I’m reminded of the ongoing sending heart of our triune God. We each, in different ways, moments, and chapters in this brief life are privileged to come alongside the Spirit. We may cross oceans, but the greater sacrifice may be to put down roots and bear kingdom fruit right where we are. To be available, to surrender into Jesus love that we may embody His love in this very confused world.
I read a good question recently: What does it look like for the loving reign of Jesus to come in my neighborhood? This question takes mission out of the realm of theory, and into our relatedness to others. To be, not to do, is our first task. To throw up the sails of willingness, of grow in a posture of listening.
Those that are intentional with listening, I believe, are blown into the lives of the hurting, and inquiring into the lives of the lost with the patient posture of mercy. The world doesn’t need information, it needs incarnation, a people living into and embodying Jesus life.
We are His extended hands and His feet to our generation. There’s nothing new under the sun. Let’s keep it simple. Love!
Thank you everyone that donated in 2020 to our new mission building at Lighthouse in Ukraine! A special thanks to World Challenge for providing a very generous grant that helped us finish our goal!
As soon as the weather permits, we plan to continue with the walls, and roof. Then, as God provides both resources and hopefully small construction teams (hint!) we can finish out the interior.
Fist pump.
90 Day Pilot Launched!
And behold, I saw a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.
Just imagine that day. Now picture a moment in your week, here on earth, when you get to taste just a little of this future reality around Jesus. Young and old, from completely different cultural backgrounds, gathering to be encouraged as we interact with one another for an hour.
“A passive group of listeners is not an active group of learners.”
The 60 minutes will consist of a greeting and instructions for our breakout rooms. We will provide intentional open questions for your small group to process, which will build weekly through the 10 weeks.
YES! THEY ARE TRANSLATED!
I’m really excited to introduce some missional friends from different parts of the globe in our Guest Story section. Our first guest will be Jim Mills, missionary for over 30 years in Belgium and founder of Creative Arts Europe. The following week, our friend Ken Steorts co-founder of the rock band Skillet, and president of Visible Music College in Memphis. You can check out our line up of guests by clicking here!
At the 45 minute mark, we’ll officially finish. For those hungry for a deeper reflective time, Deb Crowe will guide a 15 minute exercise you are welcome to explore!
For time zones, and the Zoom link for each Sunday, please visit and bookmark our new page – Missions Network!
Please pray for us as we host this, and for all the moving parts. We enjoy pioneering new things but this definitely feels as though it has some spiritual resistance. Our enemy wishes to keep us insulated, divided, and knows there is great power in unity under Christ!
Our new pilot – Missions Network – Click Here To visit and sign up for WhatsApp group chat, and also check out the dates, times and join us!
When I was fresh out of bible college, as a young youth pastor, newly married in Canada, God gave me a little hint toward my future vocation. I had already an idea that Deb and I would eventually navigate our way towards the Russian speaking world, but was finding myself quite frustrated at the pace of God’s movement.. when you’re young, you think God must also be in a hurry.
I was in the shower, of course, and God dropped a term in my heart – Missions Network. It was odd, because this was around 1997, I didn’t know what the Internet was, hardly nobody did. What I did know in that moment however, was that God’s church was quite immobile, focused entirely (from my limited experience) on its local context, with little concern or viable pathways for those whom God might burden for other cultures and spheres. Missions network, for me, in that moment, meant little more than a concept of putting wings on the local church, somehow mobilizing it towards global awareness, and participation. It sat with me for many years, as a piece to the puzzle that might somehow emerge down the road.
A decade later, Deb and I with several kids, found ourselves no closer geographically to Slavic culture, and were in Texas. I had founded a small web company, and much to my frustration at times, swimming in the depths of technical projects and customers. We built websites, for business and many ministries. It hit me one day that I should look for the domain name, and by a series of quite incredible events which I shall spare you but tell my children, I got the name, and registered the name also as a 501c3 in faith – and began to believe God was well underway on the idea He came up with. I was wrong, I jumped the gun, and after two years of waiting for the charity and vision (at that time a website that has ambitions beyond God’s) closed up. I moved on, I didn’t need to make this thing happen.
Fast forward another decade or more, and I’ve been in Ukraine now for 14yrs. I’ve since sold the Texas business, and been cultivating a small community of faith here, with Lighthouse, widows ministry, and other things I won’t bore you with. Over the past few years, God has really networked us to the body of Christ in several creative and missional spaces. Some have come through my graduate journey with Fuller Seminary, others through Belarus and my role directing our current 501c3 Mir Ministries, and others as God has woven divine pathways both in Ukraine, Russia, and North America with folks.
This December, I registered for 2 of my final 5 courses at Fuller, and one of them was a New Testament course that had in its reading requirement reading the NT over the 10 weeks in entirety. I figured, “hey, if I’m reading this on top of the other books and course I’m taking, our Lighthouse community can do this reading plan too!” This idea was embraced by our team, and I found myself enamored with the idea of opening this up to any global friends, missional partners, along with a weekly Zoom that might gather like-minded folks for a debrief, a time of prayer, refelction and perhaps a place to practice some of the mentoring material we’ve enjoyed over this season personally – personal, spiritual formation has been Deb and I’s world for the past few years, or I should say rather, God’s work in our lives in preparation for an upcoming season.
So, like most things I tackle, it grew beyond the original scope. Bronwyn, her friend Adrienne have been here for Christmas, and they, along with Tucker my son have been building sites and training on Zoom with its new translation tools. Without initially intending it, we have resurrected the original idea of missions network, it’s been like putting flesh to a skeleton that has already been formed. It feels a little nostalgic, I’m not the same young man I was, but the same little urging, sense of the Spirit’s invitation is the same – so, here we go!
On January 1, we will begin reading the NT with (so far) 40 friends, representing 6 countries. We along with whomever God attracts to our weekly Zoom, will gather over 10 consecutive Sundays, beginning January 10th. I write about the style and vision of the Zooms here, so I won’t repeat, click if you are interested, but the main thing is that this isn’t a sermon time, its not spectator style, but interactive and I’m now working out the themes, the design of the learning plan that will build over the 10 sessions – they will focus on the Triune nature of our Creator, and how His inner personhood instructs and empowers His missional activity. It’s rich, its deep, there will be plenty of meat for chewing on as we place this tribe into break-out rooms with specific questions, and space for connection. Also, we’ll be highlighting various missional partners, hearing their stories, and have some really cool guest.
We’re calling this a pilot program. We have no idea if this will gain momentum, or fizzle. I’ve learned that failing is the key for learning and adapting, I’m not afraid of failure like I was in the past, it doesn’t define me, but I do really hope folks are encouraged and find some fresh air in their spiritual journey.
So Lord, with your blessing, I’ll try this missions network once again. It’s for you, for your bride, in many cultures and spaces, that she would rise up and glorify Jesus who has indeed secured a people from every tribe, nation and tongue. Connecting the global church to God’s ongoing mission.
Bronwyn helped us make this logo, using the Greek X (Christ symbol), the fire of the Spirit warming the hearts of the global church, the tribe 🙂 I wrote about this a little more too here –
Covid caused us to pause our little business idea for an entire year..but now we’re ready to go and need your help!
It’s called The Straw-Straw, a bio-degradable wheat stem drinking straw. A fun and functional plastic alternative, and better than those awful paper straws!
This has been a side project for our children to learn about business. Tucker learned how to build a website, Abigail and Noah how to assemble like factory workers (they formed a union!), Broderic & Bronwyn have product in the US and will act as our shipping and customer service!
The price is $7.00 (100 Straws)
Before we do online marketing, it’s my job to find some friends who’d be willing to order some strawsso we can make sure our systems a-go.. or not! 🙂
Would you please order a package of straws from us?
If I had to come up with one word for this year I think it would be “awareness.”
Maybe that would be applicable to most of us as our worlds have been forced into different rhythms. As God dug deep last year, there is now a growing awareness of His constant desire to make us true. It seems it’s not that easy to close the gap between who we really are and who we are meant to be. There is the awareness of the dissonance, as well as an emerging awareness of the love of Christ in it all.
“Just remaining quietly in the presence of God, listening to Him, being attentive to Him, requires a lot of courage and know-how.” – Thomas Merton
The big event for us this year was de finitely our first-born son getting married. And we got to be there! Surprisingly with quarantine and ever changing fl ights.
It was an amazing time of enjoying extended family and celebrating the union of our son Broderic, and new daughter-in-law, Kristin. Our hearts were made full with all the relationships we were able to experience in a short time. We gained a daughter, but our house is becoming smaller in number as Brent left us in the beginning part of the year. Tucker is preparing himself for the future as he watches how his older siblings are handling things. Bronwyn is coming home for Christmas and this mother’s heart couldn’t be happier. Bruce’s health was a big concern this year and we are so thankful that he seems to be doing better, believing he is among a growing community of Covid long-haulers with dysautonomia (ongoing breathing issues). The rest of the family are in good health and spirits.
Thank you friends who continue to love us, pray and support us through all these years. (Deb)
“How can I find the shining word, the glowing phrase that tells all that your loves meant to me, all that your friendship spells? There is no word, no phrase for you on whom I so depend. All I can say to you is this, God bless you precious friend.” Grace Noll Crowell
Lighthouse celebrated its 7th year! Functionally the cafe was transformed from a restaurant vibe to a co-working space that better facilitated creating a place of community and belonging. It’s become a genuine hub of community activity throughout the week and natural space for deepening friendships.
Although Covid-19 has impacted Ukraine and really hurt our local economy, we’re thankful that we’ve been able to keep the light on at Lighthouse through this trying year. We’ve continued to offer music lessons and youth group, but had to prune back larger community events to maintain the changing quarantine regulations.
2020 was a year of including more friends and neighbors seeking to deepen their relationship with God in missional community. These natural, deepening friendships, centered on participating in Jesus ongoing ministry together brings a lot of joy to our hearts!
“Any movement which has benefited society in the long haul, has at its core a group of people committed to a cause that they consider greater than themselves and to on another as friends.”
James McGregor Burns
This summer we tore down our old garage and began a new mission building project at Lighthouse. This expanded space will allow us to host more mentoring, a larger widows pantry and release our team to explore more ways of creatively engaging our community!
Together, we’ve raised 43% towards our $50,000 goal to build the structure of the 3 story building. With the foundation and basement finished, we now hope to resume construction in the Spring 2021 as the Lord provides.
Would you consider a financial gift towards the mission building?
If travel is permitted in 2021, we hope to host some construction teams from US/Canada in hopes of finishing out the interior. If you tile, paint, do electrical or woodworking, pray about joining!
In 2020, our ministry provided monthly visitation and food care packages for over 300 widows around Ukraine and Belarus. Most of the widows are on government subsidy which is less than $65/month.
In the winter months, the cost of living escalates and many widows sacrifice heat for food, or vice-versa. We target widows that have no immediate family and are longing for human connection. Our vision is to tend to the spiritual, physical and emotional well being of each precious widow. Many widows have prayed and received Christ as Lord, and in some villages regular bible studies and gatherings now take place as we seek to connect the body of Christ to this neglected mission field.
We are now serving Widows in Russia! In 2021 we are working with some new partners and privileged to serve in our third Slavic country!
Thank you World Challenge for your continued support, and for all who pray and contribute to this incredible ministry!
In 2020, we hosted our first widows volunteer weekend in Ukraine. Representing many villages and widows around Ukraine and Belarus, these precious servants are what make the Widows Care ministry sustainable and life-giving. This photo represents less than half of the growing leadership group we are investing in.
‘Razom’ In Ukrainian means together.
RazomGo is our “kickstarter” platform for the Slavic world that we launched at the end of 2019. We believe that together, we can change culture by creating more of it. RazomGo is a vehicle for mass producing cultural shaping business and ministry projects. Our team has grown to now seven project managers, two full time staff, and a growing number of partnerships in the financial, government and private sectors.
In 2020 our platform raised money for a house for homeless seniors, a sensory room for children, emergency supplies for hospitals during Covid, and several more projects. 95% of the funding received was through crowdfunding in the Slavic world, promoting a new sense of generosity and power in collaboration.
By supporting our ministry, you are helping Slavic leaders like Vadim and Aleksa (above) bring hope to an emerging middle class. They are passionate for Christ and are shining for God in many cultural spheres – cool! Because of Covid, we are hosting and participating in many online forums through the week. Pray for us! *All giving is tax-deductible
US Checks to: Mir Ministries 322 Boerne Stage Air field Boerne, TX 78006
Canadian Cheques to: Great Commission Foundation Account: 552 (Crowe) PO Box 14006 Abbotsford, B.C. V2T 0B4 CANADA US DONATIONS CANADIAN DONATIONS
Thank you Church partners! Living in Anxious Times Political correctness, diplomacy, empathy, work against real progress in chronically anxious systems as they “undermine excellence by encouraging a society to organize around its most dysfunctional elements.” Friedman
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The Apostle Paul
“We are in danger of becoming a nation of skimmers, living off the risks of previous generations and constantly taking from the top without adding significantly to its essence. Everything we enjoy as part of our advanced civilization, including the discovery, exploration, and development of our country, came about because previous generations made adventure more important than safety.” Friedman
To lead is to live dangerously because when leadership counts, when you lead people through difficult change, you challenge what people hold dear – their daily habits, tools, loyalties, and ways of thinking – with nothing to offer perhaps than a possibility.” Heifetz & Linsky
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” Jesus of Nazareth
