“It was an encouraging time in which we could forget about problems of history and work together for the gospel.”
– Pastor Samuel Skrzypkowski
Samuel Skrzypkowski had already enjoyed being part of WordPartners training in Poland. But an invitation to take part in a WordPartners regional strategy meeting in Ukraine with national leaders from Europe, Central Asia, and Russia helped further expand his vision – not only in regard to God’s Word itself but also in regard to training others to proclaim it.
The tone was set each morning as different brothers, including Samuel, preached through the book of Esther. Reflecting on the rich time in that book, Samuel said, “This is a weird time of history where we don’t understand a lot of things. . . . For me personally, this book was a huge relief that God is still in charge and is at work through faithful – and wicked – people.”
Samuel and his fellow leaders were gathered to prayerfully discuss ways to deepen and extend training among pastors in Europe and beyond. They talked about the importance of raising up national teams to lead such efforts and, eventually, establishing a European regional team to foster greater collaboration.
Samuel was encouraged to be working side by side with like-minded pastors from around the world. “Before this meeting, I understood . . . how to raise new [training] groups, but in this meeting, we talked way more about vision. Our focus was not how to be better organized but on vision and how to go further to reach people.” That vision was enriched by having Eshete Belete, from Ethiopia, share his own experience of seeing God form a national team of trainers to grow the work in East Africa.
Samuel reflected, “Every revival in history was tied to people preaching the Word,” and the regional strategy meeting was an encouraging time in which “we could forget about problems of history and work together for the gospel.”
