A few years ago, the European Baptist Federation (EBF) took up the challenge of how to encourage and equip the present generation of younger leaders for future service. It was a time of turmoil in Europe and the Middle East, with increased migration on the one hand and increased and nationalism and protection of borders on the other. We felt the Lord prompting to do what we could to prepare gifted leaders who are truly ‘internationalist’ and able to cross borders in every sense - geographically, culturally, spiritually and theologically. We also wanted to set this in a context of the continuing and deepening discipleship of younger leaders as they seek to follow Christ in obedience to His call.
So, after a lot of prayer and planning, in 2017 the two-year EBF TRANSFORM Programme was born. The first group consisted of 11 young men and women from every region of the EBF, coming together to learn from each other and from those who led them in different settings where they met together : Austria, Lebanon, Armenia, Ukraine and Scotland. At the EBF Council in Glasgow, Scotland in September 2019 we ‘graduated’ the first group of TRANSFORMers who all reflected on how the programme had enriched their lives, enabled them to grow spiritually, and broadened the horizons of their vision of Christian leadership. Already some of them are taking key roles in EBF life.
And we already planning TRANSFORM 2.
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