Future Leadership Foundation

Puerto Rico Provides Hurricane-Proof Commitment Testimony

Soon after Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico, FLF Executive Director Greg Morrow received an unanticipated letter in the mail in October 2017: a check from the Evangelical Church of the Word in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. The church was making its regularly scheduled payment to FLF’s Macedonia Project. (See more about the project here.)

Greg was surprised, but not shocked: “I had been trying to reach our partners at this church for weeks since the hurricane hit, but there was no electricity, no cell service, no communication. Fajardo took a direct hit.”

Soon after receiving the check in the mail, Greg finally talked to the church’s longtime, now retired pastor, Eduardo Soto Padin (pictured at right with wife Josephina).  Greg encouraged the church to keep the money to use for expenses related to clean up from the devastating hurricane.  “I told him the Macedonia Project is doing fine – there is no need for you to continue payments after what you’ve been through.”

But Eduardo would have none of it. He said, “My friend, once a pledge has been made, the commitment must be kept.”  The church honored its three-year commitment with its final contribution in November 2017. With the final contribution came yet another surprise, yet one Morrow said once again failed to shock. The church had included extra money in the final check.

Another Successful Youth Camp in Lithuania

For the third summer in a row, FLF teamed up with Southwest Baptist University (Bolivar, Mo.) and the Baptist Union of Lithuania to host a Christian camp for teens in eastern Europe. From  July 24-29, more than 50 teens made the trip to Wesley Camp in Lipaja, Latvia. The teens ranged in age from 18 to 24, and enjoyed small group gatherings, morning and evening services, water sports. Lodging and meals were provided. (For good measure, there was even a 35-year-old who attended!)

As in past years, SBU provided leadership for camp, called The Way 2017. sending two faculty members and six students to Lithuania. The local leader was Dana Podriabinkina, a member of New Testament Baptist in Vilnius, Lithuania.

These heartfelt comments came from one of the camp volunteers, Helena Stolyarchuk:

Despite the negative things happening in our town, God’s grace is greater. We see this while observing the little ones in camp and their changing hearts. The kids experienced love, a warm atmosphere and good food. Some kids come to camp because they are starving and live in poverty. They want their parents to know the feeling of God’s love; they invite their loved ones to church and hope the whole family will gather to worship God.

The team from SBU was on the ground for a week before the camp started, offering training in church leadership and children’s camps. SBU’s efforts to train local leaders over the past three summers have paid off, as more and more of the responsibilities for camp planning and operations are being handled on the ground in Lithuania. The teams are already hard at work for summer camp 2018!

 

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Investing in Future Leaders at the Global Leadership Summit

For the past few years, FLF has partnered with Parkade Baptist Church in Columbia, Missouri, to invest in future leaders through the Global Leadership Summit (GLS). GLS is a two-day event focused on developing leaders. The Summit is telecast live from the campus of Willow Creek Church near Chicago every August to more than 600+ locations in North America. Throughout the fall, Summit events take place in an additional 128 countries—translated into 60 languages.

This year, FLF was honored to fund 15 scholarships for current and future leaders to attend the GLS telecast in Columbia. (See picture above.) Dalton Green, a sophomore at Lincoln University and first-time GLS attended said, “The GLS was an amazing experience that I didn’t know I needed. After the two days of the summit, I walked away with an understanding of leadership and values that I will carry with me each day in the hopes to become the best leader I can be.”

On the first day of the Summit, FLF provided a free lunch for 35 guests interested in learning more about FLF. Melissa Hatfield, Director of Operations, presented about the work of FLF.  There were also brief presentations from Sports Crusaders and Just Jump Ministries, two friends of FLF.

For more information about GLS, visit www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership.

200+ Children Attend Ukrainian Summer Camp

For the third straight year, Fee Fee Baptist Church and its Ukrainian partner church The House of Gospel teamed up to hold a children’s camp in Lalovo, Ukraine. The small village sits in the southwestern part of the country about 40 miles from the border with Hungary.

Fee Fee Senior Pastor Dr. Randy Fullerton (pictured right) joined 18 volunteers from his church for all three summer camps. Fullerton also serves as Director of Development for FLF. Fullerton says camp attendance far exceeded expectations starting with the first year, and it’s grown each year since. Lalovo is a town of only about 800, with an elementary school of about 80 children. So in 2015, they expected 30-40 kids. They got 90. In 2016, they got 150, and in 2017, 205.

The week-long camp ran from July 10-14 and featured breakfast and lunch, bible study time, sports, craft activities and English classes. (See a video with Ukranian narration here.)

Fee Fee’s partner church, The House of Gospel, is led by pastor Vova Prodan, who teamed up with the volunteers to run the camp all three years. Vova says the camp has opened doors for Christ in many ways in the Lalovo area: his church has moved from Sunday evening to Sunday morning services, a strong sign of a church’s growth; he is drawing 40-50 people each Sunday; he is now teaching English classes year-round; and he is teaching religion classes in the local school.

The relationship between Fee Fee Baptist and The House of Gospel is part of the Future Leadership Foundation’s Macedonia Project, which partners 20 American churches with 20 international church plants.

-Article written by Travis Ford, FLF Communications Team Member

El Salvador Update

Verlyn Bergen (2nd row; 2nd from right) and some of the El Salvador Baptist Leadership

Verlyn Bergen returned early August 2017  from a trip to El Salvador on behalf of FLF.

Veryln met with Baptist leaders, sharing the mission of FLF and discussing ways we can partner together to develop Christian leaders in El Salvador.

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