IMPACT SKOPJE 2016July 4-10, 2016, about 150 participants from 13 countries in Europe and the USA, beside local believers, pastors and missionaries, took part in Impact Skopje 2016, a city-wide outreach conducted under the auspices of PEF in full cooperation with the Evangelical Church in the Republic of Macedonia. Every morning the youth teams had refreshing times of worship, intercession and Bible teaching, featuring a variety of specialized ministries in the area of contemporary and contextualized evangelism. PEF team members made the following comments: “It was exciting to see the youth’s willingness to learn how to be used by the Holy Spirit to speak words of hope and prophetic words to people in the streets. Even during the training, as the participants ministered to one another, many were touched, encouraged and heard God's voice speaking to them. Some of the teams said that they will continue to put this into practice in their home countries”. “We went with our team to the old city where mostly Muslim-background Albanians live. Prayer and intercession had a very important role in our team outreach. Part of the team prayed and interceded the whole time, while others contacted the people. We were able to speak and pray with about 15 people, mostly Muslims. There was a growing freedom and we had very good conversations and responses.” In the three evenings of the outreach, our teams had intensive conversations with at least 50 people, were able to present the Gospel to them and pray for their personal needs. Most of them were young Muslims although some elderly people also responded to our invitations. Some were deeply touched after the Holy Spirit spoke into their lives. At least two persons were healed after prayer and possibly three prayed to receive Christ as their Savior. The local coordinator reports that three people applied for Bible studies which is significant for the local culture as people do not want to put their names on any paper. A few days after the event, two young people reported that during the final evangelistic event, while they were just sitting in their seats, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and started speaking in tongues. Also, young Orthodox activists were touched by the same event which will certainly result in greater openness from the Orthodox community. For example, they recorded the evangelistic message and shared it on YouTube. In the words of a national leader, "Impact Skopje 2016 was such an important event, ordained by God in such a crucial time for Macedonia, a land with political instability. Where people have abandoned hope, the message of hope was preached and proclaimed in the streets. The youth of our local churches in Macedonia were encouraged to have brothers and sisters from Europe and beyond come and encourage us in this great endeavor for God's Kingdom here in Macedonia. We are thankful for the support of PEF and the willingness to stand with us in this time of need!” Momentum is growing among all the IS16 participants who have started to pray about the possibility of going to another country in the Balkans next year, namely Montenegro. Praise be to God for His guidance and blessing on Impact Skopje 2016!
Source: PEF Head Office, Brussels, Belgium. www.pef.eu
IMPACT SKOPJE 2016 July 4-10, 2016, about 150 participants from 13 countries in Europe and the USA, beside local believers, pastors and missionaries, took part in Impact Skopje 2016, a city-wide outreach conducted under the auspices of PEF in full cooperation with the Evangelical Church in the Republic of Macedonia.
Every morning the youth teams had refreshing times of worship, intercession and Bible teaching, featuring a variety of specialized ministries in the area of contemporary and contextualized evangelism. PEF team members made the following comments: “It was exciting to see the youth’s willingness to learn how to be used by the Holy Spirit to speak words of hope and prophetic words to people in the streets. Even during the training, as the participants ministered to one another, many were touched, encouraged and heard God's voice speaking to them. Some of the teams said that they will continue to put this into practice in their home countries”. “We went with our team to the old city where mostly Muslim-background Albanians live. Prayer and intercession had a very important role in our team outreach. Part of the team prayed and interceded the whole time, while others contacted the people. We were able to speak and pray with about 15 people, mostly Muslims. There was a growing freedom and we had very good conversations and responses.”
In the three evenings of the outreach, our teams had intensive conversations with at least 50 people, were able to present the Gospel to them and pray for their personal needs. Most of them were young Muslims although some elderly people also responded to our invitations. Some were deeply touched after the Holy Spirit spoke into their lives. At least two persons were healed after prayer and possibly three prayed to receive Christ as their Savior.
The local coordinator reports that three people applied for Bible studies which is significant for the local culture as people do not want to put their names on any paper. A few days after the event, two young people reported that during the final evangelistic event, while they were just sitting in their seats, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and started speaking in tongues.
Also, young Orthodox activists were touched by the same event which will certainly result in greater openness from the Orthodox community. For example, they recorded the evangelistic message and shared it on YouTube. In the words of a national leader, "Impact Skopje 2016 was such an important event, ordained by God in such a crucial time for Macedonia, a land with political instability. Where people have abandoned hope, the message of hope was preached and proclaimed in the streets.
The youth of our local churches in Macedonia were encouraged to have brothers and sisters from Europe and beyond come and encourage us in this great endeavor for God's Kingdom here in Macedonia. We are thankful for the support of PEF and the willingness to stand with us in this time of need!” Momentum is growing among all the IS16 participants who have started to pray about the possibility of going to another country in the Balkans next year, namely Montenegro. Praise be to God for His guidance and blessing on Impact Skopje 2016!
Source: PEF Head Office, Brussels, Belgium. www.pef.eu
A small town in Austria is intentionally making efforts to integrate the immigrants into the life of the community.
Due to rainy weather, the event was held indoors at a local church. This is a proof of "traditions" being less of an issue! There are also times of meeting in the mosque for a variety of times when we are invited for meals. Also, the Muslim youth pitched in for set-up and take-down and clean up! This made the whole event really "with one another" even in the small or behind-the-scenes things. It was a great turnout even with poor weather!
Many of our AGWM personnel are involved in ministry and outreach to the refugees coming into Europe in droves. This is in addition to their particular long-term ministry focus to which they have been called. 
A couple from Albania that received Jesus as Savior have since been sent back to Albania since all the Balkan countries are considered safe countries of origin. They were of course sad they could not stay, but what a grace that they found Jesus while here! We contacted missionary colleagues in Albania who were able to connect them with a local pastor in their home town and they have met together. That is team work in the Kingdom of God where everyone has a part to play!