News from the Belgian Evangelical Mission
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April - May 2015 Bimonthly newsletter Issue 53 The Belgian Evangelical Mission Bld. Lambermont, 158, 1030 Brussels Belgium
BEM Info This is what you are... by Kurt Maeyens
Living in a country where so few people have a personal relationship with Jesus has a profound effect on me. Seeing so many who don’t experience the freedom and security we have in Christ weighs me down every day. ‘Our Father in Heaven, show us how we, the believers, Your children, can be used in Your hands to spread Your good news to others!’ Jesus’ words in Matthew 5, 13-17 speak to me in this situation: “You are… the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world.” The words “you are” mean so much here. For Jesus it’s important for us to realise who we are. We are the salt of the earth, we are the light of the world. Jesus tells us who and what we are. We matter to God, we’re precious to Him. He gave his Son to die on the cross for us, to give us a new identity, so we can just be in him. We’re so often demoralised by a little voice whispering in our ears that we’re nothing: “You don’t matter; you don’t do God’s will. There’s no point even trying to witness.” We’re so often overwhelmed by anxiety, doubt and the desire to be perfect. We let ourselves be dominated by these negative thoughts. I believe this is the moment the Enemy wins the game and we’re effectively paralysed. We so often do ourselves down; we cannot imagine what God could do through us by His grace. But Jesus looks at us differently. He sees us as His children,
His ambassadors, His witnesses. In Him we’re more than conquerors! Jesus looks at us and says: “You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world”. God wants to use us to make a difference in this world. Not through us trying harder, but thanks to the identity He’s already given us. He wants to use us simply to be salt and light in this world, seasoning it and reflecting Him ‘just the way we are’. As believers we can easily think this world is corrupt. But Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth, to give it the seasoning it needs and to act as a preservative and an antiseptic. John 17, 15 says: “I do not ask that You take them out the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.” My dearest wish is to see us believers working shoulder to shoulder for Him, just there where He has put us. May God bless you all!
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Kurt Wilfried An interview with both Flemish Directors the current leader and his newly appointed successor In 1981 a young and enthusiastic Wilfried Goossens joined the B.E.M. Sixteen years later Wilfried became the Director for Flanders and German-speaking Belgium. Today his full head of hair still keeps him looking young, although he’s now 60! Many are grateful for his gift of leadership. Wilfried is strong-minded ; he’s known as a supporter of Anderlecht football club and he’s an inveterate jokester. On 25th April he will officially hand over the leadership to Kurt Maeyens. In this issue we would like to introduce you to the new Flemish Director and look back on the last 18 years. Kurt, you’ve been working together with Wilfried for a few months now. On 25th April you’ll be continuing on your own. Do you think you’re ready? Kurt: Absolutely: yes, I do. These past few months my desire to serve God in this position has been growing. He has encouraged me on this path and strengthened me. It’s an enormous privilege for me to have been in the B.E.M. for so long and to have experience on the field of how the organisation works. Wilfried has been delegating all his tasks to me one by one. I’m convinced that I’ve now got what I need to start taking my first steps as Director alone.
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How would you describe your working relationship these past few months? Kurt: It’s been very good. Wilfried’s taught me a lot and also given me the opportunity to do things my way. I’ll never forget the moment he told me: ‘Kurt, you’re leading the next Flemish Council : it’s over to you now!’ Then he gave up his seat at the head of the table so I could lead the meeting. Wilfried, have you reached your goals? Wilfried: It’s hard to say. I’ve had the privilege of seeing our Mission and the whole Belgian evangelical landscape change and
Wilfried’s a very wise man. He thinks things through and always has a clear idea of what’s coming up next.
Wilfried, are you ready to pass on the bâton? Wilfried: I think the time has come to hand over the B.E.M. to the younger generation so they can continue the work with new fire and enthusiasm. It’s time for a fresh approach and new initiatives.
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develop and I’m thankful for that. Have I achieved what I wanted to achieve? As regards to evangelism I think, yes. As regards to church planting, I would have loved to have seen more progress.You can make plans, but unless the Lord builds the house the labourers work in vain. So yes, I have been able to achieve a lot of the objectives I’d set myself. I’m especially pleased with the development of our bookshops Het Goede Boek in Flanders.
A team of m issionaries committed to
organisations and denominations within Belgium and internationally. We need to come back to evangelism.Yes, Belgian soil is Kurt: First of all, Wilfried’s a very wise man. That’s marked his hard, but I believe God’s plan doesn’t change. If we come humbly entire directorship. He thinks things through and always has a to Him and keep depending on Him He can do great things. clear idea of what’s coming up next. He’s been an excellent administrator and manager: he knows the law, and thanks to him, But if you’re the director, will it really our missionaries now have a recognised status within Belgian so- be possible to work alongside the B.E.M. cial security. While we were wondering how to reach people in workers? an ever-changing modern society the Flemish Bible exhibition (Bijbel-Expo) was developed from its beginnings in Wallonia un- Kurt: As Wilfried mentioned earlier, I see this as a different apder his supervision. It’s still a great tool for evangelism today. proach to leading. I think it’s possible for us all to help each other.
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Kurt understands where other people are coming from. He’s a very compassionate person.
Wilfried, how would you describe Kurt? Wilfried: Kurt understands where other people are coming from, he’s compassionate and he sees things through in practice. Whereas my approach would be to take the initiative and point people in the right direction, Kurt is a perfectionist who pays attention to detail. We have very different styles of leadership. Kurt, what are your strong points? Kurt: One of the reasons I was elected was my ability to relate to others. I love people and I love to build relationships, and I want to continue with that. My wife Fokkeline and I are currently making time to visit every B.E.M. worker under my supervision personally.They’re all great people and I really want to work alongside them. I also want to develop more contacts with other
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I want us all to build a team together and inspire one another. I won’t be the only one making the plans ; I’d like us all to participate. Of course I’ll share my own ideas and be there to sort things out if needed. Wilfried, what are you looking for from Kurt’s ministry? Wilfried: I really hope that his enthusiasm will bear fruit. I’m thinking of his passion for SportQuest, for young people within the B.E.M., for the pastoral care of our workers… Of course, it’s one thing to have enthusiasm and another thing to be able to put it into practice! But Kurt has my full confidence as regards his aims as he begins his ministry.
In the meantime in wallonia... The Belgian Evangelical Mission works in the whole country of Belgium. The Flemish Council, led by the Flemish Director, is responsible for all the decisions and pastoral care in Flanders and German-speaking Belgium. The French Council, led by the French-speaking Director, gives leadership and is responsible for pastoral care in Wallonia and Brussels. Luc Salsac, our Director for French-speaking Belgium, has been serving with the B.E.M. since 1996. In addition to the job of Director he is also involved in planting churches on the field. In June 2015 Luc, his wife Suzy and their children will bid farewell to the BEM church of Herstal (Liège), handing on the leadership of the church to Thomas and Rosie Geronazzo. The Salsacs will then join the team of the new BEM church plant in Hannut.
Belgium o building Christ’s Church in
Every second month there will be an episode of the Nortons’ saga on
About a century ago, God called Ralph and Edith Norton, an American missionary couple, to proclaim the Gospel in Belgium. The Belgian Evangelical Mission was born. But what motivated them, what were their fears, what inspired them? In the issues to follow, we will turn our attention on their lives and see God at work at this time in history.
www.b-e-m.org
The following is an excerpt of ‘Ralph Norton and the Gospel Mission’, the book Edith Norton dedicated to her husband. These events took place exactly a hundred years ago. April-May 1915 Arriving in America, several meetings were held with the Chapman and Alexander Mission, but the impulse to return to the scene of war became ever more urgent, and at Atlanta, Georgia, March 25th 1915 we tendered our resignation to Dr. Chapman and Mr. Alexander. We were free to return to Europe. There were practical considerations to be met, and the next weeks were spent in seeking a permanent treasurer for our new enterprise, and in securing funds amongst friends and acquaintances. Before leaving America for Europe about 1200 dollars were raised for the purchase of New Testaments, Gospels and other expenses. Best of all, a treasurer had been divinely provided in the person of Dr. Charles G. Trumbull, Editor of the Sunday School Times. It would be in this very newspaper that I would later share about our experience as missionaries.
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