CEE Story From The Mission Field
IMB Summit encourages volunteers in CEE
June 19, 2007
“The Summit was an experience I shall never forget,” Dian Ramsey said. “I was in a room full of missionaries with one goal—to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This was what I had been longing to do.”
Dian, a 56-year-old registered nurse from Hickory, N.C., was one of more than 100 participants from approximately 30 churches and associations and six states who attended the most recent IMB Volunteer Summit for Central and Eastern Europe in Apex, N.C. There Dian explored a recent call on her life to be involved in missions.
“The whole time … I felt God directing my path to meet people who were key in my search for the right place to be,” she said. “Before I left I knew where God wanted me to go.”
Dian is now preparing for her first mission trip to Ukraine.
“I saw a great need for the Ukrainian people to hear about Jesus and have the love of God shared with them,” she said. “My heart became burdened for them.”
During the conference Dian met a woman who frequently travels to Ukraine. Dian inquired through e-mail about the possibility of joining her on her next trip and learned of the need for another person to go with a group in October. Dian is getting ready to travel with members of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C., that will lead a women’s conference in Odessa, Ukraine. She will also administer blood pressure checks, prayerwalk and participate in worship services in local churches.
“I have just attended my first team meeting and I am very excited about this trip,” she said.
Summits are designed to put those interested in partnering with Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in direct contact with CEE personnel and leadership. Each CEE strategy associate presents and hosts dialogue sessions about the ministries and needs of their regional fields. Summit participants choose from breakout sessions on strategic volunteering, prayer, student outreach, media, virtual strategy coordination, funding and more.
Missionary Shannon Ford said he could see the Summit’s impact within days of the North Carolina event.
“I have already been contacted and been able to contact people who attended the Summit,” he said. “This continues to be a good avenue to showcase the ways our missionaries and volunteers can work together to advance God’s Kingdom.”
Summits allow volunteers like Dian to live out their individual callings.
“I have a real burden for the lost,” she said. “I want to be used of God to help others come to know my Jesus as I do and have the promise of eternal life with Him in Heaven.”
The next Summit is scheduled for Nov. 8-9 at Grace Community Church in Nashville, Tenn., with related events Nov. 8-10. Find out more.