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Belgische Evangelische Zending Mission Evangélique Belge
Issue 44 : October - November 2013
BEM info
News from the Belgian Evangelical Mission
From a friend to another 1. A unique experience Summer has already come and gone and in this issue we want to look back at a number of ‘evangelistic activities’. But in fact, making Jesus known is not so much an activity as a logical outcome of our own meeting with Christ. I realised this again on re-reading the gospel of John. In the very first chapter we hear of several people meeting Jesus for the first time. This meeting totally changed their lives: the experience of each of them was different. John the Baptist recognised Jesus as the Lamb of God (v.35), Andrew saw Jesus as the Messiah (v.41), Philip bore witness to Jesus as the fulfilment of the law of Moses and, for Nathanael, Jesus is the Son of God, the King of Israel (v.49). Each of them had a unique meeting with Jesus, a meeting that changed their lives and their whole outlook on life itself. 2. At the feet of Jesus You read that after being with Jesus, they shared their experiences straight away. They were full of it, and a chain reaction began. John brought Andrew to Jesus. In his turn Andrew told Peter about it and Philip shared his experience with Nathanael. In many other places in the New Testament we read of believers who went straight from their meetings with Jesus to sharing it with others. Evangelisation is really nothing more than friends sharing with each other what is most important in their lives. 3. The Centrality of the Word They discussed Jesus and as a result brought new people to Him. They too were convinced and their lives were changed. I can hear you say – OK then, I will tell those around me about Jesus but how do I bring them to Jesus? The answer to this question is found in verses 13 -15 of Romans Chapter 10. ‘..for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”’ We bring people to Jesus by making His Word known. And it is His Word that changes lives. Wilfried Goossens
www.bez-meb.be
From sport to life! www.sportquest.be
In our postmodern society where everything is so quickly out of date and then replaced by something new, how can we reconcile the expectations of our contemporaries with the spiritual aims of a Christian camp? While recent years have seen a number of camps orientated towards adventure or music, Sportquest has taken another approach by combining sport and faith. Sportquest is an American organisation that sends teams to countries all over the world every summer, including Belgium. All of the athletes have followed a course of training in the United States to enable them to teach sport and talk about God. This year, Sportquest took place in seven different places in Flanders and several different sports disciplines were available. Each week of sport was characterised by open camaraderie unhindered by the linguistic barrier. As Sarah Beckham, one of the team members, explained, there is always a way of making yourself completely understood with gestures: you don’t need words to show affection for the youngsters and to encourage them. Every day, the young people improved their skills in the discipline of their choice. Tournaments were organised between team members and local sporting associations. God’s role in the lives of team members was an important emphasis in the project. Each team leader began the day by giving his testimony. In order to maintain the relationships created during the summer, Sportquest collaborates with the Flemish churches in organising evenings during the year.
Kurt Maeyens is responsible for Sportquest Belgium.With his wife Fokkeline, he works with young people at the BEM Mission Post in Alost. They have four children: Liesbeth, Samuel, Nathan and Eunike.
Crossing borders
www.zendingsreizen.com Why Mission Possible ? We are convinced that these trips are of capital importance to young people. They learn to serve Jesus abroad in a very real way. They push the boundaries; for some it’s the first time they have publicly shared their faith. Why does the B.E.M, with its vision for the evangelisation of Belgium, support this project? Of course, the mission trips take place abroad, but we hope that the participants will return motivated and eager to commit themselves to their local church in Belgium. One of them, for example, took part in organising Summer
Meanwhile, behind the scenes... www.limauges.org
‘Mission Possible’ encourages young people from Flanders to grow in their personal relationship with the Lord by helping them discover ‘Mission’. These annual two-week Mission trips take them to Eastern Europe for evangelism, practical work, and bible study, with two B.E. M. couples, Matthias and Sabine Valenta, and Gerrit and Karen de Jongh. BREEZE, an evangelistic project that took place in Belgium this summer. Others have decided to apply for training at the Evangelical Theological Faculty with a view to a future ministry in Belgium.
Why take part?
Do local churches support you?
It’s a fantastic experience. You learn to be part of a team, to share your faith, to meet new cultures and other approaches. We encourage young people to participate at least once in their life.
In general, we don’t encounter much opposition.
And the next mission trips?
Who organises the trips?
To our great regret, we have had to cancel the 2013 trip and this will certainly be the case also for 2014. We will begin again in 2015. There are several possibilities: Greece, Slovenia, Albania, Lithuania, Hungary, Rumania, Poland and Slovakia. We’ll see where God will lead us.
Together with Gerrit and Karen, we look after the practical details. It all comes under the B.E.M. in collaboration with the Kontaktmission, a German missionary organisation.
We all know the Limauges Camp. Every year camps and retreats are organised for all age, and thousands of lives are touched by the Gospel. This summer they came again, from both French-speaking and Dutch-speaking parts of Belgium, and were able to enjoy the use of the brand new infrastructure. But what goes on behind the scenes? The Camp has a Management Committee responsible for the upkeep of the buildings and the property, together with on-going renovations, the finances, recruitment of volunteers and accommodation for the various groups. Of course, Gerald and Bernadette Corneille are the Camp managers and BEM missionaries, living at the camp and taking care of the maintenance, hospitality, and everyday practical details. But the committee members are also volunteers who give their time generously to the Camp they love so much - Jean, who helps the Corneilles with administration, accounts and bookings, Mike, the technical and maintenance specialist, David, the architect, who is also responsible for overseeing the renovations, and lastly Karl, who coordinates the work of the committee and serves as a link person to the B.E.M. The only person missing is … you. There is always work to do at Limauges and more help is needed. Don’t hesitate to come and give us a hand. Contact gerantlimauges@gmail.com Thank you, Lord, for these brothers and sisters. It is thanks to them that the Camp is fully compliant with health and safety regulations, that it is still able to be a welcoming place. May they be blessed and encouraged in all their commitments.
Evangelism among children www.la-courte-echelle.be
The ‘Rouches’ are there
The ‘rouches’ is the nickname for the Liege football team with their red shirts– French- ‘rouge’ which here becomes ‘rouche’.
No, it wasn’t the football team but our team-members, dressed in bright T-shirts, all fired up with the same desire – to meet the children and show them love and attention through the ‘Jungle Doctor’ stories. The ‘Rouches’ were on the attack for five days of varied activities in two areas of Herstal – in the mornings in Liers and in the afternoons in La Préalle. The children hurried along, more and more of them coming each day. They were enchanted by the animals and identified themselves with the raven, Caw, and his misadventures. Happily, the wise Dr. White found solutions to the problems in his treasure trove, the Bible. Under the hot sun or out in the wind, participation in the games was enthusiastic and exuberant! The week of energetic activities ended with a party that brought together children, parents and team-members. These were special times that enabled us to sound the folk out in the hope of being even more effective in the future. We thank the Lord for the good weather, for the participation of the children, for the team-members and their effectiveness, for the freedom to talk to the parents, and for the volunteers who provided our meals. We are also thanking him for the opportunity of following up these activities with a club that will go on meeting at regular intervals. Premises have been made available. After many requests and refusals, a door has opened. May God raise up faithful servants able to carry on this work among the children. Every summer, the Christian Community Church of Ganshoren makes use of the evangelistic programmes developed by ‘Boost’ the BEM Children’s Ministry. For this the seventh year, the five senses were the daily guide in the discovery of Jesus by some forty children. The activities proved to be of interest to more than the children – there was a group of teenagers, who stayed in the background but listened to what was being said. The parents said they were delighted… and talked to others. On the Friday, a gentleman came to sign up his son; a neighbour had told him of the afternoon activities taking place, free of charge, in the Ganshoren park in collaboration with Scripture Union.Two young women just ‘by chance’ decided to bring their children to the place where the activities were under way. Several years earlier they had participated in Christian camps but no longer frequented the church. One ‘former’ child came to say ‘hallo’ and to thank the team for the happy times they had had. Whether it be little 8 year-old Abdel (an old friend) or Mirlind and his sister, who came for the first time, or even one or other child from the Ganshoren church who knew most of the answers to questions about Jesus thanks to teaching at home or in Sunday School….we pray that each child might have a personal encounter with Jesus and let Him transform their life.
Touch Taste Smell Hearing Sight
BEM, Inc. PO Box 2255 Buford, GA 30515 678-408-2361 usbem@bellsouth.net Belgian Evangelical Mission UK P O Box 617 EPSOM KT17 9JQ E-mail: BEMUK@b-e-m.org Lambermontlaan 158 - 1030 Brussel +32 (0)2/241.30.15 - information@b-e-m.org
Belgian Evangelical Mission - UK is a member of Global Connections (Formerly the Evangelical Missionary Alliance), a registered charity (no.247192) and a registered data user.