Our First SGC Europe Pastors Retreat
Partnership is biblical, and it is a gift! Until 1 year ago, my regular experience was being meaningfully partnered with other Sovereign Grace local churches. Having moved to Europe in July 2023 we came to a continent where interdependency is lacking. In my country, Italy, churches battle for turf rather than serve one another. The gospel witness is so lacking in some countries that the nearest like-minded, theologically-grounded church could be in a country where a different language is spoken. The result is that pastors in Europe often feel alone and are tempted to think their work is futile. Europe needs rich gospel partnership.
That is one reason I am so grateful for Sovereign Grace: the leaders and members of Sovereign Grace across the globe are making an investment in Europe for the glory of God, the good of pastors, and for local churches. A recent expression of this was our first Sovereign Grace Europe retreat. Pastors from Belarus, Poland, Italy, the UK, Turkey, and Czech Republic gathered in Warsaw from 21-23 June to receive refreshment from God’s Word, build relational connections, and begin dreaming about what SGC-Europe could be. We were joined by Mark Prater and Dave Taylor, who invested care and teaching as well as Kyle Huber who has significantly invested in the Belarussian pastors and connected them to SGC.
Ed O'Mara is a Sovereign Grace Church Planter in Italy and Area Leader for Europe.
The post first appeared on the SGC Missions blog on July 5, 2023.