“For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:26
They came from different parts of the country. They had different stories and were from different denominations, but we were all one in Jesus Christ. It was refreshing to see this wonderful group of 25 pastoral couples quickly come together to encourage and learn from each other from September 1-11.
We are so thankful for the diverse teaching team that the Lord assembled for this training. Our partners Marsel and Danila, Jeff and Meredith along with the help of Dhurata and her two daughters did an amazing job inviting and organizing. It was a pleasure to work together to serve this wonderful group of pastoral couples.
Pastor Don and Claudia Erickson taught on the theme of Kingdom living in times of suffering from 1 Peter. He and Claudia shared many of their personal struggles which opened up others to share theirs. Don writes that, “Over and over again, we heard couples share how God had used the conference to impact their lives far beyond their expectations.”
Pastor Brad and Kay Adams write, “What an amazing week we experienced in Durres, Albania. It was so encouraging to see the couples get to know each other better and watch them interact with each other. What a privilege it was for me (Brad) to be able to teach about unity and watch it begin to take root among this group of pastors and their spouses.
Pastor Will Schraven affirmed the importance of our calling as precious men and women of GOD and dedicated servants. Will observed that, “In Albania pastoral couples are enduring the normal stresses of ministry and the additional sufferings brought on by the times of distress we are in, but we witnessed the renewing and refreshing work of God’s Holy Spirit by the conference’s end!”
Pastor Rick and Diana enjoyed reminding the couples that God has given them a divine purpose in their marriage. They brought some fun interaction as they taught on communication, conflict and forgiveness in marriage. They even had a special guest to help illustrate some of the special burdens that pastoral couples face. Ask us about the Penguin someday.
Croatia Regional Conference
October 10-15
We are looking forward to hosting a regional training conference in just a few weeks with our partners and Shepherds’ Support board members, Daniel and Kate Wurzberg. God loves the peoples of the Balkans and so we are inviting pastoral couples from throughout the region (Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Serbia) to attend. We are trusting the Lord to build upon the unity that was forged at our previous Shepherds’ Support’ conferences there in 2007 and 2012.
Ways You Can Pray With Us!
- Thank the Lord with us for the encouragement and unity that He brought to the Albanian pastoral couples. It was a joy to witness this.
- Pray for the Albanian couples as they return to their families and ministries. May the Lord keep His teachings and the commitments made fresh in their hearts and minds.
- Pray for the Lord to encourage all of those invited to attend the Croatian regional conference and to motivate them as Gospel witnesses.
- Pray for our teaching team as we come together and quickly turn around to go to Croatia. May the Lord unify our message preparation and lead us as one!
The Lord keeps us going, fueled by our desire to see His name magnified and His Gospel proclaimed throughout the world. Thank you for supporting us with your gifts and prayers. You are an amazing part of every team.
Thank you for joining us in multiplying God’s Kingdom Mission!
