M AY 1 8 – 2 2 2 0 1 5B I S C H O F S H E I M , G E R M A N Y

I F E S E U R O P E 2 0 1 5 / 2 0 1 6

Gen Sec Gathering

ifeseurope.org

B&C is unique in IFES—a 4 week residential training in a multi-cultural community! » Learning about our God by studying 5

books of the Bible in depth. » Learning how God’s word speaks to

today’s world. » Learning to teach others from God’s word. » We build friendships across our Continent

that can last for life. » We have trained over 180 people from 25

countries over the last 7 years.

On B&C we train Graduates, Student Leaders and Staff to serve Jesus in their local context.

“To me this was just the perfect mixture of intense and deep Bible study, and thinking about our responsibility as Christians for the world we live in. It is hard to convey in only a few sentences what I learnt in the four weeks of Bible & Culture, as it is so much. I attained a lot of motivation to study the Bible and to really dig deep while doing it. I discovered that it can be fun to prepare and give Bible talks and that I’m actually able to do this. But one of the most important things that I experienced at B&C was to get to know so many wonderful people from Europe & Eurasia! It was just a huge blessing to have spent this month at B&C.” D R M A R I K E B E R G E R ( 2 0 1 3 )

Dates28 June–26 July 201526 June–24 July 2016

Our regular teachers include Ellis Potter & Marsh Moyle (Worldview & Genesis); Rev Stuart Allen (Genesis & Luke); Tony Watkins (Prophets & Film); Julia Doxat Purser (Politics); Dr Martin Hodson (Environment); Dr Al Erisman (Business); Professor Hans Bayer (Mark); Martin Haizmann (Revelation); Nikola Galevski (Art & Culture); Tim Vickers (Identity, 1 Peter & theology of work).

Bible & Culture is part of IFES, it is there for you to use to help your key people become stronger leaders for the future—whether in student ministry or in society.

Questions » What is your experience of Bible & Culture? » How can we help you, help your people

through B&C? » In what ways can you use people trained

through B&C to strengthen your national movement?

H E L P I N G N AT I O N A L M O V E M E N T S G R O W S TA F F, S T U D E N T L E A D E R S & G R A D U AT E S …

www.bibleandculture.orgFor more information, please contact Tim Vickers on tim.vickers@ifeseurope.org

ifeseurope.org

Bible & Culture

This evangelism network was started with the support of UCCF and IFES in late 2008, with a vision to develop a team of university evangelists and apologists all over Europe.

The undergirding conviction behind this development was that secularised European countries can only be turned around if we both proclaim the gospel in the public sphere and win the argument with pagans, atheists and others regarding the superiority of the truth claims of the gospel over other world views. It is our conviction that, as in the past, the public proclamation of the gospel is pivotal to turning cultures around.

Our vision from the beginning has been to unearth and develop a team of at least 60 evangelists and apologists, one from every European country, and to reinvigorate a commitment to the public proclamation of the gospel and to university missions in every country in Europe over a 10 year period. For the current 3 year period (from Jan 2014—December 2016), our goal is to host university missions in 36 European countries in 36 months.

Linked with this, the other development we are seeing is the formation of national teams of evangelists who are getting together to support each other and work together. Three such groups have begun in the last few months—in Spain, Germany and Italy—which is really encouraging.

We try to support and encourage this growing network through

• an annual conference for 100 people during the first weekend of November each year

• a newsletter 3 x a year

• opportunities to come and observe and participate in mission weeks in the UK

• some teams are able to help and support mission weeks in other countries, as a learning and partnership experience

Upcoming FEUER conferences will be held in

• Montenegro (for Balkan countries): June 8–12, 2015 (some scholarships available)

• Grenoble, France: November 5–9, 2015

Questions » What is your experience with FEUER teams

and how could we improve their contribution on the field?

» How can we serve you best? » In what ways can you use people trained

through FEUER to strengthen your national movement?

If you would like more info, please contact Lindsay Brown on lindsaybrown@ifesworld.org

ifeseurope.org

FEUER

Our vision is to see High schoolers live out the gospel in the campuses of High schools in Europe. IFES high school ministry is all about helping High schoolers live out their faith at their campus. Help and equip the Local church to do mission. We want to see prayer, evangelism and dicipleship happen naturally in the High school setting. In some part of Europe it is possible to have weekly events at the local high school and many places that is not and option. Our main focus is to train and equip High schoolers to gather in prayer, talk to their friends about their faith and also have evangelstic events in campuses.

“Not everybody goes to church but everyone goes to school”

A High school prayer group can be 10 people eating lunch together and pray It can be a a weekly meeting for High schoolers in a room at campus with 100 people . It is one on one evangelism. Our main focus is to help High schoolers be open and sharing about their

faith with their friends at school. We see that more and more IFES movements in Europe think about High school ministry as a natural part of their ministry. We are not a youth group competing with the local church. We are campus oriented mission groups, that help train the local church in mission.

Everthing we do should be birthed in Prayer. We want the High schoolers to lead friends to Christ, through practical acts of goodness that change their school to the better, and grow in relationship with Christ at campus.

Questions » What is your experience with High school

ministry in your country? » If you have high school ministry in your

country, how can IFES help you to develop this and serve you in a good way?

» If you don’t have High school ministry would it be an idea to look at the prospect of starting it in your country?

www.ifeshighschool.orgFor more information, please contact Kjetil Spilde on Kjetil.Spilde@ifeseurope.org

ifeseurope.org

High school ministry

In Spring 2013 we started to create small learning communities as a support system for all general secretaries of IFES movements in EUROPE—40 countries. We wanted to create a place and time to stop, to share, to learn from one another, to be equipped, to be encouraged.

The following ideas and elements are used as the guiding principles:

• Focus on both character and skills

“...David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them” P S A L M 7 8 : 7 2

• Work through a curriculum that addresses the various aspects of our life and ministry as a national leader in IFES (see below value based leadership)

• The meetings are built around the following elements LEAD:

» learning an attitude of ongoing learning—learning from each other—contributing from our own experience—input from members of the regional team—book reading and discussion—meet in various locations with places of interest

» encouragement build our identity in Christ—a biblical vision for our ministry—being renewed by the gospel —living out of grace—praying for each other—experience the IFES family

» dreaming—setting goals setting goals for personal life and ministry

» accountability being accountable to one another (peer mentoring for ministry and personal development goals)

Initially, groups were created around the contact person from the Regional Team, but from 2014 onwards, groups are formed from New General Secretaries. This means that they will continue to function in the future as normal cluster groups, and new groups will be formed from General Secretaries who are starting their role as GS.

Length of the meeting• For New Gen Sec’s: first year 4 times in a year,

including IFES Europe Gen Sec Gathering

• For other cluster/mentoring groups: 2 times in a year ; 2 times combined with an IFES event—Gen Sec Gathering.

Questions for feedback » What has been most helpful for you regarding

GS cluster groups? » How we can improve the ways in which

we seek to provide support for you as GS to succeed as a disciple of Jesus and as a General Secretary?

» How do you see the role of the point person for the future?

For more information, please contact Igors Rautmanis on Igors.rautmanis@ifeseurope.org

ifeseurope.org

General Secretaries’ Cluster/Mentoring Groups

Appendix

VALUE BASED LEADERSHIP: FRAMEWORK FOR TOPICS OF DISCUSSION

PERSONAL1. Integrity2. Stewardship3. Ambition4. Diligence5. Perseverance6. Self control7. Healthy lifestyle

MANAGEMENT1. Pioneering

2. Developing vision & strategy3. Executive Competence

4. Organising and structuring

5. Developing staff6. Handling Finances

7. Winning people and resources (fundraising)

Character/Attitudes

ATTITUDES1. Servanthood2. Being Teachable3. Courage4. Fairness5. Trust6. Respect7. Loyalty

SOCIAL SKILLS1. Building relationships

2. Being an example3. Coaching

4. Presenting5. Communication

6. Handling conflict7. Team building/work in

multicultural teams

Competence/Skill

C ALLING1. History

2. Gifts & Talents3. View on life

4. Missiology & studentministry5. Life Balance

6. Leadership Values7. Imitation

8. Self reflection

General Secretaries’ Cluster/Mentoring Groups (cont.)

The aim of this initiative is to assess the organizational health and life cycle of a National Movement, and to empower the movement to fully live out the purpose of its existence by bringing intentionality, clarity of vision and a strategic development plan to ensure good stewardship of our God-given resources.

Outcomes• To define reality by listening to all the stakeholders

in the movement, and by testing this reality against the purposes defined by God’s calling.

• To work out areas of strengths and concerns, and come up with a strategic development plan, based on what the movement has rather than on what it doesn’t have.

• To create a culture of regular evaluation, as a means of learning about our environment, cultural changes and the effectiveness of our God-given resources.

• To create a better understanding of the needs and challenges in Europe’s national movements and how the RT could address these strategically by providing support to the movements which is not only based on felt needs but also on long term outcomes.

• The intentionality from the RT helps individual teams to bring about changes.

StrategyNM Assessments would be offered to all movements in Europe but would be particularly useful for movements going through a transition in leadership. The transition from one General Secretary to another would thereby provide the new General Secretary with a full and accurate picture of the movement’s status and would enable him or her to build on the movement’s strengths and address its weaknesses. Assessments may also be conducted upon the invitation of a continuing General Secretary.

The assessment process would involve 3 stages:

STAGE 1

• Adapt the template questionnaire to the culture and context of the movement that is being assessed

• All members of a NM complete this questionnaire

STAGE 2

• Attend a national conference to conduct focus groups with students, student leaders, staff team, board members and graduates

STAGE 3

• A report is produced and this is presented to the staff team and the board. The report will contain:

» The results of the questionnaire

» A presentation, which will contain the strengths of the movements, areas of concern and a recommendation

STAGE 4

• Upon the movement’s acceptance of the recommendations, a Regional Team member will commit to work with the national movement staff team and General Secretary in following up on the recommendations

Survey Instrument The questionnaire is made of four component parts.

• Demographics: Having respondents indicate personal information allows for cross-tabulation of the data so that differences between constituent groups can be observed. Demographic categories include such things as gender, student status (Undergraduate, graduate), and level of participation.

ifeseurope.org

IFES Europe National Movement Assessments

• Likert-scale Statements: 5 point Likert scale statements produce mean scores which quantify the feelings, insights and perspectives of the participants.

• Open-end Questions: Allow people to add their personal perspectives in their own words. The open-end questions give texture and depth to the hard data gathered from the Likert-scale statements.

• Life-stage Assessment: A series of five “pick two” questions give insight into the movement’s life stage in the life-cycle. Knowing its current life-stage is helpful in identifying the things that need to be done in order to increase the movement’s ministry effectiveness. The areas explored are:

» Commitment to Mission and Vision

» Involvement of People

» Programs, Structure and Organization

» Attitude toward Change

» Morale, Esteem and Confidence

The five stages of a movement’s life are:

» Entrepreneurial

» Organizational

» Peak Efficiency

» Institutional

» Descent Toward Death

Questions » How would an assessment like this be able to

benefit your NM? » Do you see the value in the RT running this

network? Please explain.

Igors Rautmanis igors@ifeseurope.org

56

104123

216

131

Entrepreneurial

Organizational

Peak Efficiency

Institutional

Descent to Death

L IFE CYCLE STAGE

IFES Europe National Movement Assessments (cont.)

IFES InterAction is a brilliant opportunity to learn and serve cross-culturally. It is a program within IFES Europe that is all about serving through evangelism, discipleship, international student outreach and pioneering. Our aim is to proclaim Christ across Europe’s universities and colleges. We seek to provide training, pastoral care and strategic planning as we work with national IFES movements.

Our goal is to see a vibrant student ministry in every nation. A ministry that’s effective in making disciples who express their faith in every aspect of life. Teams play a strategic role towards this goal by supporting existing student initiatives and helping pioneer new ones. Typically our teams are involved in supporting and training student leaders, helping lead small groups, evangelistic events and hospitality, one-to-one bible studies, national conferences and training events, international student ministry—and more!

We welcome participants from all around the world and our workers find that although there are inevitable demands working cross-culturally it is always an exciting and rewarding experience! Volunteers usually commit for 1–2 years and Team leaders/co-workers are generally asked to commit for three-five years, depending on the location and the nature of

the work. The InterAction year starts with the Kick-Off conference in August, and ends with Debriefing in June. InterAction workers are self-supporting financially.

InterAction is especially designed for:

1. Graduates who are willing to give one or two years of their time working with students in a cross-cultural setting.

2. Students who spend time abroad as part of their university course (frequently language students).

3. Students who are able to take a year out from their studies.

In 2015/16 we are sending new volunteers to seven different countries! Perhaps your movement could benefit from an InterAction team?

Questions » What is your experience with IFES

InterAction teams and how could we improve their contribution on the field?

» How can you help us recruit for teams? » How can you encourage suitable graduates

from your movements to join? » How can we serve you best?

www.ifesinteraction.orgFor more information, please contact Susanne Koch at susanne.koch@ifeseurope.org

ifeseurope.org

IFES InterAction

IFES’ work among international students is a strategic way to impact the world with the good news of Jesus Christ.

Students come from all over the world to study in Europe—many from countries where they would normally never meet a Christian or hear about Jesus. We long to see student-led witnessing communities reaching out to the far side of the world. We long to see believers return to their home countries secure in their faith in Jesus and able to lead others to him in places where no missionaries can go. The Vision of the IFES ISM is to see established and active, Christ-centred International Student Ministry in each IFES movement across Europe. We seek to equip staff, students and volunteers through the ISM network and the Global Impact Conference.

Questions » How can we help you to reach out to

international students? What would help you to do so (more)?

» If you do not do already, would you send suitable candidates to the ISM network meetings which we have twice a year to be equipped and inspired?

» How can we serve you best?

www.ifeseurope.org/ international-student-ministryFor more information, please contact Susanne Koch at susanne.koch@ifeseurope.org

ifeseurope.org

ISM

One way of supporting volunteers and staff who work in IFES Europe movements is by inviting them to participate in the Young Staff Networks (YSN), as a place where they can be supported and mentored in their ministry.

From 28 October–1 November 2015 in Ecouen, France we will start the fourth round of the YSN. This meeting for the finishing team and for a new team (15 people from 12 different countries) will focus on growing in self-awareness and spiritual disciplines, and the idea that ministry should flow from our being: understanding who we are, how God has made us, how different we are compared to others, why we need others, and what God has given us so that we can be a blessing to others. Our goals are:

1. Character development

2. Growth in spiritual disciplines

3. Helping staff to create a learning program

4. Learning leadership and planning skills

5. Learning by doing / reflecting on experiences

The Network is a process, where the learning takes place by creating space and time. That means that during the year, we have three network meetings when

all participants come together. This team will also be involved in planning and organizing some IFES events, such as Formacion 2016 in August. The current team has been involved in running the IFES Netherlands student conference ‘Live It’, where they ran different tracks and response groups. Periodic skype meetings with each of the young staff will provide mentoring, shape the individual’s learning process, and give time to reflect on experiences that the staff might have.

Who qualifies for this network?• 1st or 2nd year staff who will continue be involved

in student ministry at least one more year after completing the network cycle.

• Full time volunteers.

Questions » What are the main challenges your movement

faces regarding staff? » How could YSN help to address those

challenges? » Do you see the value in the RT running this

network? Please explain.

We would like you to nominate your staff by 1st July 2015. Please send their name, gender, and email address to Igors at igors@ifeseurope.org. We will then contact the staff worker directly and provide more information about our first meeting.

ifeseurope.org

Young Staff Network

H E L P I N G G R A D U AT E S F U L F I L T H E I F E S S T R AT E G I C P R I O R I T I E S …

SP 1 – Communicating the good news of JesusCross-Current trains graduates to become effective Ambassadors for Christ in their workplaces, professions and societies.

SP 2 – Strengthening leadership and formaciónCross-Current helps graduates to realise their potential for strategic Christian leadership within the church, society and IFES.

SP 3 – Promoting student-graduate integrationCross-Current nurtures IFES students into life-long disciples of Christ, committed to student ministry and to being witnesses in the workplace and society.

SP 4 – Building sustainable supportCross-Current helps our graduates flourish as followers of Jesus in the post-university world, and shows them how to give back to IFES with: prayer, time and money.

SP 5 – Addressing current global issuesCross-Current help IFES graduates develop a biblical understanding of the impact of Jesus’ Lordship on their professions, and through these the core issues of society.

SP 6 – Engaging the universityCross-Current helps graduates who remain in academia to learn from each other about the impact of their faith on their field of study.

Cross-Current Professional GroupsA unique 3 year mentoring/discipleship programme for graduates, drawn together across the continent to learn from older believers what impact Jesus has on their profession or academic field. We aim to inspire the next generation of leaders for our societies.

Cross-Current City GroupsTeaching the core components of Cross-Current to a mixed group of graduates in one city or country, with accountability, biblical framework, mutual support and real-life examples of what it means to follow Jesus at work. We aim to give you a core group of graduates with whom to build the future of your graduate and student ministry.

Questions » What is your experience

with IFES Cross Current conferences?

» In what ways can you use people trained through Cross-Current to strengthen your national movement?

» How can you encourage suitable graduates from your movements to join?

For more information, please visit www.cross-current.org or contact Tim Vickers on tim.vickers@ifeseurope.org

12

3

4

5

6

ifeseurope.org

Cross-Current