The goal of this STINT year is one in which we must depend on God; building a movement of Slovak believers who will carry out ministry after the Americans have gone. Because this is the last year of STINT in Slovakia, we must think strategically of how we can successfully “pass the torch” of ministry to Slovak leadership. This month, it has occurred to me over and over how God is blessing the ministry by giving us the foundations we need to see this ministry last.
Earlier this month, we launched a new Slovak student leadership team. We are calling this small group of dedicated believers our Student Action Team. Our vision is to train, equip, and model to them how to share their faith with their peers, and see them do it for a lifetime. We are excited for the students that God has drawn to Himself through our ministry who have a heart to share the gospel!
Our first Student Action Team meeting. Pray for more student leaders to be developed by the end of the year!
In another exciting development, we have partnered with a church! We are very excited for this. Our vision is to see Slovaks become ministers for the gospel for a lifetime, and having a church body must be a foundational part of their life. One church in town came to us and admitted that they had no outreach to college students, and they wanted us to come alongside them to be their extension of college ministry. This church happens to be the same church where many of our students graduate and get plugged in, so we know their heart for evangelism. They are providing us with a room and time once a month to hold a weekly meeting with an evanglistic focus, just for college students! We have also talked with them about joining with us to put on some of our bigger evangelistic outreaches this year.
Finally, as a team we realized if we want to see ministry last, evangelistic outreach must be a foundational aspect of what we do. We have been in full-swing with some of our outreaches, such as our English Club in Presov. There have been dozens of students that have come out to this meeting. The students have a great time learning new phrases and words. Meanwhile, our team gets to build relationships with these students and will hopefully be able to share the gospel with them.
Stephanie, Lindsey, and Aaron teach a lesson at English Club in Presov.
Part of the English Club time is spent in discussion groups. During one discussion time on “cultural values,” one student asked Aaron what he felt was the most important thing in his life. Aaron was able to respond “Jesus Christ” and share why Jesus is the foundation of his life. This led to even more questions and spiritual discussion that the whole group got to hear. In another group, Slovak student believer Miska was able to share bits of her testimony about Christ in her life with the group. It was exciting to see that our English Club was serving as a platform for the gospel.
Discussion groups are a fun part of English club that can open doors into the gospel
As I reflect on what God is doing, I see Him laying a great foundation for ministry. We have a core leadership team, we have a church partnership, we have outreaches running, we have Bible studies. Pray that these things would now allow us to share the gospel, see more people come to Christ, build students in their faith, and see students be sent out as lifelong laborers for Christ.
