Foursquare Europe Conference in Athens –  Gods unshakeable kingdom in a shaken continent - by Ben Jost, Foursquare Germany

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:58:31 +0100

It was really a great experience and privilege to come together with pastors and leaders from over 20 nations, to hear their stories and learn from them, to touch hearts and pray for each other. The reason why Greece was picked was to show a sign of friendship and family towards the people of this nation at a difficult time like this.

The message that was carried throughout the conference: in the Kingdom of God difficulties are opportunities. It was very touching to listen to the Greek host pastor sharing how they are handling the time of crisis, how he inspires his congregation, by putting his eyes on Jesus, not on the problems. He not only inspired the Greek congregation, but also all the other European leaders. And we were amazed to hear that God is doing wonderful things, that more and more people come to know Jesus as their personal savior.

During the few days, we heard many encouraging and inspiring messages, helping us to fix our eyes on Jesus and on the things he has in mind for us. We learned that, even if things are beyond us, God is beyond all things, and the key not to be shaken is to stay connected with God.

In a postmodern time like ours it's also important to cross borders, go to people and build relationships with them, in order to reconstruct and restore the world. Especially the young people were called out to listen to the vision God had put into their hearts, and the older ones were encouraged to help their younger fellows on their way to find this vision and run for it!

In little groups that differed from day to day, we could exchange our feelings and thoughts, e.g. how to handle a personal crisis, when prayers don't get answered and things don't change for the better. It was really helpful to learn from each other, especially from older/wiser people.

During the wonderful times of meals, which (at least in the beginning) were beyond our imagination, we had the opportunity to get to know lots of other people from other countries. This was a great inspiration and brought up many new thoughts.

Also the times of united worship were really awesome and we could sense the presence of the Lord - no matter if the songs were English or Greek. Beside singing, we prayed for and blessed each other.

After an inspiring message that God is anti-poverty and favors people who cannot defend themselves, we went to the city of Athens to serve needy people. We did that as a kind of worship, with the goal to get to know people, not only by their needs, but also by their names. At the end of the day there were many great stories to share, many names to keep in mind and continue to pray for. All in all it was also a very humbling experience, because the needy people in Greece often blessed us more than we did to them.

The tour to Corinth was a great ending to the whole conference. Led by a born-again woman, we could learn lots of very interesting things, and the stories from Acts – as well as the letters from Paul – became more real than ever.

The whole conference was a great experience! We once again could reconnect with God, with each other and with other people. Thanks for everybody who was part of this!

I like to end my little report with some encouraging words of a brother from Spain: “Now is the time – for revelation, affirmation, manifestation and transformation! It's time to be brave and go ahead.”

Other delegates say about the conference:

... wonderful warm atmosphere in worship and fellowship. Highlight: our serve the city time in Athens with people from town. I experienced our mission statement "live".

We experienced grace, peace and favor in our fellowship and ministry during the conference, which is a great encouragement for all to experience the support of the larger body in our personal and national ministry.

Outreach into George & Margarita's church community was excellent. The hard work in making it happen was well worth it - it was a highlight of the weekend. Good to meet other delegates informally, to exchange stories & ideas. Quality of music & vocals was very good in worship times. Evening sessions ran a little too late - it's hard to keep your mind sharp after 10pm.

The FSQ Europe conference 2012 was a refreshing time of connection and strengthening; when generations became one! It's wonderful to be part of a big loving family. I am definitely thankful to the "more experienced" generations; as they make me feel valuable. Thank you! Besides, God showed us through our Greek brothers and sisters, that He can turn crises to opportunities to experience His loving protection and power, shaking the trust of money and breaking the trust of this world's systems!

I truly enjoyed standing in awe of Him together in our times of worship, and in our times of being the body of Christ on the streets of Athens! It was amazing to see how God supplied all of our needs as we went out to be His supply to others in the city.

A fantastic conference bringing all ages together. So many leaders and role-models to be inspired by, and so many new friendships!
"I was thrilled to see the Spirit of Unity, the ease of fellowship, the integration of generations and the enthusiasm for ministry to the host community which was established in Tallinn continue in Athens."

It was an inspiring, refreshing and uplifting time. I enjoyed especially serving the needs of people in Athens and many young leaders gathered together to learn from the older generation. We can by the grace of God form a good future not only for our churches, but for Europe! 
Community. Laughter. Tears. Worship. Joy. Friendship. Direction. Confirmation. Service. Confrontation. Love. Fun. Giving. Receiving.
Thank you Foursquare Church of Athens!
Thank you friends!
Thank you God…

Wonderful teaching and great to have a real life experience in Athens, Greece.

To serve the poor made me rich.

Serving together in Athens as a FSQ-Europe Family was a very fulfilling experience.

Great to experience the fellowship of people from all over Europe”

It was great to hear all that God is doing in the different countries and the thought that came to me was "Foursquare Europe is in good hands"!

It was great. Well organized and rich and being able to get that teaching is such a blessing.

I came away from the Foursquare Europe conference with great hope for Europe. The old continent shall be renewed.

We enjoyed our time at the conference ... especially the ability to meet up with people who we don't see often and to meet new "family" in Foursquare.

Connection 2011

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:58:40 +0200

Nearly 2,500 Foursquare pastors, leaders and church members from 54 nations around the world gathered for Foursquare Connection 2011, themed "Accelerate—The Whole Gospel to the Whole World," held in Columbus, Ohio, May 30-June 2, 2011. The Greater Columbus Convention Center played host to the May 30-June 2 event, which included insightful and prophetic speakers, meaningful worship and practical learning.

Volker Heitz, FEFC President, attended both the convention as well as Global Council meetings and shares his experiences.

Meetings before convention: Under the direction of Foursquare President Glenn Burris we came together as National Leaders to discuss the future of the Global Council and its role. Glenn was very clear in his attempt to shift responsibility, authority and resources from FMI in the US to the global family. Some of the results of these meetings were put together (further details see download) in a document titled “Primary Responsibilities & Objectives of the Global Council”.

Convention started with a message from A.J. Swoboda about our love for Jesus. Leslie Keegel focused on our love for each other. Ed Stetzer, Ted Vail and others focussed on our love for the world and the billions of people who have not heard the good news about Jesus. Kelly Tshibaka showed us a video clip “This is discipling” (http://www.foursquare.org/convention_2011/media/videos) on how it would look like if as leaders we would focus less on things that make our churches entertaining and more on making disciples. For more detailed reports on convention check out this link: http://www.foursquare.org/news/article/connection_2011_concludes_in_columbus

Meetings after convention:
The Global Council met with the Foursquare US Board of Directors and the National Leaders to share our vision for the Regional Council and the Global Council. It was great to experience Glenn Burris giving information on current developments, on changes and shifts in direction and including the leaders into the processes. There was an overall positive response for this new direction.

Volker Heitz
FEFC President

Video update from Foursquare Convention 2011

Tue, 7 Jun 2011 17:22:09 +0200

Foursquare Connection 2011, May 30 – June 2, 2011 in Columbus, Ohio, USA
The Foursquare family came together in Columbus, Ohio, for a time of worship, connecting, and seeking God’s guidance on how to accelerate the whole Gospel to the whole world. Jan von Wille shares his impressions …

Foursquare Europe Conference in Athens – Gods unshakeable kingdom in a shaken continent - by Ben Jost, Foursquare Germany

Connection 2011

Video update from Foursquare Convention 2011

Foursquare Europe Conference in Athens –  Gods unshakeable kingdom in a shaken continent - by Ben Jost, Foursquare Germany