An overseas trip I will never forget…
I traveled to the country of Macedonia in Southeastern Europe for a ministry trip in June. While I have had the opportunity to travel to many nations over the last several years, this trip was especially significant for me. That is because my wife and I lived as missionaries in Macedonia back in 2010 for nearly a year and a half. For those who know my story, they will be familiar with the fact that our term there ended prematurely due to my confession of sin, leading me several months later to Pure Life Ministries in Kentucky. While I have kept in touch with some of our Macedonian friends over the years, I have not been back into the country until this trip.
I landed in Skopje, and was hosted by Assembly of God world missionaries Tim and Elle Bentley. It was amazing to get to know them better and see firsthand the incredible impact they are having in the country. If you are interested to learn more about a ministry doing fruitful work in that part of the world, I highly recommend connecting with the Bentleys’ ministry by going to this link.
One thing that was very interesting on this trip was how much of the Macedonian language came back to me by being immersed in the culture again. I had not spoken it for almost 14 years, and yet, when I landed in the country, most of what I had learned years ago came back with clarity. And I was even more surprised at how much I was able to understand after all that time had passed. In fact, I understood almost every conversation that took place around me enough to pick up the context of what was being shared.
Ministry in Strumica
My first service was in a church in Strumica. Reconnecting with Pastor Tony and his wife was a rich blessing. Before the service, he took us to see the new church building that they have been praying to complete for many years. In fact, the project had been sitting idly for some time, waiting for funding to come in. However, recently, they have been able to do a lot of work to it, and he was very encouraged with how the project is moving forward. It will be a great facility once it is finished, where the Evangelska Crkva in Strumica can flourish.
Pastor Tony shared with me many of the challenges that the church has experienced over the last several years, something that was reiterated several times by other leaders throughout the trip. In a country with strong Orthodox roots, and also a large presence of Islam, ministry for the chuch can be challenging. The evangelical churches are seen as a cult by the Orthodox churches and as a competing religion by the Muslims. This creates difficult soil for the churches that preach that people must be born again and have a true relationship with God through Jesus Christ. However, on top of that, the evangelical churches have experienced a very difficult season as three additional challenges have come their way over the last several years.
First, their president, Pastor Mirche, passed away, leaving a vacuum of leadership that needed to be filled. Second, many never returned to the churches due to the pandemic after getting out of the habit of being in church (an issue not unique to Macedonia). Third, due to the economic conditions in the country, many young adults have moved away to other parts of Europe and the world because they are able to make much more income outside of Macedonia. This has left a large gap in generations, as young families who were very involved in the churches have left the country for better opportunities. So, please remember the churches in Macedonia in your prayers. We are believing God for a move of the Holy Spirit that brings revival and a harvest of Macedonian souls.
In the service in Strumica, I shared my testimony and spoke a message about protecting the passion of God in our hearts. I spoke specifically on discouragement and how the enemy seeks to use it to wear us down. One young lady in the congregation came to me afterwards and was very moved by my testimony and the message. She said she was overwhelmed at my transparency and was very encouraged by what I had shared.
The next day, I was able to be a part of a homeless feeding program called Retweet a Meal in Skopje. This ministry cooks meals every Friday to be delivered to a place in the city where people are living in great need. We teamed up with a couple from France and prepared the meals that would be delivered by the ministry later that day. It is great to see the Body of Christ teaming up together to meet the practical needs of people in the country.
Ministry in Kavadarci
We had a joint service in the city of Kavadarci with the congregations from the Evangelska Crkva of Kavardarci and Negotino. Pastor Goran is the pastor of both of these congregations, and he was one of the pastors that Brittany and I worked most closely with when we were missionaries. It was a blessed time reconnecting with him and his wife, Daniella and their family. I had an opportunity to sit down with them and share the story of what the Lord has done since I left Macedonia in 2010. They were very encouraged to hear what had taken place and very encouraging toward me. It is amazing how I could be gone for so long, and yet, sitting in their living room after all of these years, it felt like I had never left. That’s one beautiful thing about the Body of Christ. Though we may be apart physically, our spiritual connection never leaves.
I shared some of my story that night in Kavadarci. There were several that I knew from my time in 2010, and others that I met for the first time. I also preached a message from the story of Achan from the book of Joshua, using my own story to illustrate what happens when we do not walk in the light as Christians. We had a time of response at the end and several acknowledged that the Holy Spirit was speaking to them through the message and asked for prayer about issues in their lives. It was a great service and the presence of the Lord was evident.
Ministry in Prilip/ Time in Bitola
We ministered for two days in the city of Prilip. As we were traveling to the city, I mentioned to Tim that I know I had been to Prilip when we lived in the country, but I couldn’t remember for sure what we did there. We got to the church where I would be ministering and when we met Pastor Edian and his wife, I recognized them. I looked at the church building and thought it looked familiar. Then, I remembered that I had been a part of hosting a missions team to help build that church. I went inside and on the wall was a photo of the team that helped build the church hanging on the wall, and it was the team that I had helped host. It was a really cool connection and the pastor was very excited about it.
That evening, we had a small conference with two sessions on the topic of obedience. Tim translated the messages for me. The first message was about the calling of the original disciples and how Jesus’ expectation of discipleship should impact the lives of believers today. In the second session, I used the life of King Solomon to illustrate what it looks like when we do not obey the voice of the Lord. Pastor Edian was very happy about the teachings and the people were very appreciative.
That evening, we spent in the nearby city of Bitola at the Evangelska Crkva there. The next day, I had the opportunity to meet Pastor Josef and his family and to hear how the Lord was working in Bitola, specifically through the building of relationships through Alpha Course. He shared a powerful testimony of a Muslim who had come to Christ and been water baptized as a result of the classes they offered.
That evening, we headed back to Prilip to a local coffee shop that we rented out to offer a teaching on addiction to anyone in the community who was interested in the topic. Earlier that day, I shared with Tim that I felt a spiritual fight in my spirit while preparing for that night. What we hadn’t realized was that that it was a Muslim holiday celebrating the beginning of Ramadan. The coffee shop was just about a block away from the local mosque, and the streets were filled with people joining in the festivities. It was quite a different spiritual atmosphere in the coffee shop than what was happening just outside.
I shared my story of battling with addiction and also declared that Jesus is the way to find freedom from demonic bondage, sin and all addictions. Though there were a handful of people who showed up, one young man in particular felt that it had been orchestrated just for him. We had a chance to sit down with him afterwards and hear about the things he was struggling with, and he felt the Lord used that night to help him to learn to walk in greater freedom. Another man shared with us about the demonic practices he had been a part of in the past and that he was trying to get free and live for Christ. We prayed with both of these men individually and I believe the Lord spoke to their hearts in a significant way that night.
Afterwards, we went out to eat with Pastor Edian and he shared his incredible testimony of growing up in a nominal Muslim family, and how the Lord used people in his life to slowly open his heart to the Gospel and eventually get saved and water baptized. Now, he is leading a church and preaching Jesus to anyone who will listen. What a mighty God we serve!
Ministry in Skopje
Sunday morning, I had the opportunity to speak at the main Evangelska Crkva in Skopje. This congregation is now pastored by a friend of ours named Stole. When we were in the country, Pastor Mirche was the leader of the church in the capital city as well as the Evangelical movement. However, his passing has been one of the challenges the church has had to navigate over the last couple of years. It was a great joy to see Pastor Mirche’s wife and talk with her and one of their daughters after the service. And there were many others who we knew personally that I was able to connect with that morning.
I shared my testimony with the church, repenting to them and asking their forgiveness for my failure to practice what I preached when I lived among them. Then, I shared a message about seeking the presence of God above all other endeavors in our lives. Afterwards, Pastor Stole came up and spoke to me publicly, saying they forgive me and that the door to Macedonia will always be open to us. Sharing publicly about one’s failures is something that is not normal in a shame-based culture. So, by doing it, I was modeling something that I believe had a significant impact on the people in the service. It was a very special moment, and I was very grateful for how the Holy Spirit moved in the service. Several came to me afterwards and spoke about how my testimony and the message had impacted them.
That evening, we went back to the same building to preach at the International Church that meets there on Sunday nights. Pastor Marino, a friend of ours from the past, is now pastoring this congregation, made up of people who speak English and are in Macedonia for a variety of reasons including ministry, military and business. I felt led to share about the story of the two sons from the parable in Luke 15. I spoke about the prodigal son who ran away, but also the older brother who stayed in the father’s house, but still did not have intimacy with the father. I encouraged everyone to search their hearts to determine if they are truly walking in relationship with the Lord, or if they can relate in some way to either of the sons in the story. It was a great time to connect with these believers and make some new friends.
Ministry in Gevgelija
We held a men’s conference at the Royal Ranger’s campground in Gevgelija. Men from several churches traveled to the camp for our time together. We opened with a couple of worship songs and I spoke about the topic of purity for men. I was told that this was not typically spoken about openly in the Macedonian church, but my own experience speaking in many places in the world has taught me that this is an issue that transcends culture. Several men expressed their gratitude for the way I candidly shared about this common struggle. After the message, we broke the men into discussion groups to talk about sexual purity, and there were a lot of great conversations taking place.
After that, we had some outdoor games for the men to take part in. We also went swimming in the river that runs along the property. The campground is on a beautiful property. After a great meal together, we headed back to Skopje. I believe the Lord used this to spur the men to greater holiness in their lives and to encourage them to develop accountability relationships with other men. One of the young men who attended, Vlatko, was a part of our youth group in Negotino, so it was great to see him again after all of these years.
The Final Two Days
The next day, we travelled down to the city of Struga with the new president of the Evangelical movement, Pastor Pieter. It was a blessing to have a chance to get to know him on a deeper level, and to hear about how the Lord has helped him settle into his new role. We visited several places to secure a location for a pastor’s conference that will be held this September.
While we were there, we were able to visit the Evangelska Crkva in Struga and meet Pastor Emil and Pastor Robert, who ministers in Radovich. Each of them had been saved out of heavy drug addiction through the ministry of Pastor Pieter in Stip. I had a chance to hear their testimonies and learn more about how the Lord is working in that area of the country. It was a great time of fellowship and building connections with the current pastors in the country.
The following day, I had a chance to reconnect with Igor, one of our Macedonian language teachers and friend, who is now serving at a church in the capital city. It was a joy to hear how the Lord has directed his life and provided a wife and kids to serve in the ministry together.
We also spent some time with a good friend, Zivko, who is pastoring another Evangelska Crkva in Skopje, planted a few years ago. Their church has an amazing worship team, and his wife, Fani, is involved with recording Macedonian worship music. It was a blessing to see him again and to catch up on how the Lord has grown the church plant and faithfully provided for them.
My final meeting was with Svetlana, a great sister in the Lord, who also translated for me on Sunday morning. She invited us to come to the pregnancy center that she leads in the capital city called Lydia. We sat down and had a chance to hear many testimonies of how the Lord is using that center to convince women to keep their children instead of choosing abortion. Svetlana has the opportunity to travel all over Europe and the world sharing about the work that they do. Something I found particularly interesting is that in Macedonia, the average woman seeking abortion is not a single mother or a teenager in distress, as we might expect in the US. Many of the women they minister to actually have children already, but due to the economic pressures in the country, they feel they cannot properly take care of another child in the home, so abortion becomes an option. I was so blessed to learn about the work they are doing to reach these mothers and try to help them make a decision for life. To find out more about this ministry, please go here.
Overall Thoughts
This trip was above and beyond anything I could have asked the Lord for. When we left Macedonia in 2010, it was abrupt, and I never had a chance to explain or say goodbye to many in the country. We assumed that word had gotten out over the years and that most of the leaders had an understanding of what took place. But I found out when I arrived on this trip, that was not the case. They only knew something had transpired and that we needed to leave quickly. So, this trip gave me the opportunity to fill in the gaps of my story, repent and ask forgiveness and share about the incredible mercy of God in my life. It was a vivid illustration of the restoration power of the Holy Spirit.
As I walked the same city streets on my prayer walks during the trip, the difference between what my life is like now was on hi-definition display. And to come back to the same place and walk the streets in freedom must have been powerful in the spiritual realm. I felt the enemy was probably cringing with every service that I preached. To God be the glory!
I also felt a deep burden for the people of Macedonia. The Lord has a plan to reach those in the country who do not know Jesus personally and I believe He is going to move in a powerful way. Please pray for the churches in the country, that God will send refreshing and revival, that pours out of the church and transforms the nation for Jesus Christ.
I’m super grateful for each of you who took the time to pray and sacrificed in finances to make this trip happen. You are such an integral part of what the Lord accomplished. Thank you for being a part of the trip. I also recorded a six part series of short vlogs about the events of the trip. You can watch it here:
