Future Leadership Foundation is at work throughout the world, primarily Eastern Europe. This issue of Reaching Across reminds you of that, while at the same time focusing on some the work that goes on locally to make our overseas partnership possible.
We want you to interact with this newsletter: to be informed of our latest news, to pray for specific needs and our upcoming events, and to be involved through your time, resources and expertise.
FLF also reminds you to be involved between newsletters by visiting our Web site, www.flfmissions.org, even as it moves to a new, more user-friendly look.
Finally, please share this newsletter with others and encourage them to subscribe. E-mail newsletter@flfmissions.org.
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Crown Financial
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FLF: Providing biblical financial training
Future Leadership Foundation frequently encounters requests from church leaders in Eastern Europe to provide
biblically-based leadership training.
One topic that is repeatedly requested is biblical financial training. Specifically, the needs include helping churches and their leaders:
» Learn and apply the Bible in honoring God with the resources He supplies
» Determine how best to honor their staff through financial support
FLF is currently at various stages of conversation with Russia, Ukraine, and Lithuania about partnering
together to provide this vital resource. (See more below.)
FLF Highlights at Crown ignite!
 Crown Financial Ministries began strategizing how to meet the need for stewardship training worldwide in 2002, with an ambitious goal of teaching 300 million people by September 2015.
Out of that came Crown ignite! training, equipping both
pastors and lay leaders with foundational teaching, using the Bible on
Money. A second major focus, for men and women who own businesses, is called The Bible on Business.
The work and goals of Future Leadership Foundation make Crown Financial Ministries an ideal ministry partner. FLF board president Phil Hunt and vice president Stephen Mathis have been at the forefront of FLF's training in Eastern Europe since 2007 and provided leadership at the Crown
ignite! event in Kansas City last November.
During their onstage interview
time (above), the men explained our partnership more fully and how FLF has
achieved their goals with this Crown-provided training.
Your
gifts to the Future Leadership Foundation help make our Eastern European training
possible. This training cannot be done
without you. Church leaders and Christian business leaders who are introduced to these great materials and trainers
are indebted to people like you!
Find out more Crown through their Web site ( www.crown.org) or Crown ignite! Facebook page, with pictures and more information from the November 2009 event.
Above (l-r): Matt Elsberry, International Director of Leadership Development for Crown; Stephen Mathis, FLF board vice-president; and Phil Hunt, FLF board
president.
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Looking ahead:
Upcoming events
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February
1-2 FLF/Crown Training: Moscow Theological Seminary Master's Class
March
15-19 Ukrainian Baptist Seminary Academic Track, Boryslav Campus
15-19 All-Ukrainian Baptist Union Leadership Coaching Retreat, Skole
17-20 Belarus House
of Mercy / Union of Christian Evangelical Baptist
Churches of
Belarus quadrennial meeting -
Minsk
21-23 Union of Christian Evangelical Baptist
Churches of Moldova
26-27 BGCM Annual Meeting - Lee's Summit - FLF
Staff
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Prayer needs
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Prayer is where we start in our ministry. Please remember these needs:
» Evangelicals in the countries of the former
Soviet Union who are
struggling to have a voice in religious freedom
» The Haiti earthquake, those that are affected and their families; and for God's wisdom in determining what FLF's
response should be
» New FLF Board Members who began in January and staff
» Ion Miron, new president of the Baptist Union of Moldova, and the evangelical churches of Moldova who find themselves in a
country headed toward democratic principles.
» Lithuanians working to establish more
Christian-based materials in their national language.
» Toma Magda, president of Croatian Baptist Union, its 50 churches and 2,000 members
» Every Generation Ministries (www.egmworld.org) providing training and
curriculum for children around the world
» FLF partner INMED, (www.inmed.us), training healthcare professionals
to serve the forgotten
» Our partnership with Crown Financial Ministries, and FLF's need for someone to lead our efforts in the area of Crown
Financial training.
» Belarusian leaders to coordinate efforts in the Minsk and Brest
Regions for Business by The Book
» FLF's need for someone to lead our efforts to
partner with STEER, Inc. (www.steerinc.com), an evangelical, interdenominational, agricultural, mission fund-raising program.
» For Saulius Karosas, pastor in Klaipeda, Lithuania as he
partners with FLF and seeks a team to edit and translate Crown materials into
the Lithuanian language.
Find further information and additional prayer requests on the FLF Prayer Request page.
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Ukraine
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The Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary on the Boryslav campus will host
a The Bible on Money event March 15-19. It will be led by Emerson Swope, staff
member at Forest Park Baptist Church, Joplin, Missouri. A presentation to the national
staff of the All-Ukraine Union of the Association of Evangelical Baptists at
their FLF-sponsored retreat will also be a part of that event.
This was rescheduled from November, delayed due to a national outbreak of flu. For an earlier newsletter with this information, please contact us.
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Lithuania |
We are currently at work with
leaders in three key cities of Lithuania (Klaipeda, Kaunas and Vilnius), along with the nation of Moldova, to
discover their needs for biblical financial training for their leaders. Please
pray for the leadership of God's Spirit as we explore what He has in store for
our future partnership together.
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Romania
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 Iosif [Joseph] Caraseni is the associational missionary in
the Bugeac region of Moldova. He is
married to Alexandria and they have two sons, Elijah, age 19, and John, who is
15. (See picture, left.)
Iosif and Alexandria attended our
Regional and National Leadership Coaching Retreat held in Romania last year. He and
eleven other regional pastors and national staff and spouses were in a
leadership retreat because of your gifts.
He says
after the retreat, "On behalf of our family, I would like to express our
gratitude for the financial support you've granted me and my wife to be able to
participate at the Leadership Conference.
Through these seminars God renewed my call and gave me a vision for the
Bugeac region and for the church I serve in.
He has also motive me to a better service. Now I see more clearly God's plan for me and
the work He wants to do through me...."
Saying "You do make a difference" may seem overused at times, but it is true. Thank
you from the Future Leadership Foundation for investing in the leadership and
ministry Iosif and Alexandria.
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FLF ministry expansion
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Beginning January 1, 2010, three new and exciting changes have
occurred in the life of Future Leadership Foundation:
» John Jackson has moved from the board to the
role of associate executive director, a volunteer position.
» FLF has replaced him on the board and added two additional board members. A third
board member, elected to a one-year advisory role, has been elected as well for
2010.
» After doing all we can do for the past five
years on total volunteer hours, we have invited our former
volunteer executive assistant, Linda Darity, to a part-time paid position. She can be reached by e-mail at lkd@flfmissions.org or at
FLF's toll-free number, 866.652.5150.
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This quarterly e-newsletter is sent to those who have asked or are interested in our work and mission.
Again, we appreciate your involvement through prayer, gifts, in-kind donations and your time.
Remember to keep up-to-date between newsletters through the FLF Web site: www.flfmissions.org.
Sincerely,
Your ministry partners at
Future Leadership Foundation
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FLF establishes endowment |
Lucille
Hatfield, mother of Executive Director Roger Hatfield died in November
2009.
Lucille was influential in her husband's and son's coming to know Christ. Beginning in the 1950's she was a missions leader in the churches they served.
Roger recalled "that meant books to read, missionaries around our meal
table, women's missionary groups leading the charge" and his parents supporting Roger's
first global trip in 1981.
At 93, she had witnessed the beginning work of the
Future Leadership Foundation and its global influence.
Upon her death, Lucille's family and the FLF board leadership came together to establish the
first permanent endowment for FLF. The endowment is designed to provide
perpetual support for ministry through investment earnings.
If you are interested in contributing to this permanent endowment, contact the
FLF office toll-free (866.652.5150), or e-mail FLF vice president Stephen Mathis
at sem@flfmissions.org.
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| Would your church like a presentation? |
The Future Leadership Foundation is happy to make a presentation at your church
about our ministry, including:
» Leadership coaching with Sunday School teachers, seminary students, pastors and pastor types, regional and national leaders.
» Strategic planning with groups, organizational management, teaching in
seminaries as well as local churches.
You can learn more about our work by viewing Projects on our site.
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| Reminders |
» FLF encourages you to use GoodSearch as you browse the Internet. We are one of more than 79,000 charities that benefit each time you search.
Use the "Who do you GoodSearch for?" and type in "Future Leadership Foundation." A related online shopping site GoodShop, will also donate up to 30% of your purchases to FLF.
» Future Leadership Foundation reminds you that purchasing the Fresh Wind CD, a collaboration of Missouri and Belarusian musicians, benefits the Minsk Seminary.
Order forms can be found on the FLF site or you can call us toll-free and we can guide you through the steps to order online using PayPal. By mail, send a check or
money order to FLF. A single CD is $15 USD with reduced rates for ordering in bulk.
Include the quantity and mailing address. Orders will be received in about two weeks. We pay the shipping.
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Russian Federation
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On February 1-2, 2010, Future Leadership Foundation will help provide training for
seminary  students on the Master's level.
This is possible through a
partnership with Moscow Theological Seminary, under the leadership of seminary
president Dr. Peter Mitskevich, and Crown Europe, a part of Crown Financial
Ministries.
Trainers for this event will consist of
Crown-trained Russian speakers from Bulgaria and Ukraine.
This training will also
include FLF's recently developed supplemental material entitled Called to
Honor. The materials address pastor and staff support, requiring
translated American trainers in addition to Russian speakers.
Similar training has been
requested by the Russian Baptist Union for the 52 regional superintendents
whose ministry touches the 9 time zones of Russia.
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Resource:
Many languages, one site |
Applied Language Solutions (www.appliedlanguage.com) provides a wealth of tools on its site, including:
* Text and site translation
* Language identification
* International dialing codes
* World maps
* World flags
* Currency conversion
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