Posted on

Loving Your Neighbour this Christmas

With Europe’s Christian history, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Christmas traditions reflecting the birth of Jesus can still be spotted. Even so, how many Europeans fully and truly grasp the meaning behind this holiday?   

As shop windows display nativity scenes and cultural traditions may include attending church, the door to Gospel conversations has already been cracked open. Global workers who have invested their time building relationships and serving their communities throughout the year are uniquely positioned to open these doors further.  

The Gift of Time

One way we can show love to our neighbours is simply by gifting them our time. With Christmas being a notoriously busy season, sharing treasured moments with a neighbour can make a heart-felt impact.   

“Last year we invited a couple of Iranian students to our house to decorate cookies,” Nick Scholl, a GEM worker in Italy, shares. “They loved the experience! We got to share why we’re here and what we believe while having a fun time decorating.”    

Realizing the opportunity, Nick continues, “This year, we are again opening our home to two Italian couples and their children to do the same.”   

Phil Gottschalk, who serves in Romania, is also using the gift of time to reach others. “We’ll be having an evangelistic Bible study with a couple who are refugees from Bucha, Ukraine.” This, in addition to a Christmas service and meal outreach his church will be hosting on December 22nd, are just some of the ways Phil will be spreading the Gospel this Christmas season.   

The Gift of Generosity

Another way of showing love is by giving a physical gift. Giving a gift means that you’ve thought intentionally of the other person, and that they are deserving of your resources.   

“Each year [for Christmas] we give our neighbours a small gift, message of encouragement, and verses of Scripture that focus on the Reason for the Season,” Dwight Poggemiller, serving in Romania, shares. “In this way, we have touched over 250 households in our neighbourhood with the message of Christmas, and it has opened a number of Gospel conversations!”  

Nick Scholl’s family also sees the value in reaching their neighbours through gift-giving.  

“For the last three years, we have used the Christmas season as an excuse to bake cookies and American desserts for people and families we know in the neighbourhood,” he says. 

The Gift of Christmas 

For non-Europeans who left their passport countries for a new life in Europe, the idea of Christmas may be altogether foreign. Doors are open to reveal the reason for the festive decor they see and the merriment in the air.  

“One of the challenges, that is also an opportunity, is the fact that Muslim background believers (MBB’s) don’t have any cultural practices tied to Christmas,” Roy Nagelkirk, a worker in France, starts.  

“We decided as a team to invite them to a Christmas celebration in our home. The central part of our time together is going through the Christmas story using an advent wreath with candles and the verses that go through the various aspects of the story, and of course eating, praying, singing Christmas carols, and even playing some games together.”  

Roy adds that it has been almost 20 years of celebrating Christmas this way for a number of his MBB friends and their children. 

Praise God for these open doors to share the Gospel! As we approach Christmas this year, let’s remember to keep our brothers and sisters overseas in our prayers as they reach their neighbours for Christ. And let’s not forget to share some love to our own neighbours while we’re at it. Open doors to Gospel conversations are everywhere! How will you love your neighbours this holiday season?

  

Written by:

Leanne Monge Barrera

Leanne Monge Barrera is currently serving in central Canada as a storyteller and social media content creator with GEM Canada. She also serves at home, homeschooling her four children.

Posted on

Testimonies from the Olympics

The 2024 Olympic Games had its fair share of newsworthy moments. Whether you tuned in or not, it’s likely you heard of some of the victories and controversies that took place over the two-and-a-half-week period. How much of what you heard, though, pointed to God? With the nations of the world gathered in one city, surely God had a role to play.  

The global workers in France––and even some the Olympic athletes––understood this winning opportunity and chose to make space for God to be seen and known during this historic time.  

And whatever you do… do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:17

Displaying God’s Love Through Art 

Beyond the Village walls, GEM workers were finding ways to intentionally share the Gospel.   

Though typically closed during the hot summer months, Agapé Hub—an art gallery in the city center—remained open for the Games with a specific theme: Hymnal:Humanity Gathered. “The theme was kind of complex, but essentially looks at aspects of a hymn that kind of unites and draws people together,” Emilee Irwin, the organizer of the exhibition and GEM’s Arts Impact Zone leader, explains.  

“There were artists that used Scripture in their artworks, and there were GemStone Media short films that we showed, which were parables from the Bible that were retold in modern settings,” Emilee recounts. “There were people who [understood that the art was faith-based], and for sure people that didn’t. We had a sheet available for everybody to take that explained the theme a little bit and how each artist interpreted that.”  

“[Visitors] could tell that there was something different about the space,” says Karly Manuel, a GEM worker based in Greece who served at the gallery during the Games. “They couldn’t put their finger on what it was, but something was different, or they felt at peace when they would walk in; they could tell that the atmosphere was different than what they were used to…the Holy Spirit was clearly in that place.”  

Karly Manuel’s painting
which was displayed at the gallery.

The gallery served not only as a place to point visitors to their Creator, but also as a place to unite artists from different locations and ministries.   

“It was really cool for me, as an artist, to be in a space where other artists were working,” Karly shares. “It’s important for us to have community with each other because that’s kind of where our creativity feeds off—we feed off each other! It was life-giving, and I walked away from that trip reminded of how important it is for Christian art to exist in the world—for Christians to be making art.”   

Emilee adds, “It was really a collaborative effort… We had four GEM artists, but then three local artists from the Agape Hub network as well. It was great to see people come together who didn’t really know each other before, but they were kind of united through their love of the arts and their love for Jesus, too.”  

Seeing God Move Through Collaboration 

Also understanding the importance and impact of teamwork is Tom Hawkins—seasoned GEM-France worker since 1994. In preparation for the Olympic Games, he sought partnership with other organizations, which led to the birth of Ensemble2024, a framework within which ministries, churches, and individuals could share ideas and resources both for the Games and after. “We wanted the spirit of collaboration to be the legacy of the Games,” Tom says. “It’s vital that we learn to work together so even more can take that step of faith.”

“We estimate that at least 2,500 disciples of Jesus Christ from France and around the world were involved in ministry this summer nationwide,” says Matthew Glock, a pastor in Paris who co-created Ensemble2024. “They were connected to at least 76 different ministries. We also estimate that at least 50 churches from Paris were involved in these activities.”  

Matthew continues: “When it comes to what was accomplished, there were at least 500 events during the games!” touching multiple spheres of life ranging from the arts and music to social justice to sports, all offering opportunities to share faith. 

One might think, with the Games being such a grand event, that security measures would be an obstacle, making ministry difficult. Those with Ensemble2024 were pleasantly surprised. 

“The police, the military, and the local authorities were really open; they had no problem with what we did,” Tom Hawkins says. “[With this freedom], we saw well over 1,000 people sharing Jesus Christ here in the Paris area alone with both Parisians and with people from around the world who were here for the Games.”   

Even more impressive, over 700,000 pieces of literature clearly explaining the Gospel—in multiple languages—were handed out. Because of this one event, God’s Word is now further being spread and known throughout the reaches of the world!  

The number of opportunities seized are amazing considering the state of France––and the world.  

“The people here are hungry,” Tom states. “There’s a lot of stuff out there that’s being offered; there’s the occult, there are drugs, there are other opportunities, and that’s why we needed to be here with the opportunity of the Gospel. There were countries represented here during the Games that don’t have a gospel witness or a gospel testimony…so they [had] the opportunity to see that here.”  

Now that the Olympic Games have wrapped up, should all the ministry endeavors come to an end, too? As Ensemble2024 notes, evangelism efforts “should not be limited to a single event but become the beginning of ongoing mobilization to impact our surroundings. Every opportunity—whether sporting, cultural, religious, or social—is a chance to share Christ’s love and bring hope…Let’s not see this period of the Games as the end, but as a springboard to continue serving and inspiring our communities.”  

If you’d like to learn more about how God GEM missionaries as well as our partners during the Olympic Games and what continues to be done today, you can visit: https://www.ensemble2024.com/en/blog/  

Written by:

Leanne Monge Barrera

Leanne Monge Barrera is currently serving in central Canada as a storyteller and social media content creator with GEM Canada. She also serves at home, homeschooling her four children.

Posted on

Things Unseen: Portraying the Real Lives of Christ-Followers

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

2 Corinthians 4:18

What are we living for?   

As believers, our focus should remain on God; we aren’t living for this world but for Him. To live a life truly dependent on Him and choosing to serve Him in all that we do sounds great, but how might that look?  

Alex and Miriam Reimer have first-hand experience with depending on God for their needs. Having left the comforts of their North American homes several years ago, Canadian Alex, and his American wife, Miriam, served in Germany then Northern Ireland—where they met, married, and ultimately served as missionaries. As they anticipated returning to North America, they felt compelled to expose what God can do through us when we set our eyes solely on Him.  

Alex and Miriam Reimer

While serving overseas with Greater Europe Mission, Alex’s ministry was in filmmaking. Working with Soul Catalyst, he found that creating videos was an excellent way to share the Good News with others.  

“As artists, we speak different languages and can say different things, things we may not otherwise be able to put into words,” he starts. “This kind of started a hunger in me to portray the missionary experience [in a different way].”  

With a return to Canada already on their horizon, the Reimers began their last assignment as missionaries in Europe. They left their home in Northern Ireland, bought a camper van, and set out on a journey through Europe to film several GEM missionaries live their day-to-day lives.  

“The goal of this project is to show what it’s really like to be a missionary on the field,” Alex remarks.  

Believers are used to hearing the powerful stories of how God has moved, and although you will see some of those moments, Alex emphasizes how this documentary highlights the other side of it. “You’ll see how these stories come out of long hours of faithfulness and weeks of just getting out of bed and doing the things needed to be done.”  

Alex and Miriam spent two weeks with each missionary unit—Crystal and Matteo Scamporlino, Jill Corley, and Julie and Jivko Binev—capturing each day on video. “Every person we’ve been with has been such an amazing encouragement and picture of Jesus; they’re all great,” they reveal.  

To ensure this documentary remained authentic, the Reimers didn’t go with an agenda.  

Alex Reimer walking with Jill Corley

“We just wanted to be present with these people and see what God was doing; then we would build the story from there.” Knowing that God works through the mundane, the Reimers ultimately wanted to see God in action while they were there.  

“I learned a lot, as we went about, of how God works in the margins of things—that’s where the interesting stories are,” Alex starts. “In Bulgaria, we went to [and filmed] every scheduled thing the Binevs did but realized that the interesting things actually happened in the setup before and the takedown after…so much of what God does is actually outside of the plans that we have.”  

The Reimers’ project confirms that as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, He will continue to show up, even when we aren’t expecting Him to.  

“[A common factor we see is] how these missionaries take steps of faith and trust God with the end results,” Alex explains. “It’s not so much worrying about success, but just getting out there to do it!”  

Julie Binev, one of the filmed missionaries, hopes this film will put a spark in its audience. “We pray the viewers recognize how God can use everyday people who simply say ‘yes’ to His call to make disciples.”  

Watching Julie’s prayers over a school in Bulgaria get answered, witnessing Jill Corley bring hope to other widows in Romania, and hearing the Scamporlinos’ testimony of a healed boy’s family coming to church in Italy, we can see plenty of examples of God’s faithfulness shown through those who focus their eyes on Him.  

“I think the story that came out of this [documentary] was just being faithful with what’s in front of you and being full of faith that God will work through it, leaving the results up to Him,” Alex concludes. “You do your work and God will do His work. I think all the missionaries that we connected with exemplified that, and that was really cool and encouraging to see.”  

If you, too, would like to see what the life of a missionary in Europe looks like, or simply want to see how bold Christians are living out their faith, you can save the date to watch Things Unseen when it’s released—July 12—at gemission.org/things-unseen/. 

Written by:

Leanne Monge Barrera

Leanne Monge Barrera is currently serving in central Canada as a storyteller and social media content creator with GEM Canada. She also serves at home, homeschooling her four children.