The Norwegian versions of the websites LookingForGod and WhyJesus were launched on December 1st 2009. Using the Internet to lead searching people to God and to local churches, the sites are expected to bring thousands of Norwegian visitors in closer contact with God. On the first day five hundred  people visited the websites, twenty people gave their life to Christ and four people would like to be followed-up.

The project became a reality in record speed. In May 2009 the decision to launch the websites was made. The Norwegians brought together several Christian organizations to hear the French organization TopMission and Agapè Netherlands present the plan. The resulting unified vision was to firmly plant the gospel of Jesus Christ in Norway. Enthusiastically they declared, “Lets make this happen before Christmas 2009, the best time for a launch!”

The LookingForGod website, developed for those interested in spiritual issues, explains who God is, what He would like to do for us and how someone can make a choice to become a follower of Jesus Christ. This website follows the ConnaitreDieu site created by the French organization TopMission.

WhyJesus is an internet course for people desiring to take a step forward in their spiritual journey to get to know Jesus Christ better. The course was developed by the Evangelical Broadcasting Organization in the Netherlands and handed over to Agapè Netherlands this year.

Both websites have been translated into several languages through which many have entered into a personal relationship with God through faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

LookingForGod is a first step for people wanting to know more about God. WhyJesus takes a further step and links visitors with an e-coach to join them throughout the five week course. The e-coach invites participants to an Alpha course and to visit a local church. They are nurtured in their spiritual journey with God and ultimately connected to other Christians who can help them grow. This process, developed by Agapè Netherlands and TopMission called a Stepping Stone Strategy, involves partnerships across a whole network of organizations.

Erik Furness, a Norwegian partner, admits, “When our French and Dutch friends presented the idea and tight schedule six months ago, I had my doubts that this could work out so fast. But, now we are where we dreamed to be! Thanks to a skilled project manager, volunteers who have spent much of their leisure time, good cooperation with the Family and the Media and P7 Kristen Riksradio, and behind it all – a living God who has cleared the road.”

Visit LookingForGod: http://omgud.jesus.net and WhyJesus?: http://www.hvorforjesus.net.

Ala & Marek Wyrzykowski

In September 2009 Marek Wyrzykowski became the first non-American Director of Affairs in Eastern Europe and Russia. Together with his wife, Ala, he has been involved in the ministry in Poland since the earliest days.

The time had come to let Marek in on the secret. The young Polish engineering student had become a Christian several months earlier and begun attending Bible studies led by foreigners. There he’d met  a pretty young woman named Ala, and wanted to spend more time with her, but she had to go to more conferences than he wanted to attend himself. He didn’t understand why Ala had to go to all these meetings, so he approached Larry Thompson, the American who told her to go.

“You need to keep your nose out of other people’s business!” Marek brashly declared.

Larry and Roy Stiff (campus director in Warsaw) explained to Marek Wyrzykowski (Vizh-i-kof-ski) that Ala actually worked for a worldwide Christian organization. However, in the communist Poland of 1984, this group, Campus Crusade for Christ, could not work openly. Ala had become a Christian while translating for the very first Campus Crusade mission project in Poland, and later became one of the first people in Eastern Europe to join the ministry fulltime.

Marek, a natural leader, had turned to Christ in his second year of university. He’d always wanted to know God, and though he tried to be good, felt he was never doing enough. Then a friend introduced him two guys – a Syrian and a Pole – who were leading Bible studies in their Warsaw dorm. Marek went to a study on the Gospel of John, and by the fourth study, he knew what to do with the gospel. Right there in his dorm room, he prayed out loud and gave his life to Christ.

Suddenly he knew he was going to heaven, and his fear of what would happen after death disappeared. More Bible studies followed. He learned to share his faith, and went on a weekend evangelistic outreach to Krakow. The following summer he attended a two-week Bible conference and loved the teaching. “I’ve got to share this stuff with my friends back home!” he exclaimed, and promptly went home and organized a conference for his friends.

Marek’s leadership skills blossomed. “Leadership comes natural to me,” he says,” but I didn’t notice it until after I became a believer. I wasn’t aware of it before, maybe, because those were Communist times, and people tried  not to stand out. Everybody knew that the piece of grass that stood  taller than the rest got  cut down first.”

Ministry Under Communism

Those were also the days of Solidarity, and the Communist government was more concerned about political opposition than spiritual movements. Campus Crusade, known among college students as just a student  group, had freedom to share the gospel in the university. “There were  informers but we didn’t know how many,” says Ala. “At first, we didn’t know how people would respond to us going door to door. So we just said we would begin doing it the way Campus Crusade does it, then see what happens. And nobody ever stopped us.”

“I wouldn’t call it freedom,” Marek breaks in. “I would call it not being bothered. We knew the authorities could act at any moment.”

When Marek learned that Ala was fulltime with a foreign Christian organization, he did not lose interest. The two began dating in 1984, and married in 1985. Marek wanted to join staff, but one had to be invited back then, and the invitation did not come. The young couple got involved in church work instead, and gained an appreciation for the Body of Christ outside of Campus Crusade. “I like to say I was the first to join staff,” says Ala with a laugh, “and the first to leave. Then I was the first to come back!”

In 1990, just as the walls of Communism were falling, Marek was finally invited to join the ministry. He knew he’d been considered four times before, but each time he was not invited for various reasons. “This has taught me humility,” he says calmly.

Marek and Ala joined 34 Poles already on staff at that time. They worked in Campus Ministry for seven years, then Marek began directing the Great Commission Training Center. He also became national leader of the Community Ministry and  joined the outreach to business executives.

The Polish Crisis

In 2001 a crisis shook the Polish ministry to its roots. The ministry had always allowed freedom to be either Catholic or Protestant, and in the early days, had a flourishing  partnership with Oasis, a Polish Catholic youth movement.

“I appreciate the wisdom of Campus Crusade leadership in finding a way to cooperate with the Catholic church,” says Dr. Wojciech Szczerba, president of the Evangelical School of Theology in Wroclaw. “Poland is 97 percent Catholic, and to detach ourselves from the Catholic side of our culture is almost suicide. Campus Crusade found a way to be faithful to their mission, and their identity as Protestant evangelicals, yet cooperate closely with the Catholic church.”

In the early 2000s, though, the Polish leadership was drifting away from that middle ground. Tension grew, a schism developed, and it began to look like the movement might break up. “I felt like everything I had given my life to was going to be destroyed,” says Ala. “It was a difficult time.” Marek – ever quick to take initiative to resolve conflict – got involved in the debate and tried to reconcile the two sides. He worked closely with Larry Thompson, who had pioneered the movement in Poland. Through God’s grace the  the ministry got through the turbulence onto solid ground.

“Marek looks at reality and sees possibilities, not obstacles,” says Henryk Piechota, operations director in Poland. “He often says, ‘We can do this!’” That ability helped Marek bring healing to the movement, and it led to him becoming national director soon after.

He’s also a builder, and helped build Campus Crusade Poland into a strong and stable movement. Today 98 Poles work fulltime on staff.

Last September Marek was appointed Director of Affairs for Eastern Europe and Russia. “Everybody has a trait that can be used in God’s Kingdom,” he says. “I try to take what is there and make it better.”

From the snowcapped Atlas Mountains to the endless sands of the Sahara, Morocco is a kaleidoscope of colours.

In August, a team of 30 volunteers from Spain took part in “Tetuan 2k9,” a humanitarian aid project in Tetuan, Morocco. Doors were opened to demonstrate God’s love to the Moroccan people.

Being volunteers from different faiths, Baptists, Catholics, Atheists and Muslims, not only granted credibility with the Teutan authorities but also gave the team members who did not know Jesus as their personal Saviour an opportunity to see God’s love in action.

Activities like puppet shows for children, athletics, football, chess and language lessons in English and Spanish connected project team members with the locals. Women were especially interested in talks about self-esteem, Spanish cooking and health issues.

A special relationship developed with Tetuan’s Mayor who during the closing ceremony expressed his gratitude and endorsement of the project. As a result, the Mayor of a neighbouring village met with and invited us to come and use his village’s facilities for a project to benefit the people of his village.

God faithfully opens doors!

The crisp Colorado Mountain air was refreshing.

French students and staff members spent several weeks in the United States this summer. The contingent ventured westward to attend the 2009 Campus Crusade for Christ biannual US Staff Conference in Fort Collins, Colorado and to volunteer time with several charitable organizations in Denver, the capital city of the state of Colorado.

“CSU” – Colorado State University, US. Staff Conference: 21st – 29th of July

Participation in the conference granted insight into the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ in the United States and promoted awareness of ministering in France. Time spent with Javier Garcia, director of Agape Europe – CCC Western Europe, Chip Scivicque and Jay Lorenzen from Here’s Life Inner-City and John Gaither from Keynote, CCC’s music ministry, was an opportunity to think and dream of new directions, new ideas and new steps for France.

Learning on the go – being exposed to new and different experiences builds respect for others and appreciation for one’s own culture.

The main conference sessions were held in the CSU Moby Basketball stadium. Days started with inspiring times of praise and worship and afterwards renowned speakers, Tim Keller, Steve Douglass, Keith Battle and Larry Crabb challenged everyone to reflect on the message of grace and how we live out and share our faith. The days went by quickly – three hour plenary sessions in the mornings and afternoons filled with seminars addressing various subjects like evangelism in its various forms to engage diverse people groups, spiritual growth, trials, etc.

An evening café gave countries an opportunity to present their ministry and welcome interested people to sign up!

We French delegates took advantage of free time slots in the evenings to present the many opportunities in France – the culture, the way of life and the potential to engage with people spiritually. During an evening specifically dedicated to France, each team member was given an opportunity to share – Laurent Bataille shared a testimony of his spiritual journey while a student at the university. Everyone present was invited to join French staff!

During other evenings dedicated to neighbouring European countries like Italy, we were encouraged by reports of what the Lord is doing there.

By the end of the conference, we had taken in so much – many have dreamed of how we can implement what we’ve seen. It will take months to digest it all. We were especially surprised and encouraged by the number of people who have a heart for and pray for France – some have prayed for decades.

The Denver Project: 29^th July – 5^th August:

After the conference, we drove to Denver for a week-long summer project. Javier Garcia challenged us by sharing from Matthew 9:36, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd”

Volunteering at a homeless shelter opened eyes to the needs of the less fortunate.

Our week in Denver gave us a glimpse into what the light of Jesus was to the crowd He was addressing. We learned to have and share the same compassion as we served with these various charitable organizations:

• Pulling weeds from rows of crops at Harvest Farm – a detoxification program offering therapeutic farm activities.
• Removing graffiti in neighbourhoods and tackling small projects in homes lacking resources.
• Volunteering at the Denver Rescue Mission: Serving meals, welcoming the poor, the homeless, those with drug dependency problems and those participating in rehabilitation programs.
• Helping at Habitat for Humanity: Sorting building materials and donated furniture.

“It was not our arms and legs that worked the most, but our heart.” said one participant. Another reflected on the time in Denver, “I never expected to face misery and suffering so close. Often, my heart was filed with sadness and compassion, but also of hope, for as I saw the need, I saw the response from the various charitable organizations. Despite everything, God was present in the midst of this misery.”

2009 Crescendo Summer Institute of the Arts

270 teachers and students from 24 countries assembled in the culturally rich city of Sárospatak, Hungary to participate in the “6th International Crescendo Summer Institute of the Arts” from the 27th of July through the 10th of August. Under the guidance of internationally renowned master artists, intensive, university-level studies took place in classes for chamber music ensembles, orchestra workshops and dance and theatre studios. Children and teenagers profited from their own parallel program.

During performances given at the end of the Institute, large audiences resonated their approval of the results of the work invested by the participants. In cooperation with the secular Zemplén Festival, “Crescendo” put on performances of a Haydn opera, diverse chamber music and orchestral works. Another highlight was an interpretation by Li Qi, a 23-year-old Chinese student, of the Violin Concerto by Felix Mendelssohn accompanied by the Hungarian Radio Orchestra. Li Qi was one of six young Chinese musicians who were guest students at the Institute and want to attend the Institute again in the future.

Beat Rink, director of Crescendo, shares his love of music and love for the Creator of Music.

“The Personality of an Artist,” from the Christian perspective, was the theme in daily chapel services and small groups. In addition, spiritual guidance and counselling and personal intercession were available. A public “creative church” service gave another opportunity to get to know the Christian message. Around 50% of the students were not yet familiar with Christian faith, while most of the other students, as well as the 40 teachers, were associated with “Crescendo.” During the two-week Institute, 18 children and 10 students stated their wish to follow Jesus Christ from now on.

Participants symbolically cast their burdens on Jesus.

In the meantime, The Crescendo Summer Institute of the Arts been recognised by the Hungarian Ministry of Culture as one the most important cultural events in the country.

The “7th Crescendo Summer Institute of the Arts” is planned for the first two weeks of August, 2010.

Romanian pianist Oana Zamfir shared at the Summer Institute what she had experienced with God in 2008:

“This is my second time at the Crescendo Summer Institute. I attended the Institute in 2008 for the first time. I was in a very difficult period in my life. I wanted to stop playing piano. My relationship with my parents was a disaster. I was making many mistakes and I couldn’t admit that I was doing wrong in many ways. – I didn’t know what a Christian camp meant. I was amazed by the gentleness of the people, by their kindness and especially by their freedom in expressing their love for God. I was shocked to see that for the people in my small group God was the most important thing in their lives. – God was speaking to me through them. – One night I started to cry and to pray. I felt that I had found something that I had been looking for all of my life. That night I decided that I want to love God more than anything else in my life. Since then he has been healing and changing my heart…“

Oana Zamfir, one of the winners of the Festival Prize 2009, will perform a piano concert in 2010 with the Hungarian Radio Orchestra.

by Jan Willem

Agapè StudentLife in the Netherlands is expanding! Four volunteers are starting a ministry in Leiden, while in Rotterdam, God has blessed so much that this fall the team sent five staff members to begin work at Utrecht University. With almost 30,0000 students, Utrecht is the largest university in the country.

The Utrecht team is expecting God to do great things.

Five committed people – Egbert & Sieneke Ribberink , Leendert & Marianne de Jong and Arjen den Admirant – are trusting God to provide lodging near the university-no easy task! Due to the large amount of students and the central location Utrecht is a popular city, and people can wait years before finding a suitable flat to rent. But for God this is no obstacle. Leendert and Marianne recently found a home after placing an ad in the newspaper, Arjen’s parents bought a house in Utrecht where he now lives with other students, while Egbert and Sieneke are still looking.

All five have hearts longing to fulfill the Great Commission in this strategic city, which has been a religious centre of the Netherlands since the 8^th Century

The Utrecht University is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe.

I went out with Leendert, and we had a couple of good conversations. First we met two guys who play in a band together. God wasn’t a subject they thought about. They weren’t believers, because ‘you probably only believe when you have been raised up with the gospel.’ I asked them: ‘How could it be that you believe because you have grown up that way? Don’t you decide about everything in life on your own?’

Next we went outside, since many students were out enjoying the lovely weather. We had a nice conversation with a female student. She turned out to be a Christian. One thing she wanted to achieve in life was to share the gospel with many people. ‘Well,’ I thought, ‘It seems we have the same passion!’ My prayer is that she will be open for us to accompany her. She told us she found it very difficult to witness, because she believes she needs to know the answer to every question that might come up. We’ll keep in contact with her, so soon we’ll know how things turn out. ”

For Agape Netherlands, this is a great step forward in reaching our goal for 2020: Multiplying Movement Teams in the top 25 Dutch cities.

Check it out: http://bsund2.blogspot.com

The buses attracted attention at every stop.

The messages written on the busses could not have been more different during the three-week tour. And yet, they had something in common: Both travelled through Germany to publicize their convictions. One bus was a red double-decker touting the message, “There is no God.”  The other a white tour bus carrying the inscription, “And when there is a God… ‘Gottkennen.de’ (Meet God)

During the “Get to know God” tour, we reached our three biggest goals, explained project leader Dr. Andreas Bartels. “First, we very effectively advertised our Internet website, www.Gottkennen.de (Meet God) – more than 1,000 hits a day was not unusual. Second, in the cities we visited, we experienced open conversations with passers-bys about the Christian faith. And thirdly, we were able to support local believers to take action beyond their church boundaries and bring conversations around to God.

Church groups rallied around the 'Gottkennen' bus.

Bartels was excited at how much creativity local volunteers demonstrated; “In Chemnitz, for example, an impressive program with games, dancing and a huge open air church service was organized.”

Right from the beginning, we worked at establishing best-possible relationships with the atheist bus campaign people. “Before we went public, we contacted the organizers and clarified our intentions,” explains Ingmar Bartsch, spokesman for the ‘Gottkennen’ tour. Fair, however critical, dialogue was a main objective.

Convictions were completely opposite: “We believe in God and that you can know Him personally. The people with the atheist bus campaign believe there is no God. It is important to ‘agree to disagree’ on this point,” Bartels is convinced. This was very successful over the three weeks.

Stimulating conversations occurred throughout the three week tour.

The reactions of the visitors were very positive; “I am so thankful, that here in Germany, there is freedom to have differences of opinion! It’s OK that a bus of atheists travels through Germany,” declares a Christian from Karlsruhe. And in the same way, they’re also happy that the ‘Gottkennen’ tour bus stopped in Karlsruhe. “From our many conversations, we realized questions about the meaning of life and about God are more prevalent than ever for many people,” says Bartels. One can be thankful the bus campaign brought questions about God into open dialog. “We can answer from our perspective as Christians,” says Bartels.

The ‘Gottkennen’ tour bus was with the atheist bus campaign from the start on the 30^th of May, although they were not always at the same location. Additional cities such as Osnabrück and Gießen were also visited. Campus für Christus, Campus Crusade for Christ, Germany based in Gießen, sponsored the ‘Gottkennen’ tour. Director Clemens Schweiger is confident it was worth it to start the ‘Gottkennen’ tour; “Through this, we as Christians could show our true experience with God.” Campus für Christus is financed through donations and likewise the ‘Gottkennen’ bus tour.

Conversations we not limited to stops in the cities.

Regarding the tour, the Chairman of the District Council of the Evangelical Church of Germany, Bishop Dr. Huber, at the Coalition for Evangelisation on July 8^th said, “It was good that Campus für Christus stood in contrast to the atheist bus campaign.”

In Düsseldorf, the atheist bus campaign also found themselves in the middle of an outreach initiative of the State Catholic Church.  Father Manuel Merten of the Dominican Monastery in Düsseldorf was so excited about the ‘Gottkennen’ tour bus that he spontaneously invited them to park directly in front of the monastery near the double-decker atheist bus campaign.

To view pictures by city, go to:

http://www.tour.gottkennen.de/gallery/main.php

During a visit to the Catacombs, the Next Generation team took time out to pose for a picture.

The latest round of the Next Generation Leadership Initiative, which met last month in Rome, challenged young leaders to think about how to reach a changing society, yet remain true to the “DNA” of Agape Europe.

Society is changing at a dizzying pace. New means of communication pop up seemingly overnight, and a “post-modern” generation has new ways of looking at life. Ministry tools and strategies that worked well a decade or two ago become less effective. If we in Agape Europe hope to make an impact for Christ in the future, we need staff members who can “understand the times,” as did the sons of Issachar in 1 Chronicles 12:32 – leaders who can adapt to a new reality yet remain true to our calling.

The current cycle of leadership training, called the Next Generation Leadership Initiative, hopes to accomplish just that.

Small groups gave plenty of opportunity to learn from each other and discuss how to apply the material.

“None of us knows what the future will hold,” points out Felix Ortiz, a member of the Design Team, “but we know it will be different. The ministry skills we will need will be different from what we have known. So our goal is to prepare people as well as possible for effective ministry in the future.

“Business as usual will not get us where we want to be,” agrees Paul Duncan, also on the Design Team. “We need a generation of leaders who think profoundly about life, who have good habits of reflection about what is going on.”

In order to build such leaders, Felix, Paul and others on the design team incorporated several elements into the Leadership Initiative. The first session, held last year in Ethiopia, emphasized community. The latest session, held last month in Rome, focused on ‘healthy movements.’

Healthy Movements

Alan Hirsch of Australia encouraged participants to think in new ways about what it means to do evangelism in a post-modern environment.

During the first part of the week, Alan Hirsch, a leader in the emerging church movement, raised thought-provoking questions on the nature of movements and evangelism. The second part of the week emphasized learning teams, and the importance of feedback and adapting to change.

“The week in Rome was mentally tough and intellectually challenging,” says Kevin Wood (AIA in Germany). “They presented new ideas and challenged the way we do things.”  Some of the new ideas helped Daniel Stähli (student ministry in Switzerland), consider where the current structure supports the growth of a movement, and where it hinders. “They gave me a broader view of how the challenges of the future can be approached,” he says.

“Failure is not an option,” says Paul Duncan (centre), who helped design the Next Generation program. “We are leaving no stone unturned in our effort to be fruitful.”

The design team wanted a multi-sensory experience where participants did not just listen to messages.  They also discussed case studies from Greece and Italy and experienced movements as diverse as the Catholic community of San Egiddio and the fledgling Agape campus ministry in Rome. The interaction broadened everyone’s thinking.

“Now I feel that my ministry is truly in touch with people in all of Europe,” says Nacho Marques (campus ministry in Spain). “This gives us a new feeling of strength. For example, when I heard about a problem that the campus ministry in Rome was having, I saw that we could potentially have a similar problem in Valencia. Now I have tools to help avoid it happening.”

The Design Team is convinced that no leader, no matter how gifted or experienced, has all the wisdom needed to lead in complex times. They want leaders to learn to work in teams, and to be willing to try new things.  “We want to challenge people with questions to which nobody knows the answers,” says Paul. “We need a generation of leaders willing to take risks, to fail, and to keep trying until they find the solutions.”

The DNA of Agape Europe

Those solutions must in some way incorporate the “DNA” of Agape Europe.  “We have a powerful DNA,” says Felix, “which still has the strength and power to build movements. And this is win, build, and send, based on 2 Timothy 2:2.”

One day the team went out to experience the Rome university ministry and meet students. Brian Evans, a participant who also serves on the Rome team, met a group of guys at La Sapienza University and talked about the gospel.

A chief goal of this round of the Next Generation Leadership Initiative was to help participants wrestle with how to apply the core principles of Agape in a changing world. It’s not about the method used, whether that be Knowing God Personally, the JESUS film, or something else. Agape Europe’s DNA must be embedded in the thinking of each staff member. As this happens, it will be natural to develop new strategies that both reach a changing generation and are true to who God has called us to be.

“The Bible is 100 percent valid,” says Nacho. “Christ is our message. But we have to explore new ways of offering the message of the gospel to the world. And since fellow workers all over Europe are thinking in the same way, I believe God is preparing us for a new season.”

Dan Trepod

Few students in Berlin have ever met somebody who loves and follows Jesus. Even fewer have friends who are believers. As a result, the 13 STINTers in Berlin this year seek to do bold, but relational, evangelism over lunch in the student cafeterias.

“We try to share the gospel in that first conversation,” says Dan Trepod, student ministry director in Berlin. “At the end, if it went well, we say, “This was a great conversation! Would you like to meet again? And we keep meeting as long as they are willing.”

As time goes on, some grow more interested, and eventually give their lives to Christ. Others grow less interested, and quit meeting. Currently team members are meeting regularly with more than 100 people, most of whom are not believers. Two Bible studies also meet, one at the Free University of Berlin and one at Humboldt University – where Einstein once worked and Marx and Engels studied.

“Last year two students received Christ with us,” says Dan. “This year we hope to see more students become Christians. Our goal is to finish the year with a group committed to Campus für Christus, not just to friendship with us.”