Friday, June 27, 2008

Clay and Darlene Quarterman, Odessa Ukraine

In 1993 the Quartermans were called to Ukraine in the former Soviet Union. They were on the ground floor, helping start a denomination of seven new Presbyterian churches and founding the Evangelical Reformed Seminary of Ukraine. Clay is president of the seminary, which in 2003 had grown to 42 students.
Clay earned two degrees at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, receiving his M.Div. in 1977 and his Doctor of Ministries in 1986. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wales in 2005. He is ordained as an evangelist and teaching elder. The Quartermans served 14 years on MTW’s Portugal Team, where Clay planted churches, taught Bible college, and helped organize a school of missions and a branch of Evangelism Explosion. He is one of the founders of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Portugal.
Clay and Darlene were reared in Christian homes and came to Christ at an early age, having an early interest in missions. They are from Presbyterian churches in Jackson, MS and Hopewell, VA, and met at Belhaven College in Jackson. Their first date was to a missions conference. They married in 1973 and have four children, Matt (27), Nate (25), Tyler (21) and Alex (19).
Please pray for the Lord’s protection over the Quarterman Family.
The ownership of the Odessa church is being questioned in court. Pray as the Actor’s Guild in Odessa files an appeal over the case against the rights of ownership to the church building, a historic Reformed building downtown.

Pray for wisdom and skill in mobilizing and training leaders in Ukraine.

Pray for growing pastors with hearts for missions.
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Friday, June 20, 2008

Missionary Spotlight: Craig and Lisa in Bulgaria.


Craig and Lisa Sheppard have been serving the Lord with Mission to the World in Sofia, Bulgaria since 1996, where he serves as a church planter, seminary instructor, publisher, and founding board member for the Sofia Christian Academy. As the MTW Regional Director for Eastern Europe, Craig is also tasked with overseeing the ministries of more than 65 missionaries in five countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Ukraine), as well as developing new church planting works in other Eastern Europe countries (such as Russia, Greece, Latvia, Croatia, and Belarus).
Craig is from Wichita, Kansas and Lisa is from St. Louis, Missouri. They served together in university ministry for four years before Craig attended Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. There he earned a Master of Divinity degree in Missions, and a Master of Theology degree in Theology. While in seminary, Craig served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church as the Director of College Ministry. He is ordained in the Heartland Presbytery of the PCA. They have four sons and a daughter (Jared, 16; Nathan, 14; Luke, 11; Andrew, 8; and Abigail, 6).
They are still missing four bags from their trip back to Bulgaria. Please be in prayer that their luggage is found soon and that the bags would arrive and arrive in good condition.

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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Sweden News


David and Stacy, Sweden

David grew up in Skelleftea, Sweden. He came to know the Lord after a semester of high school in the States. The dry spiritual climate in Sweden led him to return back to the states and he received a BA in Christian philosophy from Belhaven College in Jackson, MS. David attended Reformed Theological Seminary. While in the U.S., David and several Swedish students met to pray for Sweden. During this time, David began to seek God’s will for him to be a pastor. He is currently a local Swedish pastor in his home country, where less than 4 % of the population attends church.
Stacy was raised in Atlanta, GA. After being saved at a young age, she has grown continually in the Lord. Stacy has always been actively involved in the church and started contemplating world missions as a result of numerous short mission trips, as well as one year trip to Moscow, Russia. David and Stacy were married in May of 1998.
David and Stacy have been a part of the first Reformed church planting movement in Sweden. The Evangelical-Reformed Church in Sweden is now a recognized denomination. Moreover, the team’s vision includes the publication of Reformed literature, campus ministry, sports ministry, and children’s ministry.
David and Stacy have two children Miriam Hannah Elizabeth (5) and Samuel (1).
Please be in prayer for David as he has committed to be in Stockholm once a month to teach at the “Westminster Fellowship”; a group of reformed believers without a local Reformed congregation. Pray also for the change of schedule for the family.
Please pray for young Samuel Bergmark as he may be developing asthma.
Please pray for Samuel as doctors examine his head. One side of Samuel’s head has a slight bulge that has not corrected itself as the doctors thought it would.
Please pray for David as he has moved his office to a more central location and wants to make the best out of the new situation. He hopes for more opportunities to minister to his church members and other in the neighborhood in which the church is located.
They want to thank you, FPCJ, for your faithfulness to them in your prayers and for supporting a sister church.

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