2025 Vision Trip to Europe

At the end of April and beginning of May I spent 2 full weeks in Europe meeting with missionaries and ministry leaders and exploring opportunities for future mission groups. I started with 5 days in Athens, Greece, a very familiar place. I was really there to spend time with our friend James, to encourage him and talk about what God is doing there. We had a great time together.

I met some of his ministry partners and short-termers as well as some of those he is ministering to.

James is committed to reaching the refugee population in Athens that continues to grow even though it isn’t in the news any more. Basha, one of those in this picture, prayed to receive Christ while I was there! He’ll be baptized this summer.

I also spent some time on Sunday with Pavlos and Natasha, friends I met a few years ago. Pavlos is the pastor of the Greek Evangelical Church in Piraeus. He preached a wonderful message on the days following the resurrection. Sunday night I was with IMB missionaries, Jimmy and Davii and their 2 boys. They’ve been in Athens for 3 1/2 years doing some vital work with local Greek congregations. I think they will be good partners in the future.

From Athens I flew back to London and met a large group of Texans coming over for a vision trip with the SBTC. The group of about 35-40 met for a day at the IMB training center south of London and then split into multiple teams across Europe. I was with three others on an early morning trip to Nantes, France.

We met with the 2 IMB families working in the Northwestern region of France that includes Nantes and Normandy. There are about 12.2 million people in this area with an average of 1 evangelical church for every 100,000 people. Their goal is to have 1 evangelical church for every 10,000 people. This is a pioneer work. We walked through the city of Nantes and 2 other smaller towns nearby and we participated in a couple of outreach events with a local church.

After four days in Nantes we returned to London for a debrief time at the IMB center. We heard from each of the Texas teams who had been to other cities across Europe: Leeds, England; Nantes, France; Athens, Greece; Budapest, Hungary; Bucharest, Romania; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Ljubljana, Slovenia. Each of these areas, and all of Europe, are in great need of mission teams.

I’ve planned a trip for Athens, Greece for 2026, (tentatively) June 1-11. We’ll walk the steps of Paul in Athens, Corinth, Philippi, and Thessaloniki. We’ll spend a couple of days on a Greek island. We’ll visit with ministers on the field in Greece, discovering what their needs are and how we can best support them. The cost will be $2200 plus airfare. That’s all inclusive: all meals, housing, ground transportation, and in country travel are included. The bonus trip will be added on the end: A couple of days in Turkey visiting the ancient city of Ephesus! Let me know if you are interested.