European missions project expands to 24 countries

PRAGUE, Czech Republic — The European Baptist Federation (EBF), with the generous help of 15 missions partners around the world, has developed a missions project to facilitate evangelism and the planting of new Baptist churches in Europe and the Middle East. The Indigenous Mission Project (IMP) provides funding for suitably gifted people to work as evangelists and church planters in their own countries. The project was launched in April 2002 in Moldova and has continued to grow steadily. Currently there are 65 indigenous missionaries aided by the EBF in their ministry of planting new Baptist congregations in 24 countries.

These countries include Armenia, Belarus, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Romania, Hungary, the Baltic nations, the Caucasus and Central Europe. It even has missionaries working in war-torn Iraq.
The EBF organizes the project in cooperation with its member unions, which are responsible for the selection of church planters, their theological education and spiritual oversight, including coaching and mentoring. Eventually the indigenous missionaries and church planters are expected to be fully supported financially by their congregations and unions.