CZECH
From: Robert Schroeder <100714.1660@compuserve.com>I am a Canadian doing missions mobilization in Europe on a part-time basis. One of the projects which I am working on is to help the Czech churches to build up a missions program which was non-existent during the Communist years.

Historically, the Czechs have played an important role in missions, through the activity of the Moravians, who come from the eastern part of the Czech. They were the forerunners to the modern missionary movement. In order to escape persecution, they found refuge at Herrnhut, Germany through Count von Zinzendorf. In 1727, revival broke out and a missionary movement was born. A prayer meeting was started, which carried on uninterrupted for 100 years. In the first 150 years, over 2000 missionaries were sent out.

Today, the Czech church is starting again from the beginning. They are in the process of organizing missionary training and are starting to translate missionary biographies and other books about missions. It is my intent to help direct their attention towards the unreached peoples.

One of the tools which I use, is a seminar from AIMS which is designed to help educate and mobilize local churches for missions. It also focuses on the unreached peoples. When I first taught this seminar in the Czech Republic in a Bible school nearly two years ago, I had an idea which I sensed was from the Lord. It involved training Czech nationals to teach this seminar and carry out missions mobilization in their own churches. Through divine appointment, I came into contact with a national organization called "Christian Missionary Society" which is task force supported by local churches from various denominations. They publish a magazine, translate and publish books, organize conferences and do organizational work for ministries such as Billy Graham and March for Jesus.

This organization had already made contact with several mission organizations and were very interested in the seminar. They have now translated the seminar, and I am in the process of training & doing P.R. work in the Czech Republic. This happened with a minimum of time & expens

I was invited to present parts of the seminar to pastors from the region of Liberec in the northern part of the Czech Republic where Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic meet. I received the invitation from a large Moravian church in Liberec which organizes regional pastors meetings from these three countries. This is only 40 kilometers from Herrnhut, where the original missionary movement started. There were also people from Herrnhut present. I have discovered many young people in the Czech Republic who sense God's calling to world missions.

A couple of thoughts gleaned from my limited experience in missions mobilization:

1. Missions mobilization can be frustrating, because many people do not recognize the importance of the ministry and thereby, it is often underfunded. At the same time, the Lord stands behind the ministry and can multiply the loaves and fishes. Time and time again, I have experienced divine appointments and know despite all the difficulties, that I am in the center of His will.
2. We need to have a servants heart. This is especially necessary when doing missions mobilization in another culture. The doors in the Czech Republic were open to me, because I am there to serve them. I allow them to take the initiative and own the vision. I am only there as long as necessary.
3. It is necessary to see particular nations not only as mission fields, but as potential missionary sending nations. I see this in my limited involvement in eastern Europe. Many such nations have been on the receiving end of much missionary activity. However, they as a church can only mature and develop in a healthy manner when they themselves have a missionary vision.

Keep pressing on and hang in there!

GERMAN: BETHANY PRAYER GUIDES
We have recently translated all the Bethany profiles on Yemen into German and are now working on the final check + layout, but you can tell people that they are available from us.

Kerstin Hack, AIMS Deutschland, Postach 450129, D - 17171 Berlin, Germany E-mail: 100711.2622@Compuserve.com

GERMAN: MISSION2000 Conference
From: Bob Williams <bob@aims-usa.org> Participants at the missions conference in Germany were challenged with the incredible need of unreached people groups. As a result, on the event's final evening, 42 unreached people groups were adopted by individuals and churches... and a short-term team was sent to one of the world's most isolated unreached people groups... This was the third Mission 2000 conference held in Germany. Convening in September on the premises of YWAM Bispingen, it was jointly organized by AIMS-Germany in partnership with a branch of YWAM North Germany. The motto of the AD2000 & Beyond Movement, "a church for every people and the gospel for every person by the year 2000," has also been the motto for this conference... Speakers George Otis Jr. and John Robb stressed the importance of prayer in the task of reaching unreached people groups. Medical doctor and mission leader Betsy Neuenschwander showed in a new and touching way how God feels about unreached people groups. Author and speaker Bill Stearns taught on effectively mobilizing for missions. The event stressed the importance of going beyond theory and putting specific missions principles into practice immediately. Attendees also participated in intensive prayer times for more than 100 unreached people groups. Mission2000 coordinators can be contacted at CompuServe 100330,2724 or <100711.2622@Compuserve.com>

GERMAN
From: Kerstin Hack <100711.2622@CompuServe.COM>
..I am the only full time staff here [AIMS-Germany]- so I do everything from writing letters, advising people, mobilizing churches, help networking, organizing seminars and conferences, sending out people profiles, writing prayer letters...I love this crazy mixture, but there is only a limited amount of time... Over the last weeks/months the Lord has begun to bless me with a growing team of volunteers, but very often it is still "head under" a pile of work. Therefore I am concentrating my efforts on the German speaking countries. In cooperation with Hope for Europe we have started a German Mission Mobilizers (GMM) E-mail conference - simply because not everyone in Missions in Germany speaks English and I saw the need for better communication among Missions people in Germany. Actually - in spite of our name - we are not a real Mobilizers conference, but share a lot of other stuff as well ("anybody in need for a laptop for a missionary, 20 hospital beds, a job, whatever...). It's quite funny...(I attach the basic info on the conference at the bottom - feel free to pass it on to others for whom this may be interessting)

..We are the German branch of the Association of International Mission Services, Virgina Beach, headed by Howard Foltz. But the situation in Germany is very different from America (very small churches, very few Missions oriented churches at all, very little cooperation between Missions Societies) and the way in which we work has to be entirely different as well. Therefore we are the same organization, but probably you would not notice unless you had a very close look. Due to the tensions in Germany between Evangelicals and Charismatics we decided not only to work for charismatic churches (as AIMS USA) does, but try to function as a bridge between the two parts of the body....

Info: New E- mail conference for German Mission Mobilizers To send a message to this conference, write to german-mission-mobilisers@XC.Org NOTE: Messages you send will *not* be sent back to you. They *will* go to all other subscribers to this conference.

..Web Interface? Check out the Hope For Europe (HFE) home pages at http://www.ontonet.be/~ont002/hfe.html

Ron Kernahan is moderating this conference as of July 1996. I can be contacted directly at RonKernahan@XC.Org. GO ------>

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