Posts by Alex Jacobsen
Multiplying Disciples in Austria: How One Invitation Transformed Lives
As a 21-year-old in the 1980s, Lisa Meyers couldn’t have imagined the far-reaching impact of knocking on Irmgard’s door. She’d signed up for a summer in Austria with Greater Europe Mission’s Eurocorps program, through which young people serve by helping local missionaries. One of her tasks was to go door to door and invite people…
Read MoreJoin us for a Virtual Day of Prayer for Europe
The GEM Day of Prayer is fast approaching! Twice a year, GEM hosts a 24-hour online prayer vigil for our ministry and prayer partners. Last year’s GEM-wide Day of Prayer gathered participants from more than 30 countries across the globe to pray for God’s intervention and movement in Europe. On Monday, the 2nd of October (10/2 for…
Read MoreDiscovering Opportunities for Gospel Conversations While Prayer Walking
At Greater Europe Mission, we often say that “the gospel moves at the speed of relationship.” But what is the value of some forms of open-air evangelism, such as prayer walking, in a society where intentional relationship building is often a crucial step in sharing the gospel? “We can’t do anything without a firm foundation…
Read MoreChurch Planting in a Paris Montessori School
Picture this: a Montessori school in the twelfth neighbourhood of Paris, full of barefoot twenty- and thirty-year-olds singing worship songs in front of a projector. Piles of children’s books, games, brass bells, and bits of bark and leaves lie next to Bibles and jackets. Curious passersby glance through the windows at the group, perplexed. Upon…
Read MoreHouse Church Discipleship in Frankfurt
When Lin, a Buddhist from an Asian country, arranged for Martina to tutor her son in the German language, she got more than she bargained for. Lin sensed a peaceful presence coming into her home whenever Martina showed up. The girl radiated kindness. As Lin engaged Martina in conversation, she learned that Martina was a…
Read MoreDrone Ministry in Germany: How God is Using an Unlikely Hobby
From the beginning, the tiny, electric drones drew more boys than girls. Not that girls weren’t invited! All were welcome at the drone camps, but GEM workers Jonathan Bachman, Jeff Gage, and Rick Winford noticed that boys between the ages of 11 and 15 tended to show up and kept coming. When they held the…
Read MoreA Missionary’s Perspective on How the Church Looks Different in Europe
Let’s say you want to become a global worker in Europe. What would you need to know about the European church compared to the American church you are used to? Because of Europe’s incredible diversity, each church’s context looks different. However, by looking at three “-ism’s” of church life—communalism, bivocationalism, and evangelism—we can get a…
Read MoreThe Five Most Critical Things About Disciple-Making
At Greater Europe Mission, we seek to be disciples who make disciples. In all areas of our life, we seek to be discipled by others and be disciple-makers of others to see God’s Kingdom multiply across Europe. But what does that look like in practice? And how can all followers of Jesus be active and…
Read MoreYouth Ministry to Ukrainian Refugees in Prague
Olena Nineteen-year-old Olena’s mother took it upon herself to call the leaders of the Thursday night youth group. Ever since she and her daughter fled Ukraine after the conflict began in 2022, they had lived in Prague but still had neither friends nor a strong social network to support them. When Olena’s mother heard about…
Read MoreFour Ways to Support a Missionary Besides Giving Money
Sending and supporting global workers is the call of every Christian—regardless of how wealthy you are. Yet often, if we’re in a season of life where we cannot financially give to missions, it’s easy to think there’s nothing else we can do to support missionaries. How can we support global workers outside of giving money? …
Read MoreHousing for Ukrainian Refugees in Athens
With the conflict in Ukraine now in its second year, assisting refugees has become a daily concern. Europe and the rest of the free world were overwhelmed by the needs of Ukrainians forced to leave their homeland due to the conflict foisted upon them. In addition to the absolute necessities of life, housing is a…
Read MoreWorshipping as a Creative
As an artist, I often find myself caught in the tension of wanting to worship through art and not always having a space in the church to do so. The Church has adapted throughout history. However, we often focus so much on reason that we cut out the need for beauty. In our quest to…
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