Making Connections

 

“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NLT)
 

Dear Friends and Members of IBC,

Last weekend I took part in the IBC Convention’s annual Ministry Leadership Conference (MLC) in Palermo, Sicily. The IBC Convention is an association of 63 IBC churches around the world, which IBC Hamburg has been a part of for the last 27 years. As well as enjoying somewhere nice and warm, the purpose of the conference was to give church leaders the opportunity to forge relationships with other ministers. There were times of worship, keynote speakers, workshops, and plenty of time allocated to building friendships and partnerships with other churches.

If you have attended IBC Hamburg for the last couple of years, you might remember the pastor of IBC Bonn (IBC Bonn), Stephen Campbell, who has preached twice in our church. I first met Stephen at the first MLC that I attended in March 2022, in Dubrovnik, Croatia. He has been faithfully leading IBC Bonn for the last six years, and I discovered that he has recently published a book entitled ‘Doctrine and Discipleship’, with weekly devotions based on the Heidelberg Catechism. It was great to catch up with him. I was also able to connect with Kristian Bak, the pastor of Koinonia International Fellowship in Aalborg, Denmark (Koinonia International Christian Fellowship Aalborg). Last year we voted to support the Bak family as part of the group of missionaries who we sponsor. Their church celebrated their ten-year anniversary this last Sunday. They are a small church with a faithful group of families who reach out to a mid-size, student town in North Denmark.

I was also able to connect with many more IBC church leaders and make some new, potential partnerships. I enjoyed meeting with Christian Roth, who is the president of The Gospel Coalition (TGC) for the Nordic countries, and has planted a Danish and English-speaking church called New Song (New Song Church) in Copenhagen, Denmark. They have recently moved to new premises and are looking to reach out to a country where a very small percentage are believers.

You might notice in the pictures above that sitting down and eating was also a part of the conference experience. It was my first time trying out Cannolis, a crispy, tube-shaped pastry, filled with a sweet, creamy filling. In fact, the people in Sicily seem to love eating sweets, a substantial part of the buffet breakfast each morning was made up of pastries and cakes. As a confessed sweet-lover myself, I felt immediately at home.

Please keep our fellow brothers and sisters who are serving and leading in IBC churches in your prayers this week. You can find out more about where other IBC churches are located here: Church Locator — International Baptist Convention. At least 16 IBC churches are located in Germany, so if you need to travel at some point, please keep this in mind.

God bless you
James