The Light of Antwerp

As many of you know, for the last almost 4 years I've been privileged to work alongside CTS graduates, Reijo & Esther Nevalainen, in the Belgian port city of Antwerp, to establish an international church/fellowship. Many hours of prayer, planning, more prayer, more planning have gone into this outreach.

Recently, the following article was published by the Fellowship of European International Churches to tell the story of this church-planting endeavor. What was known as All Nations Together in Antwerp (ANTIA) is now the Lighthouse Fellowship and Lighthouse Cafe. Here's a copy of the article below, or you can CLICK HERE to see the article on the FEIC website. Be blessed and thanks for your prayers for Antwerp, and the efforts of these CTS graduates in this city.

Promo Video 2010 from Reijo Nevalainen on Vimeo.

A year ago, Reijo Nevalainen, pastor of Lighthouse Antwerp Church (formerly known as ‘All Nations Together’), found himself at a crossroads. After two and one-half years of working to plant a new international church in the Belgian port city of Antwerp, he was disappointed with the result. In a small team meeting one night, bared his soul. “I told the team that I had taken the church as far as I could,” he said. “I felt that I had failed and didn’t know how to continue.”

Reijo’s honesty proved to be pivotal moment for the church. After a meaningful time of prayer, Reijo surrendered the project to God. “Peace followed confusion,” explained Reijo. “It was not my project anymore, but God’s. Now, He was in charge… And when I look back, It was from that moment onward that good things started to happen.”

What started to happen was actually a new work in downtown Antwerp called ‘Lighthouse Cafe’, a joint venture between Lighthouse Community Church and another Christian worker in the city who had started a kindergarten.

The seeker sensitive cafe is a monthly outreach, which produces new contacts in the city. The group has grown from a handful to an average of 30. “In January, five people came forward for prayer, something that does not often happen here,” says Reijo.

In addition to the monthly event, the Lighthouse continues to have a weekly small group meeting at home.

“I am really encouraged to see how God’s work in the lives of people moves forward,” concludes Reijo. “People have started to open up, take more active role and commit to the group. And they are open and hungry to learn more about God. We sense this year will be year of growth. Not only in quality, but also in quantity. We want to lead the group deeper into the presence of God and experience the good things He has for each of them. A glimpse of this we have already seen, but we are thirsty for more!”

Although All Nations Together in Antwerp (ANTIA) has ceased to exist as a church planting project, the group is now in a transition and building phase to become The Lighthouse, a community church. Lighthouse Cafe Antwerp is a monthly outreach and Lighthouse Fellowship is currently a weekly small group meeting.

“If ANTIA was the cocoon, then Lighthouse will be the beautiful butterfly,” says Reijo today, with renewed hope. “The time we invested in developing ANTIA wasn’t wasted, but serves as a solid foundation for future development.”

For more info see:

http://antia-online.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Antwerpen-Belgium/LightHouse-Cafe-Antwerpen/52649684966