The day I put my trust in Jesus as my Savior, I told Him, "Whatever you want me to do, I'm ready to do it."  Jesus said to his disciples, "The harvest is great, but the workers are few."  So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields" (Matthew 9:37-38).

The Lord sent my wife, Pam, and I to Turin, Italy first. He has established a thriving church there, raised up two other pastors and through them, is training and raising up other leaders.  The church is well-established, and the national leaders-in-training are coached by the elders.  This growth has allowed us to move out and make disciples in other cities.  Jesus said, "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work'.  You know the saying, 'Four months between planting and harvest.' But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest" (John 4:34-35).

Last September, Pam and I moved to Milan, Italy, joined by a young student, Tony.  Another couple will be joining us this coming June.  We feel like God has opened all the doors for us here.  It seems like everyone wants to practice speaking English. We have met three students who work with a student organization and they have helped greatly by allowing us to register students inside the university and use its classrooms free of charge.

Last year, we had two mission teams who led English Clubs in March and October.  The October team came from the Turin church which proved to be very successful. Since then, the Lord has given us the opportunity to continue English clubs three times a week.  We have also started two Bible studies and, this past January, we began our first worship service.  Recently, the father of a Ukrainian family that lives near us received the gift of eternal life and will be baptized at our first service.  Praise the Lord!  Keep us in your prayers that the Lord will continue to lead us and guide us to make disciples.

For more information on Great Commission Europe, log onto: www.gceweb.org.

What is Mission to the City?

Mission to the City is a service-oriented evangelistic outreach in the urban and inner-city areas of Minneapolis for 10 days every July.

Why did you feel particularly moved to get involved with this ministry?

Oddly enough, I grew up in a rural community in Michigan, but went to college near Detroit and became very good friends with someone that grew up in inner-city Detroit (later to be my best man). After getting saved, the Lord increasingly put on my heart a desire to reach people of other cultures and communities, particularly African American. The urban areas of America are like the harbors of old. The nations are literally coming to our backyards and doorsteps.

After going on an international trip and having an amazing experience, the Lord showed me that I didn't have to go half way around the world to connect with people from different cultures. Our church decided to offer Mission to the City in 1999. Folks took a week off of work and we headed just 20 minutes down the road to minister in the city.

What have been some memorable highlights of your time in this ministry?

Opened eyes for sure, starting with mine. It's been amazing to see how participants have awakened to the great, yet sometimes daunting, opportunity all around us. Meeting and serving a Somali single mother of six who had lived in the U.S. for five years without ever being invited to an American's home was definitely a highlight. Connecting personally with a young man that now lives with us has been one of the most blessed experiences of my life.  The partnerships that have developed with other ministries have been wonderful.

Do you have any future goals for this ministry?

One dream that is just starting to be realized is seeing folks from churches host their own Mission to the City trips. Our church joined Cornerstone Community Church in Kansas City in 2009 to help them with an urban mission trip. We hope to continue hosting trips that reach our city for the Kingdom of God, and help God's people grow their hearts for all the nations.

Andy attends The Urban Refuge in Minnesota: www.theurbanrefuge.com.

Almost thirty years ago was the turning point in my life when I saw what it looked like to live out the New Testament.  What an amazing journey it has been to still be, day by day, passing along that same passion and reality to Russian-speaking people on the other side of the world.

In Kiev, Ukraine, Voleri, a drug addict and infamous hooligan not only repented, but was given a vision for how God wanted to use him and his storied past as a witness to reach those around him. From Voleri's testimony and investment in others' lives, more than 15 alcoholics and drug addicts have come to Christ in the past year. Two churches and a rehab center have been started through these men because they have grasped the power of God to transform and use broken and ordinary lives. 

In this part of the world, many Christian leaders are realizing that their countries will never be reached if starting churches requires buildings, professionally run programs, and full-time pastors.  Their desires and openness, coupled with the experience we have gained through our years with Great Commission, are opening up doors for us to train church planters in countries all over the former Soviet Union.  My wife, Kenyon, and I are so thankful and are humbled that the vision we prayed and dreamed about so many years ago has become a reality.

For more information, contact Timmy at: timmy.powers@gcmweb.org.

Timmy is a member of Great Commission Europe: http://www.gceweb.org/.

In 2004, Pastor Berk Wilson led a team of staff and students to take a step of faith by starting the Wilmington Summer Outreach Project. We continued the project each summer and by 2007 there were 8 individuals who were committed to be in fellowship with one another. In November of 2007 my wife and I moved to Wilmington to assume leadership of the young church. We saw God give amazing answers to prayer in regards to our housing and financial support. He is honoring us as we continue to step out in faith.

Our church has a couple of strong points. First, we've been able to answer many questions people have about the Christian faith. Second, we've been able to take the gospel to the students instead of waiting for them to come to us. We've been taking back turf that this world so brazenly claims it owns. Recently, I had lunch with a freshman. After our conversation, he kept thanking me because he had never heard the gospel explained so clearly. He knew that day that Jesus was his Savior. It's been great to go out on a limb and find the fruit God has for us.

Check out Pneuma Christian Fellowship.

Since 2001, Lael's partnership with Operation Christmas Child has helped thousands of people around the world hear the Gospel.

In 1982 when Lael became a Christian, she was shy and hesitant to surrender her life to God in the area of evangelism.  She feared that the moment she did, God would have her speaking publicly in the streets.  But God helped her overcome her fears and is now using her in an incredible ministry.  In 1996, she and her family got involved with Operation Christmas Child.  New Song Community Church joined efforts and in 2001, 88 shoe boxes were filled for children around the world.  Last year, thanks to her "packing parties," Lael and 100 other volunteers of all ages from New Song helped put together 1,951 shoes boxes filled with gifts for Christmas.  But most importantly, they included Gospel tracts in the child's native language. 

Samaritan's Purse has found that an average of 20 people hear the Good News of Jesus Christ from just 1 shoe box.  Based on this average, nearly 40,000 people heard the gospel last year through the New Song packing party organized by Lael.  An amazing work by God through someone who was hesitant to be an evangelist!

If any church is interested in having an Operation Christmas Child "packing party," please contact the GCC office for more information.

Lauren Gordon is a middle child in a family of 11 children.  At age 10, she is eager to be involved in sharing her faith.  This spring the Gator Christian Life campus church provided an eight week long Outreach Training Class to equip the students in the Bridge Diagram, a clear method of sharing the gospel.  Lauren attended the class faithfully along side of the college students, then would pair up with an older sibling once a week to share the gospel with students on the University of Florida campus. 

The highlight of her spring was going on one of the Spring Break Outreaches to Florida International University in Miami.  There she had the privilege of helping lead two FIU students to the Lord.  Lauren looks forward to sharing her faith on the college campus.  She will boldly approach any college student, give them a survey and proceed to take them through the Bridge Diagram, often including her testimony.  If she is this bold now, just wait until she gets to college!

Lauren attends Gator Christion Life.