1. CBMC Netherlands Conference / Young Leaders Meeting
2. Europartners Board Meeting in Hungary
3. Visit to CBMC USA
4. Leadership Training in Hungary
5. Europartners Ministries (USA) Seminars in Europe

CBMC Conference and Young Leaders Meeting in Holland

CBMC Netherlands conference, November 6-8, 2009

The yearly conference of CBMC Netherlands was held 6 – 8 November 2009 at the Mooirivier congress hotel in Dalfsen. Several speakers shared their thoughts on the conference theme 'Surprisingly renewing' – Moving towards a new perspective:

Otto de Bruijne, word artist: “The way to live a good life is to live out of the surprise. You have to start regarding yourself as a surprise, as a gift. Something that you haven’t made yourself, but something that you have received. By doing this, you become thankful, it helps you to keep an open mind towards God, creation, and the people around you.”

Gert Hutten, theologian, author: “In a surprise you find something unthought-of. It’s about a gift that suddenly enters into your life. Renewing is not restoring something or bringing back to an old level, but it’s really about something new, totally different than before. Jesus brings a new and different life through His Spirit. Sadly enough the new life often has already become normal, while the Bible tells us about an ever new and lasting way.”

Jan Hol, Senior Vice President Communications of Océ: “Like each family, so each company does have a ‘housekeeping book’, a statement of debit and credit. What is actually hidden behind our existing housekeeping book? How could we renew our housekeeping book? What would be in the new housekeeping book for 2010?”

Young Leaders Training Seminar in Nunspeet, Holland
Paul Johnson’s main ministry focus is on developing leaders within the CBMC movement in the United States. He does this through the CBMC Legacy Leadership Initiative which is designed to prepare the next generation of marketplace ministry leaders. But, several times a year, he travels to Europe to build into the lives of emerging leaders in Europe. Following is a report of Paul Johnson about a training seminar for young leaders, November 8-11, 2009 in Nunspeet, Holland:

“In the beginning of November, I spent a week with 24 young professionals who represent the future of the CBMC work in their countries. Participants came from Latvia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Macedonia, Germany, and the Netherlands. This YCBMC retreat is sponsored by CBMC Netherlands and they cover the cost for all the attendees. This was the fourth year that this retreat was conducted.

We focused on the basics of the CBMC ministry…prayer for those who don’t know Christ, relational evangelism, life on life discipleship, team, and leadership. We divided the group into work teams that prepared and then delivered training in each area. They learned by preparing and presenting as well as exercises and practice that reinforced the most important principles. It was a great time and I know that God will use what they learned as they return home and implement the basics in ways that fit their culture.

We also visited several businesses where the owners were involved with CBMC in the Netherlands. There was ample time for touring and discussion about being a Christian in business and using the business as a platform for ministry.”

―Paul Johnson, CBMC USA

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Europartners Board Meeting in Szépalma, Hungary

The Europartners Board, under Chairmanship of Koos Mink (Netherlands) met at the hotel and convention center “Szépalma”, a Christian retreat in the beautiful countryside in western Hungary. It used to be the estate in the 17th century of the Eszterházy family, later passed on to the Count of Pejacsevitch-Miko. It was restored to be a stud farm for the famous Lipizzaner horses, and is now in Swiss hands.

It was an ideal venue for the Europartners Board to review Europartners this year and to some planning for the future, incl. the Europartners Leadership Retreat in Jerusalem, February 10-14, 2010. The preparations are well under way, incl. the workshops (for details on the Jerusalem retreat, please consult our website.

The economic and financial crisis has negatively affected the business climate among our various partners operating mainly in Eastern Europe. Every crisis is also an opportunity, especially so for our ministry to reach the marketplace in Europe for Christ!

During our retreat, the leadership of KEVE (CBMC in Hungary) came to fellowship with us. Janos Illéssy (Chairman), Jozsef Steiner (Vice-Chairman and Europartners Ambassador in Hungary) and Janos Tomka (Board Member) gave us an extensive briefing of the KEVE activities in Hungary.

For the KEVE leadership, the current situation in the Hungarian society can be described with four key expressions: materialism, overload, fragmentation and no values:

Visit to CBMC USA

Dominique Faessler and his wife Françoise were invited by Bill Yoder of CBMC USA (and Europartners Ambassador to Finland) to attend the 27th Annual Knoxville (Tennessee) Community Leaders’ Prayer Breakfast on October 23, 2009.

Dominique was keynote speaker. He gave his testimony, the story of how Jesus changes lives and invited the participants to open their hearts to receive or re-commit themselves to Jesus, as their Lord and Savior.

Some 500 community leaders and friends participated. The national anthem and 'God bless America' were sung, and a detachment of US Marines presented the colors. A very impressive event, especially for a European!

God was evidently present and Bill Yoder wrote the following comment on the prayer breakfast: “Praise be to His name that you were able to come to the US and especially East Tennessee. There is no question that you were wonderfully used, as the results of our prayer breakfast indicated that 13 men and 6 women prayed with you to receive Christ. We are now in the follow-up mode and will hopefully get some into a good relational tool like Operation Timothy.” Dominique and Françoise also had the opportunity to fellowship with the prayer breakfast committee and their spouses. Very committed Christian leaders.

On October 22, Dominique was the keynote speaker at a CBMC outreach lunch in Chattanooga (Tennessee). Some 100 men attended and 7 men prayed to re-commit their lives to Jesus.

Françoise had the opportunity to join a group of ladies involved with CBMC for a lunch. The ladies really enjoyed hearing from Françoise and the ministry in Europe. Both events in Tennessee were hugely blessed and an evidence of how open business people are for the gospel, especially in a downtown economy with so many pressures. They are seeking for hope and live which only Jesus can give. It is an encouragement for all of us to boldly share the gospel in the marketplace. God will confirm it with signs and wonders.

Following these events, Dominique and Françoise visited friends in Jacksonville (Florida), where Michael Cardy (Europartners Regional Director for Eastern Europe back in the early 1990s) organised an event with some 50 Christian business leaders in the city. Dominique encouraged them to follow Jesus by being a living testimony of Jesus and ambassador for the marketplace. The CBMC ministry should be enhanced as a result.

―Dominique Faessler, Europartners

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Leadership Training in Hungary

A report of Abraham Maldonado of the European Christian Leadership Academy (ECLA) in Malaga, Spain

“I visited Hungary from October 15 to 18, 2009 to support the KEVE Ministry (CBMC Hungary) in outreach and training events in Budapest and Debrecen. On the day of my arrival, during early evening, I was able to address an audience of University students at Corvinus University, one of the most prestigious economics universities of Hungary. I shared with them on the subject of Leadership for Life. During the speech there was a good exchange of ideas and a good questions and answer period at the end of the presentation.

On Friday morning, I spoke at the KEVE flagship event, the outreach breakfast for business executives at the Hilton Hotel in Budapest. The response of those in attendance was very positive. I then taught a half day seminar on Saturday morning to members of KEVE and others from the host church.

In the afternoon, I travelled to Debrecen where József Steiner hosted me at KEVE Debrecen/Bridge Foundation. There, I shared my testimony as a former Christian Military Officer and FBI Agent with a mixed audience of youth, business people and professionals. Many in the audience stayed after the meeting to ask questions, and to have fellowship and an opportunity to pray together.

I departed Hungary on Sunday 18 with a full heart and many unforgettable experiences from all the events and the personal contacts with the Hungarian people. I am grateful to the Lord for the opportunity He gives us at ECLA to serve the KEVE marketplace ministry through our relationship with Europartners.”

—Abraham Maldonado, Malaga, Spain

Feedback from Janos Illéssy (Chairman KEVE Hungary)
“The Lord provided fantastic audience in great numbers. But the even greater blessing was Abraham's ability to speak about Jesus with such passion and knowledge. We received the highest feedback from the audience, believers and seekers alike. Abraham certainly left a lasting mark. We sincerely hope this was just the first visit of Abraham to our country and wish to see him back. We are also grateful for another faithful servant of the Lord whom we could get to know through Europartners.”

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Europartners Ministries (USA) Seminars in Ukraine and Finland 

In October, Tom and Ann Tannery (USA) and Gary and Susan Bauer (USA), went to Kiev, Ukraine, and Helsinki, Finland, to teach the business ethics workshop “Ethics that Work.” All four on the team are from Europartners Ministries Corporation USA (EMC); it serves Europartners in their goal to reach out to business leaders and help them to live like Christ. Tatiana Gumenyuk met the team in Kiev and helped with the workshop there. [Picture: Ann and Tom Tannery]

About 25 people participated in the Kiev event, sponsored by Angels of Mercy (a medical ministry) and Church of the Holy Trinity (Presbyterian). Alexander Shelpuk and Viktoriya Kravchenko, both of the Ukrainian Association of Christian Businessmen (UACB), attended the seminar. They spoke at the workshop, encouraging participants to fellowship and connect with UACB on an ongoing basis. [Picture: Susan and Gary Bauer]

The Tannerys and Bauers had met Viktoriya at the 2009 Europartners Leadership Retreat in Rome and were thankful to have the opportunity to meet with Alexander and pray for UACB. At the workshop, Anatoliy Musiyenko, director of Crown Financial Ministries for Ukraine, introduced participants to Crown financial Bible studies for business and personal life, DVDs, and other helpful materials available in the Russian language. Crown and EMC are partner organizations of Europartners.

The Tannerys and Bauers then flew to Helsinki, for 5-6 days coordinated by Kristiina Drotar, Chairman of CBMC Finland. 27 leaders attended—in marketing, advertising, banking/finance, consulting, business coaching, medical professions, and School of Economics and School of Technology students. The EMC team also met with KY-Missio Chairman Miikka Makila (Christian fellowship at the School of Economics), spent an evening with the CBMC Young Professionals, participated in the regular CBMC prayer meeting, and attended a CBMC luncheon. Kristiina also coordinated a visit to Tallinn, Estonia with EKE (CBMC Estonia), led by Chairman Peep Neimann.

People found Tom Tannery’s personal testimony inspiring, how the Lord took a street child and grew him into a business owner in corporate America. The Bauers (EMC Communications Directors) also shot professional video footage and interviews in all three countries, for an update report in progress. “Europe’s Hope” and “What Europeans Say” videos are already available at EMC’s website.

Kiev comment: “I have to rethink my values and foundation of my whole life.”

Helsinki comments: “Practical examples from your own working life were the best part.” “It made the 10 Commandments close to everyday life.” These are a few examples of how the Lord Jesus touched people’s lives.

―Susan Bauer, EMC, USA

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