Strangers Become Family

Mihai* comes from a pastor's family. He'd known ministry his whole life. He was already preaching, had sat through countless services, and was convinced he already knew the most important things. Then he began a course of study at the Christian training institute (EHA) run by our partner »Maranatha«. What started as a single course became, over time, something like a spiritual home for him.

What Mihai learned there didn't stay on the page. It changed the way he saw people. Right outside his church door, a group of young migrants had been gathering for years. No one in his youth group knew how to approach them. Truthfully, no one wanted to. Their way of life didn't fit what holiness was supposed to look like there.

A Team Comes Together

During his studies, that changed. Mihai and a few others from his circle formed a team to reach out to these young people. No big program, no polished concept. Just the decision to go. Today, about twenty of them are a steady part of church life. They greet one another warmly, like siblings.

Mihai now encourages young people from his own church to study at the EHA. Four have already done so.

An Academy With Reach

Stories like this don't happen by accident. They're the fruit of the work of our partner »Maranatha«, which trains leaders for churches across Europe through the EHA. Right now, that means 355 students from 15 countries. Warsaw is the hub, with additional training sites in Dresden, Stockholm, and Kovel in Ukraine, where »Maranatha« works especially closely with AVC.

Alongside pastors, the academy also trains children's, youth, and pastoral care workers. The program is carried by 15 instructors and 12 administrative staff, supported by a growing group of future teachers whom the rector himself trains regularly. Many of them will take on their own courses as early as this fall.

And somewhere, once again, someone will stand in front of a group they never knew how to approach.

*Name changed.