Ruthanne & I have entered into a new season of ministry in Malmo, Sweden where we are serving our church there as they are in a time of major leadership transition and ministry development. Lots of hopeful expectation in this new opportunity!

I Love ‘All Things New’ … How About You!!

We had the joy of reconnecting with friends who we actually shared ministry with in 1986 as we were just beginning our missionary service. Greg & Cindy were active leaders in a military church in Italy where we served as interim pastors for a few months as they were waiting for their new missionary pastors to arrive. Their son & his family are now serving a two-year work assignment in Belgium, so Greg & Cindy came to see the grandchildren (and their son & daughter-in-law of course). Lots of joy and joyful memories in this new encounter!

I Love ‘All Things New’ … How About You!!

We have had the privilege of visiting several international churches since January and have received news/updates from others. The overwhelming reality is, ‘all things new’. Some are enjoying new facilities, others are experiencing new growth and several are embracing exciting new opportunities – Brussels, Heidelberg, Helsinki, Hilversum, Leiden, Lugano, Malmo, Paris, Rome, Stockholm … just to name a few! Lots of new,amazing stories from these places!

I Love ‘All Things New’ … How About You!!

We can and should be celebrating these ‘all things new’ opportunities, encounters and places!

Greater still we should be expecting them in our lives!

The promise of God to those of us who are a new creation in Him is that we will know new mercies and new things for every new day (2 Corinthians 5:17; Lamentations 3:22-23; Isaiah 42:9).

Are you living in expectation of that … seriously are you?

I Love ‘All Things New’ … How About You!!

Thru his business he recently promoted a book entitiled ‘Finish Strong’, by Dan Green which is making national news in America this week!

Do you know why?

In the spring of 2009, Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints adopted this as their battle cry. Their goal, after 41 long years, was to make it to the Super Bowl.

And guess what…it happened!

Against all odds they not only played in their first Super Bowl championship … THEY WON!!!

For the first time in their franchise history they became … SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS!!

Their motivational mantra for this year was, ‘FINISH STRONG’ and they did just that!!

The lessons to be learned are many …

The power of a positive winning attitude
The importance of playing together as a team
The necessitiy of paying the price to reach your goal
It works … in sports, in business and in life!

It is our turn to be champions now … in our faith as well!!

By developing a proper attiude and outlook, which in the end deteremines who we are and what we will do!
By believing the Bible which promises all power, to do all things!
By reminding ourselves that with Him all things are possible!
It is our turn now to be champions … in the most important arena of life?

Are you ready to win big?

Right now that decision is being made by the choices we are making.

Good intentions are lovely … great initiatives are life-changing.

Destined Steps/Discerning Sensitivity – define for us the solid foundation that we have for our confidence and our commitment.

We can live every day day knowing that life is not random, but rather every moment is ordained and ordered by our loving, wise God. He will enable us to take ‘destined steps’ that lead us to a bright future that He has prepared for us.

Step by ‘destined step’ we walk into the fullness of that!

We can also live every day knowing that we need to develop ‘discerning sensitivity’ which will allow us to know the plans that God has for us and enable us to walk in the paths that He has prepared for us.

‘Discerning Sensitivity’ – a daily call and commitment to honor!

Destined Steps/Discerning Sensitivity – this is the mandate we want to passionately pursue and put into practice every day of 2010.

Firm steps, taken because we have a focused heart, do indeed assure us that this will be one fantastic year.

I, for one, am ready for that … how about you?

Like many people we will spend the last moments of 2009 and the first moments of 2010 in prayer.

This year Ruthanne and I will spend that time together in Brussels Christian Center.

This is always a time of reflection and renewal, when we remember all that God has done for us and reaffirm our desire to walk in covenant relationship with Him.

I always seek to have a specific point of focus, a significant priority, something that will lead me into a more strategic pursuit of God in the new year!

Presently, I am compelled with this thought …

In My Place … And Ready To Serve!

The fact is that this year is special for more than one reason.

2010 is not just the beginning of a new year, it is the beginning of a new decade!

It is hard to believe that the first decade of our new millennium is now behind us!

Do you remember 1999 as easily as I do!

Everyone around me seemed to be caught up in Y2K!

People were battling several troubling questions!

• What will happen to our computers?
• How will everything controlled by computers be affected?
• Do we need to prepare in some way?

I mean that was the dominating discussion …  the center of most of the debate!

The fact is … there was no Y2K!!

All our preoccupation … and nothing!

In reality, the greatest challenges of the last decade never made it into the press or the public forum in 1999.

The experts missed it and that is concerning.

More importantly we, the church missed it and that is … tragic!

In an hour of transition and shift … we missed it completely!

It seems that what our world needs now more than ever is for us as the people of God to be able to offer:

• Accurate Discernment – to truly perceive what is going on
• Acceptable Development – to help people prepare for spiritual success
• Appropriate Direction – to show people a new and living way

More than ever before I need to be …

In My Place … And Ready To Serve!

To be willing to stand up, speak up and show someone the way!

To be willing to serve God’s purposes to my generation!

To be able to hear what the Spirit is saying!

To be …

In My Place … And Ready To Serve!

The time is now … places everyone!

There’s no testimony without a test! Sometimes God allows us to go through certain challenges so that His power may be displayed and touch the hearts of others. Timo Virta, a member of Vantaa International Christian Fellowship (VICF), recently shared his testimony which has had a great impact on his life and on the lives of many. About 5 years ago, Timo was diagnosed with cancer….a disease that has taken many lives. It was a shock for him as he has always been a person who eats healthy and exercises regularly. It almost seemed unfair. Timo didn’t understand why God had allowed this to happen to him. But instead of running away from God, he ran to God and prayed earnestly to Him, holding onto his faith and trusting on the word of God. It was a challenging time not only for Timo, but also for the rest of his family. It was during this time that Timo felt the closest to God than he had ever been. He needed comfort, peace and strength from the Lord. And he trusted in the word of God with all his heart and soul. After much prayer, Timo underwent treatment and was cured from the disease. He knows that it was God who had healed him.

It was a life-changing moment for Timo. He had never experienced the power of God in his life in such a might way as he did when he was cured of cancer. He felt the hand of God upon him during the entire time. Recently, Timo was faced with yet another challenge. As part of procedure, he regularly goes for routine blood tests to make sure the cancer hasn’t returned. A few months ago, the doctor noticed from the blood test results that the cancer may have returned. Timo was yet again at the mercy of God. He felt the weight of worry and anxiety on his shoulders but at the same time he tried to draw strength and comfort from the Lord. The doctor had told Timo to return in 3 months so that further tests can be done to confirm if he does indeed have the disease again. The waiting was challenging. The human side of Timo was worried but in his spirit he was strong. It was during this waiting period that Timo attended the pre-summit of FEIC in Vienna. Pastor Larry from Bonn sat next to him and said a quick prayer for Timo.His spirit was really uplifted and he returned to Finland bubbling with the joy of the Lord. The Bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength and Timo was strengthened in his faith during the summit. One day while attending a church service, the Lord had spoken to a man who had no knowledge of Timo’s health condition. The man walked up to Timo after the service and told him that the Lord says ” do not worry”. Timo was blown away. Once again he felt the amazing power of God. He felt the mighty hand of God upon him and he knew already that he’s well. He asked people to stop praying for healing because he knew God had already touched him

Timo went back to the doctor 2 weeks ago. Further tests were performed and it was revealed that Timo is healthy and well and he has no signs of cancer!!! The bible says that when Jesus died on the cross he took our sins and diseases away. And timo is an example of how God has taken his disease away and has made him whole. Praise, glory and honour to our Lord Jesus Christ!

When we began this worship ministry, there were very few models to follow. It was mostly trial and error. There were very few “fathers” or “mentors” to help give the kind of perspective that would guide us into things that would bear lasting fruit and not be just another popular fad. Most of us are not ready for fatherhood and yet there comes a time when we need to pass the baton to another generation. We find ourselves in that stage of life, still growing, still learning, but sensing the urgency to pass on what we have learned to the next generation. We believe in family worship. I’m happy to say that our children have been active participants in the ministry, singing, dancing, playing drums. They are all worshippers and three of them are worship leaders. They have caught this passion partly through our teaching, but mostly through impartation. I don’t believe in formulas! I do believe in some basic principles that can help our worship to be something that is pleasing to God which is after all the most important thing. This is what we are all about, imparting a heart for God and a heart for worship. Equipping the next generation of worshippers, worship leaders and anointed musicians.

Generally speaking, where is the western Church today in terms of worship? There are a lot of exciting things happening. There are also a lot of questions being asked. Here are some of things I hear:

I feel like we are worshipping worship. It’s taken on a life of it’s own.
Where do we go from here?
What does God think and feel about our worship?
The young people seem bored.
The older people feel left behind. The songs are not “singable.”
Our worship seems shallow.
The songs we sing have very little content, they’re mostly “touchy, feely” all about me songs.
I’m concerned about the kind of theology we are teaching through our worship songs. There may be a strong emotional experience and a lot of enthusiasm, but what kind of disciples are we making through our corporate worship experience?
What is the presence of God? Where is the presence of God?
How do we choose the songs we sing, the order and flow?
Our church sings mostly songs that come from somewhere else. How can we inspire our own songwriters?
How do we build a worship team? How do we keep them together, deal with ego problems?
How can a worship team really be integrated with church leadership and the larger ministry team?
How can worship be a tool for evangelism? Worship outside the four walls of the Church?

We have been wrestling with these questions for over twenty years now. We don’t have all the answers but we’re excited that God is using us to model, teach and impart the insights we have gained over the years.

If you would be interested, we’d love to be an encouragement to you by sharing our gifts with your church. The format can vary depending on your particular needs and desires. Some of the things we do regulary are:

1. Lead the Sunday morning worship.
2. Teach on the subject of worship.
3. Do a special evening of “just worship”, soaking in the presence of God. You can invite other churches in your community to join us, building bridges.
4. Meet with worship leaders, worship teams to exchange ideas and sharpen our understanding of worship.

If you have French-speakers in your community, plan a special worship evening for them. Most of them will already be familiar with Exo’s ministry.
To preview/download/purchase our songs/cds go here or look for Chris Christensen on itunes.
To contact us:
c.christensen@skynet.be
0032.476.328518
www.christensensministry.org (English)
www.exogroupe.com (Our Exo ministry site for the French-speaking world.)

We look forward to hearing from you!

Blessings,

Chris and Laura Christensen

2010 FEIC RELATIONAL RETREAT
HOTEL MAXIM
Carole (VE), Italy
April 28 – May 1

• Plan to arrive by noon on Wednesday and depart as late as possible on Saturday (price for additional days available upon request)
• Transportation will be arranged from either Treviso (RyanAir) or Venice Marco Polo airports (more details later)
• Cost for 3 days (room/breakfast) 110€ per person (children ages 0-3 FREE/ages 4-10 DISCOUNT of 50%)
• Other meals at your own choice & cost
• Final Confirmation due by February 28
• For details/photos/information on hotel see online.
• A New Tradition Begins …

See You In Week 17!

Christmas music softly playing …

Christmas tree lights brightly dancing …

Christmas cookies all baked and tasted …

Christmas presents in holiday wrapping …

Christmas Eve service faithfully attended …

Christmas ravioli ready for the making …

Christmas visits with friends and phone calls to family all carefully scheduled …

And a heart prepared and made ready for Him …

Everything Around Me And In Me Says That It Is Christmas!

With grateful hearts we are celebrating these gifts of Christ!

May your Christmas be filled with all the things that make this day special for you!

Everything Around Me And In Me Says That It Is Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

In fact, I have been celebrating since Sept 16th, my first ‘official’ Christmas holiday, ‘100 Days Until Christmas’!

God Has Given Us These Times Of Joy!

Once again we will come to know the beauty of Christmas which allows us to find joy in both giving and receiving, loving and being loved, hoping and giving hope.

The Christmas joy that we experience in our homes has it’s origins in the heart of God Himself.

God Has Given Us These Times Of Joy!

The dawn of Christmas awakens our hearts to the realities of supernatural possibilities, strategic initiatives and surprising opportunities.

We do pray that as you revisit the events of that Holy Night, you will be remined of these things.

This year we have experienced both moments of great celebration and great challenge, but in it all He has given us joy!

The faithful hand of God has blessed us, our family and the work that has been entrusted into our hands.

• Ruthanne & I are so aware of God’s goodness to us personally! This year we celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary and completed our 25th year or missionary appointment. We do not normally talk about birthdays, but as of this year, Terry is not 54 anymore! Admittedly, there are difficult decisions and tough transitions to deal with but we are determined to seek His will & do His pleasure.




• We do thank Him for divine health that has enabled all of our immediate family to walk in strength and celebrate another year of life! Both Kari and Kristi (with her family) are doing well and continue to devote themselves fully to the Lord. Our focus is very much on Caleb & Luke who had their first birthday in September and have made incredible progress! Luke has been diagnosed with infantile spasms which is a huge challenge and yet we know God is able.




• The work of European International Church Development is more dynamic than ever before. New churches are being established, new facilities are being opened and new doors are being set before us. At the same time, there are intimidating issues that taunt and threaten us. God in His grace has allowed us to serve with a team of leaders who are passionate, positive and purposeful, which is an honored privilege for us.

The fact is that God has given us these times of joy, so rejoice in Him and receive from Him all that He has prepared for you!

May this Christmas and the year to come be filled with His presence and the fulness of joy!!

God Has Given Us These Times Of Joy!