Michael Ots Evangelism Trust

Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 2:05 PM / No comments

Location of Schloss Mittersil – not a bad place for a conference!

Speaking at the event in Belgrade.

With Slavko (centre) and Lindsay (left) in Bled, Slovenia.

Dinner on the final night in Subatica.

Thanks for those who were praying while I was on something of a ‘European Tour’! I did try to post while I was away but unfortunately my phone application saved them as drafts and didn’t actually publish them. It’s been a great couple of weeks with so much pack in, where do I start?

Firstly I was in Austria for the second annual IFES conference for University evangelists. It was great to be with people from 22 different countries all seeking to do the same thing – making Christ known on the campuses of our continent. I led a small group each day where I was giving feedback on short evangelistic talks given by the other participants. The main sessions were led by a people from various parts of the continent. A highlight for me was to get to spend time with veteran Evangelist, Michael Green. His wisdom and insight on how to thrive in evangelism for a lifetime was invaluable. I have observed that while there are stacks of books on the work of a pastor there are very very few about the work of the evangelist, so getting to learn from one who has been around a while was such a blessing.

At the end of the conference many of the delegates then went off to different European countries to run missions and events at Universities. I had the privilege of travelling with Lindsay Brown (former Gen Sec of IFES), as well as members of the IFES movements in Norway (Pablo), Serbia (Samuil) and Bosnia (Slavko and Sasa). Our first leg of the trip took us through Slovenia to Croatia. 10 hours travelling in snowy conditions was interesting. We stopped in the picturesque town of Bled on the way which was stunning even in the misty weather. After a short stop in Zagreb we ended up in the  Croatian city of Osijek where we took a meeting of the IFES group there. I spoke on the reliability of the New Testament, Lindsay shared stories from around the world of the Bible’s power to transform and Slavko shared his testimony of becoming a Christian after being a member of the Bosnian mafia! The IFES work in Croatia is very small and that was reflected in the meeting though there were a few there for the first time.

The next day we set out for Serbia, stopping at lunch time in the city of Novi Sad. Here we spent time chatting with students from the IFES group there. Unfortunately we were not able to hold an event there for, as with other European countries, Christian meetings are not allowed to take place on campus. It was good to meet up with Vanja, the staff worker, who some of you may remember came to Liverpool earlier this year to help with the mission there.

That night we took a meeting in central Belgrade. For me this was the highlight of the trip showing a great example of creative evangelism. As with Novi Sad, events on campus are disallowed, so the group hired a coffee shop in the centre of town and promised to pay for at least 60 drinks. Tis gave them a great venue which was packed with students, a good number of whom had not had not been to any Christian events before. Lindsay spoke first introducing the topic of ‘The cry for meaning’, Slavko then shared his testimony and I concluded by speaking on the story in John 4 and showing how our cry for meaning is found in what Jesus offers. There was an encouraging response afterwards with a good number keen to find out more and lots taking books.

The next day I got given a guided tour round Belgrade by a couple of the students. Was interesting to see the city and learn more about it’s history. There is still a lot of evidence of the Nato bombing from the war with a number of building still destroyed. That night we drove 2 hours north to the city of Subatica. Here I spoke on the subject ‘Do all religions lead to God?’. This time Sasa gave his testimony  – a remarkable story of how on the verge of suicide God broke into his life. He now leads the church in Sarajevo with Slavko. (Church discipline must be fun with a former solider and mafia boss both leading the church!) The meeting was smaller than Belgrade and much quieter – a reflection on the Hungarian influence on this border town. There were again a number of people her for the first time and several took books.

The next day it was time to leave, I flew from Belgrade via London to Edinburgh where I was picked up by a student and driven to Stirling where I spoke on the house party for Herriot Watt, Napier, Queen Margaret Universities and the Edinburgh College of Art. We had a good weekend looking at the book of Acts and getting excited about seeing our place in God’s big story and how he invites us to partner with him on his mission to the world. Bizare moment of the weekend came the international themed fancy dress competition on the Saturday which included a group dressed up as the Manhattan Skyline, the Forth Road Bridge and the Loch Ness Monster!

By the time I got dropped back at Edinburgh airport for my flight home on Sunday evening I was pretty shattered but grateful to God for such a great opportunity to share the Gospel in so many different situations.