Fresno 1st Sends Pastor Greg to Beirut

Dr. Greg Kendall will be joining me (Ken) in Beirut this Thursday.  Greg is the Senior Pastor at Fresno (CA) 1st Church of God, one of our great network of supporting churches.  I got to know Greg and his wife Becky this summer during our home assignment, and in the process, I knew he had some great experience and passions that would benefit the 3W region.  I was really hopeful, and now really grateful, that he would be able to assist us in providing some teaching for the newly created Teen Discipleship program, which was launched last fall.

Nabil Melki

Pastor Joy Mallouh

The Teen Discipleship program is a partnership between Three Worlds with the Church of God in Lebanon, created with national leader Pastor Joy Mallouh.  The program is designed with eight sessions offered quarterly over two years, with the hope that a new class will begin every fall; the summer session can be longer in a camp format, while the other three sessions will be weekend retreat events.  The two year Discipleship program can be followed up with a similar two year Leadership Development plan; the goal is that we will create a leadership development culture in Lebanon through this ongoing process.  Each quarterly session will offer leaders from within and beyond Lebanon speaking into the lives of the participants, and is aided by the commitment and example of young adults who also participate as mentors to the teens.

In November, we were able to begin with a group of 12 older teens representing several of the Lebanon congregations.  During the weekend, we focused on Worship and Prayer.  We began with Nabil Melki speaking about the differences, as well as pros and cons of corporate versus personal worship.  Pastor Joy Mallouh shared a session on a Biblical understanding of worship to end the first night, before we spent the remainder of the evening socializing over games, snacks, and music.

games with the teens

The next morning began with group discussions on the worship presentations.  The groups were led by the young adults, and focused on these questions:
1.  What new understanding did you gain about worship?
2.  How will this lead you to worship differently in the future?
3.  What remaining question(s) do you have regarding worship?

Issa leads large group feedback

We gathered together to share and discuss these as a large group before going on to prayer.  Pastor Nabil Melik of the Sioufi Church of God came to share some Biblical understanding of prayer, and I completed the sessions with a presentation on prayer strategies and patterns, beginning with the Lord's Prayer.  A similar small group discussion time was incorporated to conclude this first weekend.  The participants rated the experience very favorably and that gives us a lot of encouragement heading into this next weekend.

Pastor Nabil Melki

Greg will lead the sessions over this next weekend using materials designed to help the students have an overview of the Scripture.  The sessions will be based on workbooks and an expandable timeline that 1st Church Fresno has generously purchased for the program.  We are excited about this partnership!

On Saturday evening, I will be able to introduce Greg to the Ana Terzo young adult ministry in their weekly Bible study.  On Sunday morning, Greg will preach with Pastor Joy translating at the Mar Mitr Church of God congregation in Beirut.  On Monday, Greg and I will spend time with the Heart for Lebanon staff.  And either Monday or Tuesday, Greg will have a chance to dialogue with the Lebanon Church of God pastors on the challenges of leading congregations out of program driven models into more missional approaches of ministry.

Pray for Greg as he travels, and pray for the opportunities for mutual encouragement and faith development.

It will be a busy, and full week, and I am excited about all of it.  I am especially excited to spend the time with Greg in our region.  We are looking forward to several partnership opportunities that are being planned for 2015, and we are hopeful that we some of this will include partnership within Egypt.  You can follow us on Twitter @ok2serve or on Facebook (Oldham ThreeWorlds) to see pictures and updates about Greg's visit this next week.  

Merry Christmas!

So, it feels like this just happened...

This was right after we landed in Seattle on July 12 -
where did the time go?!?!?

August 11 -  we flew from Los Angeles to back to Cairo

August 12 - we arrive in Cairo

August 13 - the kids are back in school, I (Ken) am on a plane to Beirut

August 14-18 - in Lebanon, mostly for Ana Terzo Camp

August 31-Sept 7 - back to Lebanon, mostly for Heart for Lebanon retreat/meetings

Sept 13 - resume weekly CCF Kids program

Sept 18-19 - in the hospital with Titus for surgery to reset severely dislocated thumb, resulting in weekly doctor follow-up visits

Oct 13-16 - in Germany for meetings with colleagues and national leadership

Nov 6-10 - in Budapest for the Lectures

Nov 20 - car's clutch breakdown

Nov 21-23 - back to Beirut for the Teen Discipleship launch

Nov 26-30 - in Athens for 3W Staff meeting

Dec 4-5 - Grace battles kidney "granules"

Dec 12 - CCF's annual Christmas bazaar

Dec 13 - car accident

and, Dec 13 - CCF Kids last program of the calendar year

I had to go back through all of those events, trips, and surprises over the past few months because each seemed to keep us hopping at an incredible pace.  I didn't include most of the daily or weekly routine.  Nor did I include 4 birthdays, a musical, a band concert, a Christmas pageant, and all the prep/practices that went into those events.  We had a busy summer, it has remained busy ever since--and, as Keli likes to remind me, it was busy before we left for summer!

So, what's now:

hot chocolate before the annual MCC Christmas Pageant

Christmas Break - with the exception of the few Christmas events that follow in the next section of this post, we will take it "easy" with the kids.  We have had some garden work begin; each year there is a lot of garden work that has to take place at this time to get it ready to be green and wonderful for the rest of the year.  Trees were trimmed, flowers and bushes will be removed or relocated, and either sod or new grass seed has to be sown.  In addition to the garden, another big villa project will begin this break to renovate the lower level of one villa; the changes will better host the children's program each week, and get us one step closer to having the other villa's overhaul complete.

But the best part of Christmas break, what we enjoy most, is taking a break with the kids.  We catch up on television shows (currently, Once Upon A Time), play games, stay up late, sleep late, and go shopping--Christmas Eve shopping trips are a breeze because usually no one is in the malls at this time here in Egypt, with  most of the emphasis on January 7 (Orthodox Christmas).  And we clean up rooms or cars or other living spaces that have just gathered a semester's worth of clutter.

So, what's next:
Dec 21 - CCF annual Christmas Candlelight service - the Cairo Christian Fellowship share this

an old Candlelight service pic from 2012

annual tradition with their host church, the St. Andrew United Church of Cairo, where they have worshipped since the late 1950's!  This is always a special service and we are so thankful to be included in the CCF family.

Dec 24 - Maadi Community Church's annual Christmas Eve Candlelight - the local international

the annual Christmas PJ pic is a favorite tradition in our home

church also has an annual candlelight service, and it's nice to go over and share this moment as a family, and to be led rather than doing the leading.  And the kids will get their annual Christmas Eve present - new PJ's :)

Dec 25 - Christmas at home - cinnamon rolls & bacon are served after stockings and gifts--but all of that waits (as it had for all Oldham's before me) until the parents get their coffee ;)

Dec 28 - CCF Christmas Choir presentation - the CCF have a member who directs the Heliopolis Evangelical Church choir, and some who sing within the group, too.  Actually, many CCF used to sing in this choir until the last few years.  Having a Christmas choral presentation between the western and eastern Christmas dates is a great way to tie the season together.

One note, this last quarter has had the highest attendance in the weekly CCF worship since our arrival in 2012.  There has not only been renewed interest, but also a bit of renewed confidence in moving about the city each Sunday night.  In addition, during the weekend we were in Greece, the CCF held a retreat with nearly 50 participants--they were unable to hold this last year due to security and lack of interest!  The two services mentioned above (Dec 21 and 28) are usually two of the highest attendances each year, so we're ending 2014 with a lot of momentum for the future.

So, what's next year:
January 1 - our 21st wedding anniversary, and couldn't be happier :)

21 years! But we're only 25!

January 7 - in addition to Coptic Christmas, it is also our 3rd Anniversary in Cairo

And after that, it just gets busier--seriously.  We'll resume the CCF Kids program, weekly CCF Worship, and the kids will go back to school--but in addition to the norm in Cairo, the travel picks up!  As a family, there are already 12 trips scheduled in the next 5 months!

We will also have 2 or 3 visits from friends and family all before next summer.  Wow!

It has been quite a year, and there's quite a lot to look forward to in 2015, but for now, we'll take a breath and try to take in as much of the Christmas holiday with our children and the CCF.  This is such a wonderful and special time and we are reminded of just how blessed we are to be able to share the holiday together and in service to the Church internationally.

Thank you for your continuing interest, thoughts, prayers, encouragement and support--all that has been done, all that is planning to be done, and all that we are still yet imagining is possible only through God's grace and provision through your partnership.

Here's a jpg of our Christmas letter...if it's not real clear, you can contact us for a better copy :)

Back in Budapest

Three Worlds is an exciting and fruitful ministry team serving the Church of God throughout Europe and the Middle East.  It is hard for us to imagine fulfilling the calling we have to the Church in the Middle East without working with this team.  Under the strategic vision and coordination of Regional Directors Patrick and Jamie Nachtigall, our family serves with a team to resource and support the ministries throughout this region along three specific goals that we often call our "3W

Eastern European Pastors (from left to right):
Lazslo (35, Hungary)
Andrei (40, Russia)
Peti (29, Hungary)
Ilya (32, Russia)

Prism":

1. To Equip and Empower Accountable Leadership, especially among those under 45-years of age;
2. To Inspire and Encourage Next Generation ministries within each congregation and country; and,
3. Create Healthy Inner-connectivity among members within each congregation, among the congregations within each country, and between countries.

There is potential for overlap in those goals that creates exciting opportunities of great synergy.  This weekend is one of those great opportunities.

I'm back in Budapest, Hungary for the fall Budapest Lectures.  The Budapest Lectures are a

Along the bank of the Danube River, which splits Buda
from Pest, there is this haunting memorial of bronze shoes.
During WWII, before executing a group of Jewish citizens,
it was realized their shoes were too valuable to be lost;
so before they were shot to fall to their death,
they had to remove their shoes.
Shoes more important than people; a tragic reminder
that evil does exist in our world.

cooperative effort between the Church of God in Hungary and Three Worlds to provide leadership development opportunities for the leaders in the region.  My last time in Hungary, which was my first, was to speak for the Lectures in the summer of 2013.  This time, I'm here to help facilitate the weekend's events.  The participants for this weekend will be the young pastors, Peti and Lazslo (both less than 35 years), and leaders from their two Hungarian congregations; joining them are two young leaders from Bulgaria, Kenneth and Svetlana, who were brought by teammates Dave & Kathy Simpson who have been serving the Bulgarian Church for nearly 10 years.  

Speaking this weekend will be the sharp, genuinely joyful, and young pastor Andrei Kolegov of the Church of God in Chelyabinsk, Russia.  This congregation has seen great fruitfulness over the past several years, including growth, a successful building project, planting additional fellowships, and more.  I have met Pastor Andrei through the years on different occasions in the States; he is a true delight to be around, with a sincere love for Jesus and serving.

Pastor Andrei will be sharing a great topic for the smaller congregations of Hungary and Bulgaria:

Pastor Andrei, with Pastor Ilya to his left,  sharing his personal
testimony and call to ministry in an informal meet and greet
earlier tonight.  We had English to Russian,
and English to Hungarian translations happening this weekend.

"Creating Fruitful Ministries in Post-Communism Cultures."  No one from the West could properly speak into the cultural conundrum that these churches experience everyday in multiple ways.  Andrei will also speak on "Necessity for, and How to, Establish International Accountability."  And one of the co-pastors, Ilya, will share "How to Navigate Phases of Growth in a Healthy Way."  As with all Budapest Lectures, there is equal time for discussion after each presentation, and these topics are especially helpful to the Hungarian churches as they are on a similar structural path as the Chelyabinsk congregation.

What a great win-win-win-win opportunity for the region!  Empowering young leaders to have an opportunity to share their experience, and grow through that experience; Encouraging other young pastors with similar contexts in the process.  Inspiring leadership to think about effective outreach to their communities, and overcoming cultural obstacles.  And creating greater connection and healthy partnerships between congregations and countries.

On Sunday, I will be honored to share with the Church of God in Rákospalota at the invitation of

Like an increasing number of European and American cities,
Budapest now has a large, scenic ferris wheel,
similar to the London Eye.  This was a surprisingly new sight
since our visit in 2013.

Pastor Lazslo.  This is mutually exciting because there are members of this congregation who have been reaching out to refugees and immigrants from the Middle East who are beginning to settle into Hungary.  The congregation has been having many congregations about Middle Eastern culture and how does the Church interact with those who may only known Islam.  

It has been fun to see these Hungarian friends again, and to get better acquainted with the Russian pastors.  I am excited for the Lectures tomorrow and the worship services on Sunday. I have been blessed the past 24 hours getting to see and spend time with our teammates Dave and Kathy.  Budapest is a beautiful city, easy to walk, oozing with history and culture, cheaper than a lot of your European cities, tourist friendly, and more.  I hope that all of our family can make a future trip together.  If you have a chance to travel to Europe, I'd highly encourage you to take several days here--if you do, I'd be happy to make some recommendations for you.

Pray for the Budapest Lectures this weekend.  Pray for the Church throughout Europe and the Middle East to continue to grow and develop along these specific goals.  Pray for the Three Worlds team to have wisdom and favor to create similar opportunities to benefit the Church, within the region and beyond.

Thank you for your continuing interest, prayers, and support...