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)
