Ben and Cristina Hartman

We have developed a heart for Europe during several trips that we’ve taken there over the past few years. We have seen churches and cathedrals that are beautiful in structure, but have lost the spiritual life that was present years ago. We’ve interacted with people that are hardworking and self-reliant, but lack a relationship with Christ. We wondered, what could we do? Early in 2017, God put us on a path to answer this call to Europe. Ben was on a business trip with some co-workers where one of them told him about the ministry of Greater Europe Mission. That night he went back to his hotel and looked them up online. He discovered that they have a team in Kandern, Germany called eDOT (electronic Discipleship, Outreach, and Training) that leverages technology to create applications to spread the Gospel and see people throughout Europe discipled for Christ. He was excited to find this opportunity to use his technical skills directly for the Kingdom. Some of the projects that eDOT has been involved in include topical Bible studies in foreign languages, evangelistic smartphone apps, text messaging programs, and applications related to the refugee situation that is currently happening across Europe.

Ben still serves with eDOT as an associate; however, in our time here, Ben has transitioned to workplace ministry in Basel, Switzerland. He felt led to be working daily with unbelievers and sharing faith at the workplace. A current project Ben is developing is called the Breeze Translate software. This software is for churches with multiple languages and the software provides real-time translation with about 200 language options. Church attendees/visitors come in and scan a QR code for that church and they are able to hear the message in their mother tongue. This project came about from an annual Christian- based Hackathon Ben takes part in each year.

We also use our time in Germany to build intentional relationships with people we encounter each day. For us, it is how we live our lives in the United States- opening our home weekly (or even more than that) to have people over for dinner or dessert- or both! Meeting and knowing our neighbors, taking meals to others, serving other families that we meet through our local bakery, cafès, etc...

Cristina has a passion for the refugee population in our area. This looks like visits to the refugee camps, coordinating 2x's/week visits to the camps from the local international school Luke and Eve attend, and hosting language cafès with biblical storytelling or spiritual themes and 1:1 visits.