We are Wilfried and Faye Goossens, serving in Hamme, Belgium.
In 2001, Wilfried became chairman of the directors committee of Belgium Evangelical Mission. Although Wilfried and Faye are still involved in church planting, more and more emphasis in Wilfried's ministry is put on giving leadership to the mission and coaching other BEM workers and projects.
Church planting in Hamme
This year I was able to turn over the leadership to Kurt Maeyens and Leslie Message. My role within the church is now limited to teaching and coaching as leader of the mission.
National ministry
As director for B.E.M.:
My main task as director is overseeing all church planting and evangelism activities of the mission. Some of my specific activities where:
- Overall leadership to the missions as chairman of the board of directors.
- Participate in different BEM counsel meetings
- Speaking engagements in different churches.
- Give training to workers and set up training programs for 2005.
- Visiting workers.
- Meet with candidate workers.
- Coordinating church planting projects (direct involvement in Hamme; Brasschaat; Brakel; Diksmuide, Kortesem and Nieuwerkerken).
- Overseeing the project amongst Moroccans in Antwerp.
- Planning evangelism and church planting for the coming year.
- Mediate in cases where there were serious problems in the church.
- Overseeing the work on the new Bible Exposition in Dutch. Setting up the program for 2005
- Meet with leaders of partner churches and partners organizations.
- Representation of the mission in the USA and South Africa.
- Participate in the meetings of the different BEM boards in foreign countries ( USA/ South Africa/ England/ Netherlands)
As director of Het Goede Boek
Gave leadership to the bookshops on the Flemish site
As vice president of the Federal Synod (umbrella organization for all Evangelical Christian in Belgium):
As vice president of the Federal Synod I deal with several national administrative matters. I’m also a member of the ARPEE board (new organization representing all Protestant Evangelical Christians in official matters).
Ministry goals for 2005
Church planting in Hamme
Be involved in teaching.
National ministry
As director for B.E.M.:
- Give overall leadership to the missions, as chairman of the board of directors.
- Participate in different BEM counsel meetings
- Speaking engagements in different churches.
- Give training to workers and set up training programs for 2006.
- Visiting workers.
- Meet with candidate workers.
- Coordinating church planting projects.
- Overseeing the project amongst Moroccans in Antwerp.
- Mediate in cases where there are serious problems in the church if needed.
- Overseeing the outreach with the Bibel-Expo on the barges. Setting up the program for 2006. We want to have the official start in the weekend of April 16th. Then the Expo will visit several places in East Flanders. Before April 2005 the barges have to be adapted to the expo and the expo made ready.
- Meet with leaders of partner churches and partners organizations.
- Representation of the mission in the USA
- Participate in the meetings of the different BEM boards in foreign countries ( USA/ England/ Netherlands)
As director for Het Goede Boek
- Look for ways to expand the ministry.
- Prepare the start of a new bookshop in Gent by 2006 (we now have shops in Brugge; Kortrijk; Leuven and Genk)
- Investigate the possibility to become the importer of Christian books for the all of Flanders. This would mean that we would try to get, for example, good Christian literature into Catholic stores or just regular bookshops.
- Move the bookshop in Leuven to a new location.
What prayer concerns 2005, 3 highest priorities
A. Pray for our health, Faye has regularly problems with her back, she is still having to work part time, partly because of the fact that our support is still to lowto cover all our cost.
B. Pray for the making and use of the Bible Expo, next year we want to start working with the expo. I believe this will be a great tool (together with the barges) to reach the Belgium (young) people with the gospel.
C. Pray for wisdom and clear guiding in the ministry.
Yours in Christ,
Wilfried Goossens
Click here to write to us. If you use a web-based email service like AOL, MSN or Yahoo, this link will not work. However, you may write to us at wilfried.goossens@b-e-m.org.
