Category: East-West Office

Piercing the Darkness

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By on May 15th, 2013

In the beginning

When the Iron Curtain crumbled, an unprecedented opportunity surfaced—the opportunity to take the Good News of Jesus Christ into the former Soviet Union that had been crippled by decades of communism.

“Russia at that time was a total wasteland—economically and spiritually. It’s hard to imagine that people survived in the way they did when you look back. But when it opened up, it became evident that there was a deep hunger for truth and the gospel,” said Bud Toole, Co-Founder of East-West.

“We started underground in Russia, but the dynamics began to shift when the Iron Curtain fell. We could go into universities and even in the streets to tell people about Jesus Christ,” said John Maisel, Founder of East-West. “Handing out Bibles and literature was like giving water to someone who hadn’t had it in years. They would swarm around us in the streets, thirsty for God’s Word, even though they didn’t know what they would find.”

When John and Bud saw this thirst, they felt compelled to carry the Light into this dark territory and East-West was born.

“We just wanted to do our part and show up. God would demonstrate Himself if we did that,” John said. “Our only philosophy was to trust the Lord and be pioneers for the gospel in Russia.”

This same pioneering spirit of following God’s call to expel darkness still saturates East-West on every level—from the founders, to our missionaries, to you—our ministry supporters.

“We followed where He led us,” John said, “and He brought people alongside us to support His work. Whether they’ve been with us since the beginning or for a few days, we could not have accomplished anything without their support. The people touched by East-West are eternally grateful to our ministry supporters . . . as am I.”

“God has taken the ministry far beyond anything I could have imagined,” Bud said. “It has been the ultimate blessing of my life to see what God has done through this flawed bunch of nobodies. If we stay close to the cross, He’ll continue to bless the work we’re now doing all over the world.”

 

Then & Now: Short-Term Mission Trips

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By on May 13th, 2013

For twenty years, East-West has been taking the gospel to the nations. Almost since the beginning, we have had short-term mission trips that give people the opportunity to GO.

Pictured above is our very first short-term mission trip team. They went to Russia to share the gospel almost twenty years ago.

Now our mission field has extended beyond Russia. While we still send teams there, we also send them to South Asia to share the gospel in remote villages, to East Asia to teach students about Jesus through cultural exchanges, to Latin America to tell people about Jesus in their homes, and to orphanages or village children in various parts of the world to help them make Jesus their best friend.

We also take trips to Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Middle East, and Europe. And we’re developing new trips that will help you utilize your passions and gifts to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in countries around the world.

Then & Now: Evangelistic Literature

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By on May 8th, 2013

We’re still celebrating our 20th anniversary this month. Let’s take a look at how another aspect of our ministry has developed in the last 20 years.

In the beginning we distributed evangelistic literature in the form of Bibles and New Testaments. The people in Russia were so hungry for truth, that they would swarm teams in the street to get their hands on Bibles (see photo above left). Eventually, that was a became a big part of the ministry so teams would bring in boxes and boxes of evangelistic literature to distribute throughout Russia (see above right).

Now, East-West has worked with several partners to develop evangelistic literature for people in all stages of coming to Christ. We then train the local believers how to use it to evangelize or start conversations with their neighbors (which you see in the top photo from East Asia).

Most of our literature is translated into multiple languages so that it can communicate the universal message of the gospel in many different nations (like in the middle photo from Latin America).

Some of our partners develop literature that is used during our mass media evangelism campaigns (like the bottom photo from India).

 

Then & Now: Staff

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By on May 6th, 2013

We’re celebrating East-West’s 20th anniversary all month long. Today, we’re looking at how our staff has grown over the last 20 years.

East-West started as a few men going into to Russia to evangelize and train the people. After a few years, another handful of men and women joined the cause as missionaries and support staff (as seen above).

But now, East-West has over 100 missionaries serving in more than 47 countries worldwide. Because our missionaries work in unreached and restricted access nations, we cannot include a recent photo of our field ministry staff for their safety.

Additionally, our support staff based in Texas has grown into several departments—like financial services, evangelism, human resources, development, moblization, training, and more—with a number of staff in each one. What a difference 20 years can make!

Then & Now: Evangelism

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By on May 1st, 2013

This month, East-West celebrates our 20th anniversary! So all month long, you’ll get a look at us throughout 20 years of ministry.

Today, we look at how our evangelism efforts have evolved over the years.

When East-West first began, evangelism was largely done by Americans who would go to Russia to share the gospel after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

John Maisel gave many speeches and lectures at universities throughout Russia (which you see above) as a way to share the gospel with those who were largely unfamiliar with it because the decades of communist rule had made atheism the “intelligent” choice.

Now, evangelism remains one of our core ministry strategies. However, we now encourage and equip believers in regions like Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America (see above) to share the gospel with their own people.

Igniting a Movement

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By on Feb 27th, 2013

East-West has always been passionate about mobilizing believers into unreached areas because we believe the united Body of Christ is the most powerful tool for impacting the world with the gospel.

Through our short-term mission trips, we have seen tens of thousands of individuals come to faith. These new believers then begin to spark a movement of the gospel through their own families and communities—igniting a chain of impact throughout spiritually dark nations.

But the lives of the unreached are not the only ones transformed. The ordinary individuals—like you—who dare to go and share the Good News are finding their own faith reignited as they work to multiply God’s Kingdom …

“I began to see God as a universal God and not an American.” –David

“I was reminded of just how powerful the gospel message is … I saw women transformed from being full of despair to full of hope. I saw children dance with delight at the freedom offered through Christ. I saw hard-looking men soften as they heard the message of God’s grace.” –Michelle

“More than ever in my life, I could see a clear example of God’s spirit moving in another region of the world … Now I’ve seen firsthand masses of new believers worshipping the living God.” –Jessica

“It deepened my faith and ability to trust God in a multitude of situations.” –Joni

“It was amazing to feel the Holy Spirit active in me and to see His impact on others.” –Jeff

“It reminded me of the power of love … though I may not be a highly skilled person, I most certainly have the love of Christ to lavish on the people.” –Kacie

“It was the single most exciting and exhilarating trip I have ever been on … It helped me see the world in a whole different light.” –Todd

Go on a short term mission trip

East-West Recommends: Faith Heroes

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By on Feb 4th, 2013

John Maisel, Founder and Chairman Emeritus

The apostle Paul

His life statement was “Jesus + Nothing,” and he lived only for Jesus every day.

 

Bob West, Vice President – Evangelism

Billy Graham

I admire Billy Graham’s steadfast efforts and commitment to bring people into a personal relationship with the one, true living God through His son Jesus Christ.

 

Beverly Pop, Vice President – Ministry Advancement

Evangeline Booth, first international leader of the Salvation Army

Evangeline never gave up on doing the most good.  She was responsible for The Salvation Army helping our military during WWI , she helped start the USO and in 1900 led The Salvation Army into their first disaster relief effort.

Merry Christmas from India!

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By on Dec 24th, 2012

Below is a Christmas letter written for you from a national evangelist working in India.

Merry Christmas to you!

Thousands of people who have recently professed their faith in Jesus will be celebrating Christmas for the first time in their lives this year. And they too send you Christmas greetings!

Our family is privileged to serve the Lord in India for three years now, and in these years we have seen thousands of people coming to faith—resulting in planting hundreds of new houses churches in India.

We praise the Lord each day for using us for this great harvest, and you were also a part of our work through your prayers and gifts. We want to take this opportunity to thank you while we praise the Lord for all He has done here.

We are witnessing a great movement of evangelism and church planting going on here. We are seeing the book of Acts come to life before our eyes as people are being added to the Church daily. As we see this, we felt strongly that during this Christmas season we must take the opportunity to go and share the great Christmas story with the new believers.

Our family has decided to bring believers in clusters to teach them songs, tell stories, and give encouragement to celebrate the birth of our Lord … some of them for the first time!

We covet your prayers especially during this season, because we have witnessed their power in this past year. Please ask our Father to bless this time of celebration with joy and excitement in worshipping Him and praising Him for His great sacrifice.

Many blessings to you this Christmas!

Meet the Staff: Chelsea Jenkins

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By on Dec 19th, 2012

Chelsea Jenkins is passionate about mobilizing the Body of Christ. As part of our mobilization department, she works to connect God’s people to His mission worldwide by recruiting and developing leaders.

Here’s a little bit more about the gal you may see representing East-West at your church or college.

What were you doing before you came to East-West?

I was working on my master’s degree at Dallas Baptist University—which I just finished! It was in global leadership (which is really just a different way of saying “missions”).

What kind of classes did you take?

We studied a variety of subjects including missiology, business as missions, theology, and spiritual formation. But my favorite class was called “Local Church on Mission.”

How did you hear about East-West?

One of the classes I had to take was called Global Practicum. In this class you were required to travel overseas for a short-term trip. I had the opportunity to go to East Asia for a “cross-cultural exchange” where we met with university students to learn about their culture and teach them about ours.

This happened to be at a university to which East-West sent teachers. While I was there, I connected with them and saw what they did and how they were working. Those teachers were my first introduction to East-West.

How did you come to work here?

After I got back, I connected with people in your mobilization department, and after a few conversations I started out as a volunteer for East-West at different information sessions. Then I became a part-time recruiter. I found that my time getting to know those teachers in East Asia really helped me in looking for potential candidates. And eventually I came on full-time with my new position.

Tell me a little about your job now.

As the Director of Missionary Mobilization, I help mobilize the Body of Christ. My main focus is recruiting at colleges, conferences, and churches and building relationships with those who may be interested in serving overseas as missionaries.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

My favorite thing is getting to sit down to talk one-on-one with people over lunch or coffee and build relationships with them. The most exciting part is hearing the stories of how God is working in people’s lives and how they want to serve Him. I also get to help them figure out what kind of opportunities they need and want and help them develop into leaders who could one day serve on the field.

Have you been on any trips with East-West?

Last summer I led a trip to East Asia for two weeks of culture camps for elementary and high school kids. We got to teach them about American culture while pointing out the influence of Christ.

Where else do you want to go?

I would love to go back to East Asia, but I think it would be great to go to Spain or Southeast Asia as well. I really love the community development that is happening in those places and would love to be a part of it.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Being newly engaged, I am deep into planning my wedding this spring. But other than that, I’m actually really excited to finally get to do some of the Pinterest projects that I’ve been pinning, and I am ready to read books for fun instead of for school. I want to work on my heart knowledge after spending so much time on building my head knowledge.

Be sure to say hi to Chelsea at your college job fair, church, or conference.