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Serving with the NAMESTAN Europe Network and Region

THE BIG PICTURE:

An estimated 50 million people from North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia (NAMESTAN) live, work, and study in Europe; and still others travel and vacation here. It is strategic to reach this diaspora with the gospel, here in Europe where they have the freedom to accept it; and in their own heart languages, so that they can understand it. To reach them, we have a network of ministries to bring the gospel to NAMESTAN community members, travelers, and students in Europe.

Today’s students are tomorrow’s key leaders. We are trusting God that many will also become tomorrow’s multiplying disciples of Jesus Christ. Our Campus Ministry colleagues are reaching NAMESTAN students here, both in person and online. Every year they are seeing a good response, following up with interested students, and seeing people indicate decisions for Christ and even getting baptized in local churches.

By training local European church members to pray for and share their faith with their North African neighbors and friends, we are mobilizing local Christians to help reach this audience with the gospel, within their own communities. We are excited to also partner with local congregations who are themselves part of the NAMESTAN diaspora, worshiping and proclaiming Jesus in their own languages here in Europe!

Our most accessible audience, traditionally, has been the people waiting to board ferries between Europe and North Africa. In partnership with other Christian organizations and churches, we bring short-term mission teams from all over the world to offer these travelers the gift of a New Testament, a film on the life of Jesus, an evangelistic book for children, and other Christian materials, all either in physical or digital form. We also bring evangelism teams who can answer travelers’ questions about Jesus in their own language. Over the years, we have given away more than 13 million of these items. Hundreds of travelers have responded to hearing the gospel personally with decisions to trust Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

We praise the Lord for what He is doing among the NAMESTAN diaspora in Europe, and we thank you for your faithful prayers and support, which enable us to serve with this ministry!

OUR SPECIFIC WORK

When we have the opportunity, we still help recruit and work with visiting Operation Transit teams, bringing the gospel to ports in France and Spain. Year-round, though, both of our jobs focus on the behind-the-scenes operations which make all of our ministry’s field work possible.

We have both been serving with Cru since 1991, and with this specific ministry focus since the year 2000, when we moved from Orlando to Algeciras, Spain. In 2019 we relocated to France, and since then we have each added broader responsibilities to our roles, including serving the whole NAMESTAN region.

Allen now serves on our organization's Global Finance Team, as well as leading the Steering Committee for the Operation Transit partnership. Allen still handles the accounting and logistics for visiting mission teams as well as taking care of the ordering, shipment, and storage arrangements for the materials we distribute. With Global Finance, Allen helps provide needed accounting support for pioneering teams in our Region and other National ministries whose teams are too small to include specialists with the required skills and training.

Deedee is on our Regional Crisis Management Team, as well as continuing to lead prayer for the NAMESTAN Europe Network (which includes Operation Transit). As a Regional and Network Crisis Manager, Deedee helps our field staff and leaders be prepared for potential problems, so that they can effectively care for people and enable ongoing or future ministry, even in the face of difficult situations.

THANK YOU for being a part of our ministry, to help of bring the gospel to the people of North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, including their diaspora in Europe!