Introducing the European Missionary Fellowship EMF

 

The EMF (European Missionary Fellowship) is relaunching in these days its website and preparing a new video.

This is a preview of: "Introducing the EMF"

From 1935 to 1940, a young Scots evangelist, James Stewart, labored for the sake of the Gospel in several countries in Eastern Europe. This led to the formation of the European Evangelistic Crusade, and EMF was established as a mission in its own right in 1959. 

Martin Leech - EMF Director

The continent of Europe comprises of about 13% of the world’s population eight hundred million people living in over thirty countries. All have a Christian tradition of sorts – Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant – but know very little of evangelical truth. Over the past half a century or so atheism, humanism, secularism and materialism have eroded these traditions. The over-riding aim of EMF is to establish Biblical Christianity throughout Europe. This embraces the work of evangelism, church-planting and supporting Gospel churches, at the same time encouraging them to become self-governing and self-supporting. EMF works closely with churches both at home and abroad in a constant desire to further the spread of the gospel.

Deputation 2012 - Bulkington

Tonight at 7,30 pm we'll be at Bulkington Congregational Chuch for their weekly Midweek Prayer & Bible Study and this week the meeting will include The Lord's Supper.
It will be an opportunity for us to share about our work in Italy and to strengthen our fellowship with this church. 

Deputation 2012 - Hinckley

Yesterday we arrived in Hinckley and Stefano had the privilege to lead the weekly prayer meeting at Mount Road Baptist Church with a reflection from Hebrews 12:1-3.


It is always so encouraging to see Christians so committed to bring everything to the Lord in prayer and to see the way in which they faithfully pray for us and that they are still remembering some specific matters that we shared with them even more than a year ago.

Tonight Jenny's parents organized an informal "Open House" evening for everyone in the church. This will give us the opportunity to spend some time catching up with the many friends from Mount Road Baptist Church.

Mount Road is the church where Jenny is from, and from the beginning of our ministry in Bologna they have prayerfully and faithfully partnered with us for the cause of the Gospel in Italy.

Deputation 2012 - York

Yesterday evening we participated at the missionary prayer meeting of York Evangelical Church
where we shared about our work in Italy.

We had a really lovely meeting and we felt a passion for the Lord and His Kingdom.

Tomorrow we'll be with them for the morning and evening services. In the morning we'll be interviewed by pastor Mark Troughton about our ministry in the Bologna Area.

Deputation 2012 - EMF & Welwyn

Today we are at the European Missionary Fellowship headquarters.

It's really nice to see everyone and have fresh updates about how the work is progressing in Europe!

During the day we are going to visit some friends from Welwyn Evangelical Church who have supported since we started our work in Italy.


In the evening we'll be present at their Bible Study and be able to give a little update.

Deputation 2012 - Bury St. Edmunds

We have started our deputation programme!

We had a lovely weekend with our friends in Bury St Edmunds. We were able to be present at their harvest supper on Saturday and then spend the Sunday with the church sharing at their fellowship lunch and then Stefano preaching in the evening.

It was great to see and catch up with many friends and see how God is blessing the fellowship at Westgate!



We are really excited about their outreach in a town cafe and at the market and with the mums and tots.


Thank you to our friends there and for your partnership in the work in Italy!

Italian Churches Network meets Budrio's Mayor for earthquake people

Tomorrow morning Stefano and Gianluca Derudas 
(pastor of the Nuova Vita Church in Bologna) will meet Giulio Pierini, (mayor of Budrio) to give a gift towards the people in Cavezzo affected by the recent earthquake.
This gift has been collected by the UCBC (Union of Biblical Christian Churches) an Italian network of Evangelical Churches.

Porterbrook Italia - Video Interview with Rob Krause

Video Interview with Rob Krause at the Second Residential of Porterbrook Italia

Rob Krause is the director of the Porterbrook learning site in Pordenone and Pastor of the Serenissima Bible Church.

Community meal at the "Onion's Town Fair"

In these days in our village we had the annual "Onion's Town Fair (Fiera della Cipolla)" a traditional town fair that where thousands people come for food, fun and meeting friends.

This year we helped alongside many volunteers from the village. So Jenny served traditional Italian specialities at the tables for the gastronomic stand Thursday, Friday and yesterday night, whereas Stefano helped the cleaning team yesterday night.

Tonight we'll have a special community meal with all the volunteers that helped during the fair and more opportunities to meet people and strengthening friendships.

Series on Hebrews 11 - Christ the founder and perfecter of our faith

Tomorrow Stefano will conclude the shared series on Hebrew 11.
The goal is to see Hebrews 11 as a museum gallery full of portraits, but each one of them is pointing to the end of the gallery: that is Christ!

This Sunday Stefano will preach on Hebrews 11:39 - 12:3 

Christ the founder and perfecter of our faith!
 

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Hebrews 11:39-12:3 (ESV).

John Owen:

The foundation of our stability in faith and profession of the gospel, in times of trial and suffering, is a constant looking unto Christ, with expectation of aid and assistance; he having encouraged us unto our duty by his example, as in the following words. — Nor shall we endure any longer than whilst the eye of our faith is fixed on him. From him alone do we derive our refreshments in all our trials.

John Owen, The Works of John Owen, An exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews, Volume 23, The Ages Digital Library, Albany, 2000, p. 297

Porterbrook Italia - Video Interview with Steve Timmis

Video Interview with Steve Timmis at the Second Residential of Porterbrook Italia

Steve Timmis is the co-founder of The Crowded House, an international group of church planting networks, and the co-director of the Porterbrook Network, an initiative that trains church planters. 

He's also the director of Acts 29 in Western Europe and the co-author of Total Church.

My Space - Starting Again

On Saturday afternoon at 4 pm we'll have our first meeting for My Space 2012-2013.

This will be a special event with a Skype phone-call with the team that came from College Church in Weaton (Chicago) to help us during the Exch@nge 2012 camp!

Please pray that many of the campers will come regularly at the My Space Club!

Porterbrook Italia Second Residential

From the 27th to the 29th of September will have
the Second Residential of Porterbrook Italia
at the Serenissima Bible Church.

We'll have seminars on:
- Gospel and relationships
- How to apply Biblical exposition to Biblical Theology
- Global Impact
- Apologetics

and the introduction to the Porterbrook modules 5-8
that we'll teach at the Bologna Local Center.

The main speaker will be Steve Timmis.

Steve Timmis is the co-founder of 

The Crowded House, 

an international group of church planting networks, and the co-director of the  

Porterbrook Network, 

an initiative that trains church planters. 

He's also the director of Acts 29 in Western Europe and the co-author of Total Church.

Info about the book

Total Church pleads for two key principles for church and mission. First, the gospel as content: being word-centred (for the gospel is truth) and being mission-centred (for the gospel is truth to be proclaimed). Secondly, the community as context: sharing our lives as Christians and offering a place of belonging to unbelievers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Watch this video of Steve Timmis on what the church is and what the church is for:

Pastors' Fraternal of the Bologna Area

Tonight Stefano at 7.30 pm will participate at a Pastors' Fraternal of the Bologna Area held
in Sasso Marconi Church.

These are the pastors from the churches we cooperate both in evangelistic events and in the training programme of Porterbrook.

We'll have a time of sharing about our churches' lives, encouragements and challenges.
Then we'll have a time of prayer one for another and for our churches.

Interdenominational Prayer meeting with Pastors from the Bologna area

Tonight at 6 pm Stefano will participate at the
Bologna Evangelica Prayer Meeting,
an interdenominational prayer meeting for
church and mission leaders from the Bologna Area

Baptismal Classes

Tomorrow afternoon Stefano will start a series of Baptismal Classes for a young man from Sasso Marconi church who was attending our former Young People group.

We'll study a series of doctrines following the 1648 Westminster Shorter Catechism in the 1864 "Baptist Version" edited by C.H. Spurgeon 

From the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

Question 1. What is the chief end of man?

Answer. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

Porterbrook - training session

Tomorrow from 5.30 pm onward Stefano and three pastors from the Bologna area
will have their second training session to interact as facilitators to teach the Porterbrook material.

In October 2012 we will start the
second year course in Bologna!

From the Porterbrook website:
Porterbrook helps Christians learn how to serve Jesus and his people better — whether they are church leaders, church planters, or simply Christians wanting to become more mission-focused. Porterbrook has been designed to be integrated with your whole Christian life in whatever context you are serving. It’s not theology for theology’s sake:
the Porterbrook Learning material is written by practitioners for practitioners.

Italian Ministries - annual assembly

Tomorrow from 11.30 am to 5.00 pm we'll be at the Italian Ministries annual assembly.

We'll an opportunity to be exposed to what many missionaries are doing across the whole Italy and to pray one for another


Italian Ministries (IM) exists:
• to facilitate the development of missional vision and action for the church in Italy.
• as a missional network in Italy bringing together like-minded missionaries to form a field-based. fellowship.
• to offer a window of opportunity for Italians to be involved in mission service (in close collaboration with GMI and 9.37).
• work alongside local churches, organisations and individuals (in Italy and elsewhere) to facilitate a vision for mission.

Literature Stand @ San Lazzaro weekly market

Tomorrow morning from 8.30 to 10.30 am we'll be at the weekly market in San Lazzaro with our Literature Stand.

We'll offer free Bibles in many 

languages and Christian literature.

Pray that the Lord will bring people interested to know more about Him 

and His Word!

My Space - 2012/2013 planning meeting

Tonight we'll have the first meeting to plan the social activities and Rock Solid Bible Studies for the first three months of the Bologna My Space Club.

Please pray for wisdom and passion in reaching out kids from the Bologna area, we also pray that many of the kids that came at the Exch@nge camp this July will come regularly at My Space.

We are really encouraged that this year there are four churches cooperating together for this project!