Sergey & Ellina Lesnik of our campus ministry in Kiev, Ukraine, tell a story of a life changed for Jesus Christ while Gabi and Madarasz of Hungary are seated next to them waiting for their turn.
Even though storms in the area kept some from making the event, the ballroom was thunderous and electric.
The ballroom at the downtown Atlanta church on May 20th was packed. Expectation was high and conversation hummed as a concert pianist filled the air with a backdrop of praise music. After a greasy dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and sweet tea, my co-emcee Brent Harrison proclaimed, “Welcome to the Eastern European Celebration Dinner! From the country of Albania, lets welcome…” Then the name of each Albanian staff present was announced (and probably butchered by the Southern USA accent) as the Albanians came striding into the ballroom and onto the stage, proudly waving their flag and waving to the audience as if they were athletes entering the Olympic stadium.
Then the Hungarians were announced and they paraded in with their flag. Then the Poles, Romanians, Ukrainians and Czechs until the stage was full with 35 national European missionaries and their flags. The audience was on its feet welcoming the Eastern Europeans to Atlanta! Thus the evening was launched for May 20th’s Eastern European Celebration Dinner in Atlanta!
Severe storms and bad traffic in the area kept the attendance to around 370 even though RSVPs for the night approached 500. The “ask” that night generated $27,000 in gifts and pledges, designated mostly for the Eastern European staff attending the dinner.
But that was just the beginning. That number has since climbed to $72,000 as post-event responses come in. However, the PRIMARY PURPOSE of the Celebration Dinner is to serve as a CATALYST for our national staff in their support raising efforts. Our Eastern European missionaries are fanning out across Atlanta into Sunday schools, Bible studies and other small groups. These next several weeks as our beloved national staff walk through those open doors will really determine the success of the evening. Please be in prayer for their support efforts.
EB’s warm smile greeted many that evening.
Also, the evening proved to be a great “commercial” for our ministry’s work across Eastern Europe. It was a call to Christians to become more involved in the work of the gospel through their praying, giving and even going. A wonderful group of volunteers, from Moscow, Budapest, Atlanta and even Kansas City, both Campus Crusade staff and non-Campus Crusade staff, caught the vision, embraced the need and invested a lot of effort and prayer on behalf of our national staff. Those volunteers are the real heroes of this effort.
Martin (left) and “Magic” (Maciek) of Poland enjoy the Braves game the evening after the Celebration Dinner. Many of our Eastern Europeans joined us at Turner Field and for most of them it was their first exposure to the game of baseball. They were more entertained by the between inning activities than by the game itself!
The church of Europe was once the cradle for our faith. Now she is somewhere between very sick and dying. Yet in spite of the low value of the US dollar and the American recession, the resources and tools exist within the American church to make a profound difference in Europe, as well as in other parts of the world. Likewise, we cannot reach Eastern Europe alone; we need the help of Christians everywhere. Our Celebration Dinner on May 20th was such a call for help. Many in Atlanta responded to that call. Praise God!
Exalting in the hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:2),
Matt
