One of our core values as a ministry is based on 2 Tim. 2:2 – “Pass on what you heard to reliable leaders who are competent to teach others.”  Over the years we have sown many seeds in the lives of others, but often do not see the ripple effect in those they teach.

In 2015 Phil was teaching on biblical leadership and mentoring the next generation in a small city in Ukraine. However it was not till years later that we discovered the far reaching impact that simple conference would have. One of the attendees was Willi who served with a German mission, Kontaktmission (kontaktmission.de). He is their Eastern European director and had been training leaders in Eastern Europe for many years.

Recently, Willi contacted our ministry again and he shared how he has been using our materials to teach leaders since then. In his role as E. Europe director, he has been travelling from Germany to Uzbekistan doing seminars. He lives in Germany,  but grew up in Russia and is fluent in Russian. He has also continued to travel extensively throughout Ukraine, even during the war. It was during Phil’s trip to Europe earlier this year that he was able to meet with Willi again and introduce some of his new material. The goal was also to invite Willi to more formally be part of the ICM Ministry Coaching Network (MCNet), which connects him to the rest of the team as well as provides greater access to our materials.

From previous newsletters, you likely remember Alexei and Tatiana who live in Moscow and for many years have been MCNet coaches. They were recently teaching some leaders in Kyrgyzstan  as part of the Lausanne Network. Some Uzbek participants asked Alexei if he had heard about a Mentoring Guide that they had received while in Uzbekistan. It seems there was a Russian speaking man from Germany (guess who!) who had taught them using the manual and had provided this material only weeks before.  Reliable leaders training other – ripples in a pond. Your partnership enables us to provide these materials for leaders, often not knowing who God will use to then pass on the training to others.