Central Baptist Church of Kyiv, Ukraine was the site of an April 12-14 pre-summit meeting sponsored by Future Leadership Foundation.  Eastern European worship leaders from seven countries - Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Kazakstan, Kyrgystan, Latvia, and Russia -  met to build relationships, share resources, and plan a future Worship Summit.

Participants from each country were given the opportunity to share their stories, including needs, challenges, and hopes for the future. Ron Man, Director of the Department of Worship Resources for Greater Europe Mission, led plenary sessions on the Biblical Foundations for Worship. The final session of the pre-summit was given to planning a future meeting in Kyiv beginning on April 29, 2008, which will include key pastors, music leaders, and theological educators in Eastern Europe. Planning also addressed a desire to establish a central organization designed to gather and share worship resources with the various countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

When Alexander Kreshchuk, host of the event from Ukraine, was asked his opinion of the significance of the days these leaders spent together, his response was, "Historic. We have not had such a meeting in 70 years."

John Jackson, FLF Board Secretary, was the facilitator for the event. Find more coverage of the event on the Greater Europe Mission site at www.worr.org.

Prayer undergirds our work and is a starting place rather than an afterthought. Please be in prayer for these concerns and share them with others:

► On May 14-16, Phil Hunt, FLF Board President, and Stephen Mathis, FLF Board Vice-President, taught Christian stewardship principles in a partnership with Crown Ministries, Inc, at Minsk Theological Seminary.  Pray for the results of this endeavor. More will be reported in the next edition of Reaching Across. (This is also featured on the Crown site.)

► Belarusian regional stewardship training faculty for a November event throughout Belarus.  These people are in the early stages of preparation and commitment to this huge task.

► Leveraging the results of a very successful pre-Worship Summit in Kiev, Ukraine, led by John Jackson, FLF Board Secretary. (See above.) Many new countries were opened to Future Leadership Foundation.  Pray that we use wisdom in entering partnerships with them.

► Wonderful donors who have said "yes" to the philosophy of the Future Leadership Foundation and who are undergirding the ministry.

► Moldovan Baptists who have conducted evangelistic meetings during May.

► Lithuanian churches, small and few in number, who need training and encouragement for the large task before them.

► Pray for the Jeff and Ellen Gibson as they begin a Crown Small Group Bible Study in their Springfield, MO home; as well as a Crown Financial Resources Small Group Leader Training Seminar hosted at Ridgecrest Baptist Church (Springfield, MO) on July 28, 2007 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (This enables leaders to lead the 10-week Bible study.)

Future Leadership Foundation relies totally on the generosity of donors for providing resources needed to conduct ministry and training.  Many involved in conducting ministry projects or doing the training not only volunteer their time but also provide the finances needed.  Future Leadership Foundation is increasingly being blessed through prayers and financial gifts from those that are not in a position to personally "go and do."  The requests for FLF training teams are greater than our financial support allows. Some exciting ministry opportunities are on hold awaiting God's provision of the resources. 

Whatever your involvement in Future Leadership Foundation's work and leadership training projects, we appreciation your participation. For those making financial contributions, remember that Future Leadership Foundation is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization and your gifts qualify for charitable deductions as the tax laws allow.  We encourage you to work with your tax advisor to receive full benefit from your contributions to FLF.  

In making gifts to FLF, please think about both cash and non-cash gifts.  There are numerous added tax benefits from gifting appreciated assets such as stocks, mutual funds, or even real estate.  For 2007 there is a special benefit available for gifting through IRA accounts if you are over age 70½.  We can provide planning assistance for you for these types of gifts.  Please let us know how we may help you in your generosity. 

Stephen Mathis is Vice President of Future Leadership Foundation and also Executive Vice President of the Missouri Baptist Foundation.

Who benefits from FLF-involved efforts?

One participant of the April Worship Confernce (see left) was Evgeny Goncherenko, who serves without pay as one of the pastors of Second Baptist Church in Moscow. During the days of the USSR, he sometimes met in the forest with students to avoid government persecution.

Evgeny asked permission to have some students come to Moscow for initial training in church music. That became the beginning of the Christian Music Academy in Moscow.

Today, they offer a professional quality choir and orchestra named "Logos" that are able to share the gospel in secular venues and through personal contact with world class musicians. In 2006 the academy nearly closed due to lack of funding, yet the number of students continues to grow along with the need.

The idea to organize FLF and the fact that it is already doing the work in ex-USSR countries make my heart rejoice, because it is right what we need. I know FLF founders for more than 10 years and praise God for their commitment to the work in Eastern Europe. Not many Christians and Christian organizations develop the work in our part of the world on such long term basis and with such respect to local specifics of the ministry.

Igor Fridrick
Radio Bible Class
for CIS
Minsk, Belarus

Find more testimonies on our site.