An Answer...

I have been praying a lot for the Lord to open up new doors and give me greater influence with the Church and its leaders here in Ukraine.  As I am trying to build the vision here in Ukraine for Mission beyond Ukrainian borders I need to influence the body of Christ at every level, from children all the way up to the pastors and bishops.  The vision has just not been cultivated here.

I have been praying about something else as well. I have wanted, since before I came to live in Ukraine full-time, to develop an alternative, preparatory path for young, would-be-missionaries.  Typically, the path requires an expensive tenure in a private university and provides very little practical experience, and is usually followed by an entry-level ministerial position, the makes it difficult to repay the usual consequence of this route, Student Loans.  I wanted to create a combined internship and correspondence program that would allow prospective students to get practical experience on the field while studying in an approved and U.S. accredited degree program, at the same time.

A Masters’ Commission on Global Steroids…if you will.

Well it is possible that right now we are seeing the answer to both of these prayer requests.  I have been nominated to take over the Ukrainian National Directorship of Global University (the Assemblies of God, Worldwide Correspondence program). It has been getting approval as the process has been moving up the food chain.  If it goes through, it will not only give me a platform to preach in practically all of the Pentecostal churches in Ukraine about missions, and not only talk to the leaders about developing and supporting the vision, but to actually provide tools to help them do it.

It will also give me the opportunity develop the Global Commission Internship that I mentioned, allowing interns to actually earn U.S. accredited degrees while here on the field, for a much cheaper price, and while getting invaluable experience.

Please pray with me about this, as the process moves forward. I will be going to Springfield for a few days in September, for National Director training with Global University.  We will also be required to raise a full budget, whereas we have been running at about 20% of the typical budget.  This wouldn’t be a problem if we had time for a proper furlough, but we don’t.  We have current project in the works that can’t be left for long.  So pray that we have strategic meetings, divinely appointed, and that the hearts of the pastors and believers in Nor Cal Nevada, and elsewhere, will be moved to give, and give largely.