Sydney Anglicans are supporting vital ministry in Eastern Europe, paying to send a Cook’s River minister back to the Ukraine to build up a new generation of church leaders.
The Rector of St Peter's, Cooks River, the Rev Tom Halls has returned from his second trip to the Ukraine after a month spent training church leaders in the Biblical principles for Christian leadership.
"So many congregations are springing up with untrained leadership or no leadership at all," Mr Halls says. "Hence, the great need to run these seminars and preach."
Mr Halls joined members of European Christian Mission and Bible Education by Extension to train people in evangelism, help them grow in Christian maturity and develop Biblical models of leadership.
"It's an exciting time to see the church growing. These men want to ensure a strong biblical leadership in their churches to so things will not go astray," he says.
This is the second year Mr Halls has been invited to run leadership training at the invitation of the conservative evangelical Association of Baptist Churches in the Ukraine.
"In the 12 months since I was last there I noticed a tremendous change," Mr Halls observes.
"The churches are very keen on street evangelism which they were hesitant about 12 months ago. Each church is being asked to take responsibility for half a dozen villages around them."
Mr Halls says speaking to church leaders makes it clear how the spectre of Soviet rule still haunts those church leaders imprisoned for preaching the gospel during the years of oppression from 1945 to 1992.
"Anyone over 50 still looks over his shoulder and expects to be accountable for every thought he has."
While overseas, Mr Halls also spoke at a youth festival at St Woolos Cathedral, Wales, and met with Christians in Singapore.
Mr Halls is thankful for the generosity of his parish who released him for a month to assist in this training ministry. They will release him for another two weeks in July to work with India Evangelical Mission teaching expository preaching to new recruits.
"One of the fellows in the Ukraine asked about me, "How does his parish get by without him for so long?' Ray Busuttil from European Christian Mission replied "They get on better without him'."
