A new wave of missions - Word of Life International takes a new step into the future

We have had tremendous days here in Moscow. This time the Russian speaking parts of Word of Life International had a Pastors and Leaders conference focusing on Missions and Leadership.  I was glad to minister together with Larry Stockstill, MatsOla Ishoel, Artur Simonyan and many others. We had about 600 delegates coming in from 9 countries and participated in the services and mini seminars with very practical teaching about different aspects of missions as; How to become a full time missionary, How to reach ethnic folk groups, Cultural adaption, Missions in India, in the Middle East etc etc.

It was great to see how the sense of belonging together, the unity,  faith and expectation were strengthened further during the conference. I had a verse of scripture for these days - And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us. 2 Cor 1:21. He establishes us and He anoints us. I can testify that this is exactly what happened. It was fantastic to hear all the feedback of the pastors! We are a big team together! 

It is wonderful to see how vital and alive the work in the C.I.S countries is. We already see an emerging missions movement. It is the beginning of a new step in our missions history. It is the beginning of a new wave. 

In my youth I tried surfing. You need to paddle out there to get positioned for the wave as it is approaching the shore. At first the wave

might look really insignificant, but step by step it rises higher and higher. When it approaches the shore it is time to paddle to gain speed in order to catch the wave. Failure to paddle means missing the wave. As one catches the wave, the wave catches you and suddenly you find yourself pushed by an enormous force and that is when the real adventure begins. 

This is what Word of Life experienced late 80:s and early 90:s at the birth of Russia Inland Missions. It is not an exaggeration to call that missions history. Over 1000 churches born, over 10 000 bible school student and countless peoples lives transformed.

Now it is time for these churches to step in to foreign missions. They are strategically placed to reach south into the Middle East, Central Asia, India, Indochina and China. A new adventure is starting!

Together to the ends of the earth!