The MCE network is passionate about one thing, discipleship. Over the past 10 years we have seen young men and women come through programs all across Europe excited about the call of God upon their lives. Yet there is still such a huge need for discipleship. We are continually broken for this generation of young people. We had fantastic youth groups growing up and youth pastors/leaders who continually poured into our lives, ultimately shaping us into who we are today. This generation in Europe is hungry for this and is considered “lucky” to ever have it. You can imagine our excitement as the same passion we have to invest into this generation, who is hungry to know God, is spreading through out this continent. This year we will have new programs starting in Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Czech Republic.

Nolan was able to spend some time In Stuttgart, Germany, with Austin & Shanda Brown before their launch and help them with some of the practical set up as well as just encourage them. They are a part of an amazing church downtown, called Mosiak and have just launched the program with 6 students. We are confident that world changers will be coming out of this program!

In Brighton, UK, Tyler Everson is gearing up to start their program in the coming year. The Tarantino’s, along with Enzo Pignato and Simon Cunningham were able to make a trip to this incredible city. Tyler is a missionary from Canada and has been planting a church right in the heart of the city. We are excited to see the impact a Master’s Commission can have there. Please be praying for them as they are in an incredible dark place and workers are so few.

With so many new programs starting this year and joining the other programs that have already started we are seeing an even greater impact being made and it’s so exciting to see the ripple effect being put in motion!!

More details to come in early December!

Location: Brussels, Belgium
Dates: March 6th-9th
Cost: TBD (approximately 150€, incl housing, conference, food)

Early Registration:

This principle is both global and personal. Jesus charged all His followers and those who were follower-leaders to be propelled out of Jerusalem (home territory), into Judea (regional influence) and Samaria (crossing into foreign soil) and to the uttermost parts of the world (the universe of humankind itself). And so Christian leadership in its healthiest and bravest form is an expansive mission at one level tracked by distances charted on a world map, but at another level counted one person at a time. We are called to deal with the dregs of human suffering, the whirlpools of intellectual dilemmas and the outer space of lostness. None of it is easy.

Finish Reading…

When: October 9th-11th
Where: Brugge, Belgium

Just around the corner is our annual Director´s Retreat. Every year, our office here in Brussels looks forward to gathering the leaders in the network for a time of spiritual refreshment, social connection and network development within our programs.

This year we have something special…

The retreat is being held at a resort just outside of Bruges, a beautiful Medieval city that is sometimes called the “Venice of the North”.

Dates: October 9th-11th
Cost: 120€ (including food)

The resort will be booked from Monday (8th) through Friday (12th). Therefore, you are welcome to come in as early as Monday to take advantage of the resort for an extra 30 Euros.

Due to the booking we ask for you to fly in no later than Tuesday 16:00. You can either fly into Brussels Zaventem or Charleroi. Keep in mind that there may be some extra transportation costs flying into Charleroi. Details on travel to the resort will be sent in the next week.

We will be having morning times of worship and prayer together with afternoon workshops, discussion groups and team building activities you won´t want to miss. There will also be some down time to enjoy the sauna and other features of the Centerpark.

For those who are on a time constraint we will be finished with the retreat Thursday night and you may arrange to fly out Friday morning. For those who are able to stay, we will have the opportunity to enjoy Bruges on Friday. If you want to stay until Saturday, we have limited rooms available at the MCE offices. It will be arranged on a first come first serve basis.

We look forward to having you. It´s going to be a great time together. Make sure to book your flights in advance!

Blessings,
MCE

There is a lot of excitement from our church and our leadership and everyone here is 100% behind the vision of creating an atmosphere of discipleship where people can come to “Know Him and make Him known!” We just finished up with our Experience Week and it went great!

We had a team from Birmingham Metro Master’s Commission come in and partner with us and 6 German students to give people a feel of what 9 months in Master’s Commission could look like. We hit the streets with evangelism, ministered at our Kid’s Club, served at our Open Evening neighborhood outreach, served our city and our neighbors by cleaning and helping and praying with them, held a dinner theater, ministered at an evangelistic church service on Friday night and learned during daily classes. We ended Saturday with a special MC chapel service that really spoke to everyone on the team. We saw 8 people saved, many called into ministry and 5 of the 6 German students have asked for applications for this coming year. We have also had an additional 3 people ask to talk to us about enrolling for this year that are a part of our church. We are able to house 12 students here and it looks like we may be able to fill 6-9 of those spaces.

Our preparations right now are centered around getting the rest of our building renovated, a new soup kitchen and kids area will come in this Summer, and working to make sure everything goes well with our international students getting they visas.

Krakow, Poland: Short Term Mission and SMC Kick Off Retreat

Shereen and Marta offering Uni students waffles

I was so encouraged and blessed to have the opportunity to serve Krakow City Church, and helping them to launch the Red Frogs Program. We didn’t only help out with that we were also given the fantastic opportunity to hand out leaflets, and do outreach to university students and young people. We had the opportunity to tell them about an event which was held at Krakow City Church in the evening on Sunday 2nd October.

The biggest highlight for me was seeing over 40 new students attend the event; the atmosphere at the event was fantastic! In addition to this encouragement, 3 students made first time decisions to follow Christ. I can’t really say what encouraged me the most, because everything about the trip was encouraging! The team who went really encouraged me, Krakow City Church and Pastor Zibi’s passion for the church and for Krakow was also encouraging. God will bless Krakow City church and with Pastor Zibi’s passion and vision God will also bring change to Krakow.
-Shereen Sinjab, SMC 2nd year

While in Krakow, the team helped to launch the first ever Red Frogs Program in Poland. Red Frogs Australia Chaplaincy Support Network has been working in Universities since 1997 and the Red Frog crew can be found in 130+ Student Residential Colleges spanning across 24 Universities in Australia. The Red Frog University Program is an international program that is operating in New Zealand, South Africa, France, Wales, England, Scotland, Canada and the USA.

During the first week of Uni, the Red Frog crew give away approx 60 000 Calendars, 10 000 Donuts, 5 000 Icy poles and 2 tonne of Allen’s Frogs Alive Red Frogs. The fun doesn’t stop there, throughout the year the Red Frog Crew can be found running hydration stations in parties, cooking pancakes, running coffee crawls and doing many other random acts to help support University students through their studies. Our team had the opportunity of help serve Krakow City Church in launching this amazing ministry in Poland.

As it was our 2nd week of SMC, we also took time out for a little bit of reflection, retreat and inspiration on what this year would hold for all of us. It was a great trip, with many great memories to kick off the SMC 2011-2012 year.

Christmas Schools Productions

Before Christmas break, myself, the other SMC students and Southport Schools Worker, Ian Sarginson, went into local schools to give dramatic performances about the true meaning of Christmas and the birth of Jesus. We visited almost 30 schools and performed for approximately 5,000 kids. It was amazing time for me to see their smiling faces and sharing with them this very important message about the Gospel. It was a pleasure for me to serve young people and I am Polish, so I didn’t expect that I could ever do something like that in an English School. It was a great experience and I look forward to working with children in my future.
-Sylwia Bezpalko, SMC 1st year

MCUK Retreat in Scotland

Every year, the Master’s Commission programs across the UK come together for a retreat in January. This is a time to reignite and re-inspire about the rest of the year ahead and to connect with others who are on a similar journey in their discipleship of knowing God and making Him known. This year’s retreat was held at a Christian camp centre in Scotland called Rock UK-Whithaugh Park. We were joined this year again by Master’s Commission Aberdeen and by Tim and Jen Stoenner, the directors’ of a soon to open MC, in Bonsall, England.

It was Monday when we left from church. The way to Scotland was a little bit far so we were talking, listening to music, laughing and most of it sleeping. Finally we were there. After we unpacked we went immediately out to see the place. It was awesome. Soon the evening came and we all gathered in one cabin. We started playing games till late. It was so fun. We were all playing and being crazy at the same time. Later we had to go and rest so we could have enough strength for the next day. Ah, the next day was the best day ever. After eating a good breakfast we went to the rope course. There was a huge field waiting just for us. It was so challenging and difficult but so fun in the same time. The final rope was my favourite part ever: you hold the rope, push off and fly down to another tree. Time was going too fast so we had to go back. We had lunch, two sessions which were awesome, free time and in the evening a surprise from the boys at Master’s Commission Aberdeen. They had cooked for us, decorated the cabin and wrote something specific for each of us. Later we had a worship time which was great. I loved that time because I really felt God talking to me and working in my life. We spent time worshiping God and praying for each other. In the night we were playing cards till really late. In the morning we packed everything and prepared ourselves to leave. We took some pictures all as a group to have as a memory. During our way back home we were thinking about the great time we had and the good memories of that place.
-Brikena, SMC 1st year

Ministry Trip to Bonsall, England

In January, the team travelled to Bonsall, England, in the Derbyshire dales to serve at Bonsall Camp and the local Assemblies of God church in the village. While there the team helped to host a Christian youth group at the camp and were involved in the Sunday morning ministry at Bonsall AoG Church. It was a great time in service and ministry to the locals and for the Lord.

Shereen Goes to Amsterdam

As soon as I arrived in Amsterdam I knew that it was going to be jam packed with opportunities to serve, and get as much out of the programme as possible.

During the first week I was excited to get involved in encounter.
Encounter is something MCAN do every year to help potential Masters Commission students get a taste of all aspects of the programme. I really enjoyed meeting new people and sharing with them what I have experienced over the last 18 months of Master’s Commission. One of the highlights from encounter was a prayer and worship session we had one evening; this was a moment that I will never forget. The power of the Holy Spirit was present in such a mightier way than I have ever experienced, I just started pouring my heart out to God like never before.

God really challenged me to step out of my comfort zone by giving me the opportunity to evangelise for the first time, and performing a human video in front of 800 people at a music concert in Belgium. I was also grateful to Enzo for giving me the opportunity to lead girl discipleship time; this was because it was a new opportunity for me to serve in a new way. I really enjoyed taking part in the lessons, human videos and trips because it was a good opportunity for me to give and to also receive as much as I could.

Something that really encouraged me was seeing the commitment of both the students and staff on the programme, and seeing Enzo and Sandy’s passion for people and wanting to change the lives of young people for good.

I can’t point my finger on what I’ve enjoyed the most about being on the programme, because I enjoyed everything about it; both the practical side and the theory side. I can’t express how grateful I am to God for teaching me new things and stretching me in ways I could never imagine.
-Shereen Sinjab, SMC 2nd year

Ministry Trip in Lichfield, England

The SMC team where in Lichfield, England, 13th-19th February, serving at Emmanuel Christian Centre. In their time at ECC, the team helped to run a holiday kids’ club, ran two youth services and were involved in ECC’s Sunday morning ministry. It was a great opportunity to grow and develop in hands on ministry service for team members, as well as a privilege to serve such a vibrant, local church.

In February I went to Lichfield to work with Kids and Youth. Me and other Masters Students prepared loads of games and a drama called Penny and Petunia. Everything was based on a story from the Bible about Joseph and his 12 brothers. We did an Egyptian dance, built pyramids and did face painting. We were painting the story on walls. We showed children how to write egyptian characters. It was an amazing time for me to see them smiling and sharing a very important message about Joseph with them. It was a pleasure for me to serve young people and was the most marvellous experience with children in my life. I hope to do something like that in my future.
-Sylwia Bezpalko, SMC 1st year

MCE Conference in Rome, Italy

This year’s annual Master’s Commission Europe Conference was held in Rome, Italy. Programs from all across Europe gathered together for a few days of connecting; not only with each other, but with God. It was an encouraging time to worship, seek, and even sight-see with those of the same heart and mind.

I knew this trip was going to be fantastic because of the experience I had at last year’s MCE conference. This year they blew my mind more than last year, I couldn’t believe how much God did in such a short space of time. The theme of the conference was heritage and God taught me a lot about the meaning of the word, and how important it is to remember our heritage as a Christian. Something I will never forget was how badly Christians were persecuted in Rome during the time of Apostle Paul and Peter, and how much they fought for their faith. This made me realise that I need to really make every effort to glorify God because if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be able to share the love of Jesus to others freely.
-Shereen Sinjab, SMC 2nd year

November 5th, 1992 - March 28th, 2012

Master´s Commission Amsterdam North (MCAN) has tragically lost first year student, Daniel LaCroix, in an accident last Wednesday. To say that Daniel was an incredible man of God would be to understate his passion, integrity, fortitude, unwavering-faith, and beautiful heart for worship. During their missions trip to Moldova, the team was able to hear Daniel speak multiple times on how he experienced a deeper level of intimacy with God the past few months. Today, we know he is experiencing the deepest of that intimacy as he stands before the love of his life, Jesus Christ. Thank you all for your prayers and please continue to pray for MCAN as well as his family in Colorado.

Isaiah 57:1-2

1 The righteous perish,
and no one takes it to heart;
the devout are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
to be spared from evil.
2 Those who walk uprightly
enter into peace;
they find rest as they lie in death.

Next Year: Brussels Belgium

Dear directors, pastors and friends,

First of all we want to thank you for your participation and dedication during this past conference in Rome. We have really seen God’s Spirit move in us, in our students, visitors and in the local church who hosted us.

The theme, the preachings and sessions were very inspiring and challenging.We want to thank Pastors Jeremy DeWeerdt, Taka Iguchi, Shawn Johnson and Brian Somerville for taking the time to come and minister to us. We also want to thank Terry Kelley and the Fusion Band for leading us into God’s presence through worship. Your encouragement and challenges have certainly made an impact, bringing this heritage even further through this generation.

Besides what the conference meant for us as a MCE family, it was also a great impact for the local church. A woman from te church had been praying for nearly 30 years that such a freedom in the Spirit would be present. She had given up and became very frustrated, thinking this would never happen. During the service on Friday night she cried many tears, realizing that what she thought would never come was happening! We have encouraged her to continue to dream big and to never give up on what God will give her. This has also challenged the youth of the church to take hold of what they have received, to believe and continue in it, until they see results. Traditionalism has been a great hindrance for youth work in Italy; let’s continue to pray that what we have left there will bring some positive results. Finally, even the senior pastor was not only blessed but was touched by our sincerity, spirituality, quality of the services, preachings and the example of our students! We have surely left a legacy!

NEW AFFILIATES
Presenting our 3 new affiliates was also a momentous part of our conference, as we forcefully advance His kingdom on this continent. It was amazing to see the passion and the enthusiasm of the students welcoming their directors during the ceremony. We are sure that this enthusiasm won’t stop at the conference but that it will continue until it makes a great impact on our cities and countries. MCE is looking forward to new stories and testimonies.

NETWORK NEWS
During our MCE board meeting, Enzo Pignato, was voted in as the new chairman. We want to thank Simon Cunningham for his great work and devotion during these last two years and we are so glad to still have him as part of our board. He has been and will continue to be very important for this movement.

BRUSSELS 2013
As mentioned during the conference, we will host the director’s retreat in Brussels, Belgium, 11th and 12th of October. More details will soon be communicated, meanwhile make sure to enter these dates into your agenda. We look forward to a blessed time in fellowship, prayer and in encouraging one another. Therefore do not miss it!
The next conference will be as well in Brussels, Belgium and the dates will be March 6th to 8th. With the results seen this year, we only want to go deeper and create more relationships within our students, pastors and directors. Therefore make this event a priority!

CLOSING THOUGHTS
As many of us will soon leave on a mission trip in the coming weeks, we want to wish you a safe trip and a blessed time. May the Lord use us in a mighty way to reach the communities and lost around us! If you are in need of a destination or ideas for a missions trip, do not hesitate to contact each other. There are many possibilities and it would be awesome to connect some of our groups and partner in order to reach this continent together.

It was a real pleasure to see you all and let’s continue to build this ministry that God has entrusted us with!
Let us say together, we will take hold of our heritage, we will learn from the past, we will stand strong in the present, we will press on and never quit, paving the way for the future!

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Col.3:13-14)