraging and painful events in the past few years due to internal conflicts. For them, the ESBC is a critical time to meet Jesus and receive his love and grace. It is a time to renew their faith that Jesus is the way and to help young Europeans with a conviction that can challenge the indifference of these times.

The revival of Europe will not happen through reasonable words or clever human efforts. The revival of Europe will happen when the word of God pierces the hearts of people and reveals that Jesus is the way. For this reason, we messengers and mentors devoted ourselves to God’s words. God helped each of us to trust him and to give our hearts. For example, P. Jacob P. traveled 2,000 kilometers from Kyiv to Heidelberg and then back again two times. Due to the ongoing war, he experienced many delays and uncertainties. His travel was time-consuming and dangerous and required him to postpone many work and family duties. But he bore all the hardships without a hint of complaint. Rather, he was deeply grateful for the privilege of spending time with God’s word and receiving help with his message. He and all the other messengers made great progress. Now, I ask you to pray for them to speak with the Holy Spirit’s power at the conference. May many young Europeans find Jesus the way and ignite a revival in their continent.