Here is great video from our partners at Upstream Collective. It is about planting churches in global cities and the importance of their placement in the world. This video speaks volumes to why we feel it is important to be in Brussels. It is only 3 minutes long so give it a whirl.
Joseph Biden, the Vice President of the United States of America, made some pretty remarkable statements recently when he addressed the European Parliament.
“As you probably know, some American politicians and American journalists refer to Washington, D.C. as the ‘capital of the free world,’” Biden said. “But it seems to me that in this great city, which boasts 1,000 years of history and which serves as the capital of Belgium, the home of the European Union, and the headquarters for NATO, this city has its own legitimate claim to that title.”
I knew God was calling us to a city that was influential and strategic but “the capitol of the free world.”
I will leave on this Sat. (3/20) with a team of 10 people for Brussels, Belgium. This trip is for the team members who are relocating in January to help start a work of LifePoint Church. We are desiring to see French speakers come to know Christ and multiply churches that will multiply into more churches. Please pray for our team that we will have eyes and ears to see all that God wants us to see. This is the last time any of our team will travel to Brussels before we move there in January 2011. I am planning on updating as often as I can while I am in Brussels. Thanks for following along and for praying for the team and for LifePoint as we seek to follow what we know God has called us toward.
Sorry about not updating on Sunday.We were so tired from flying all night and then staying up all day that we went to bed as soon as we could. We attended church on Sunday morning at Vineyard Brussels. There was a wonderful time of worship and then we were off to try and stay awake for the rest of the day so we would not fall asleep in the middle of the afternoon.
One really cool thing happened last evening (noontime for Middle Tennessee) was to have small group experience online from Belgium back to Smyrna, TN. Our small group meet yesterday afternoon and the other half of the small group is with me in Brussels. We talked about Sunday’s message, talked about our day here in Brussels and then those of us in Belgium prayed for our small group folks back in TN and the folks in Smyrna prayed for us in Belgium to have a productive trip. Incredible to see each other through Skype and then talk, pray, and encourage on another. Thank you Lord for technology.
Today, we have had team meetings (nothing new for Monday’s), meet with other M’s and prayer walked a neighborhood that could be a possible spot for our team to live. We purchased cell phones for our team to communicate with as we divide up and cover more territory. We went to a local gathering place for people (a mall) and divided into 3 teams and engaged locals in conversation about spiritual things so we could begin to learn about their worldview and their ideas about spiritual topics. We ended our day with a tour of a huge cathedral that is basically a tourist spot.
Please pray for us as we IPOC, I pray, I observe, I connect. We are asking God to grow our vision, grow our passion, and break our hearts for the people of Brussels. He is at work in this country and we want to be used by Him for His glory.
(You can see pictures on www.facebook.com/kylegoen)