Faith Facts

• The European Vision Workshop in Bucharest drew 110 believers praying for New Testament Christianity in post-Christian Europe.
• Wes McAdams taught that the Holy Spirit, the breath of God, can fill and revive a continent that has turned cathedrals into tourist sites.
• Christians from Ukraine, Mongolia, Romania, and beyond testified that the Spirit strengthens the weak and gives courage amid war and cultural decline.

Post-Christian Europe, home to 743 million people, rarely seems like fertile ground for the Gospel. Yet 110 believers gathered in a Bucharest hotel conference room, praying that the Spirit would breathe new life into their homelands.

The small number hardly matters when the Holy Spirit is counted.

Wes McAdams, minister for the McDermott Road Church of Christ in Plano, Texas, opened the ninth European Vision Workshop by describing the Spirit hovering over the lifeless earth in Genesis 1.

“Can we picture what is being painted here?” McAdams asked. “The Spirit of God is hovering over the lifeless earth, and he himself is full of life, full of power, full of potential, full of creative, life-giving energy.”

Using inflated and deflated balloons as a visual aid, he showed how the same Spirit that brought creation to life can fill and restore a continent that appears beyond hope.

The workshop began a decade ago in Athens when missionaries responded to waves of Middle Eastern refugees reporting dreams of Jesus. It has since moved through Italy, Slovakia, Albania, and Poland, with Sunset International Bible Institute, World English Institute, and Healing Hands International sponsoring this year’s gathering.

Claudiu Murtaza of Sibiu, Romania, prayed for the gift of English before addressing the international crowd.

“There is a war going on in each and every one of us, the war between the flesh and the Spirit,” Murtaza said, “and there is no way that we can win this war without the Holy Spirit of God.”

Vasile Iuhos of Oradea reminded listeners that kindness is a command, not an option, and that the Spirit blows away the smoke of the world.

Stas Kuropiatnykov, a Ukrainian minister and military veteran, spoke on gentleness after more than four years of war.

“When there is a lot of cruelty around you, it is very easy to allow that cruelty to settle inside you,” he said. “Gentleness is especially valuable when we have a reason not to be gentle.”

Olha Kolosha, also from western Ukraine, described a support group for those displaced by conflict and warned against minimizing the Holy Spirit’s role in protecting and empowering believers.

Greg Watson, Europe coordinator for Sunset International Bible Institute, noted the shift in language during the workshop.

“I don’t think I’ve heard anybody call the Holy Spirit an ‘it’ while we’ve been here,” Watson said. “I feel like this time together has really helped demystify the Holy Spirit.”

McAdams closed by reminding participants that they are children of God, siblings to the King, temples of the Holy Spirit, and heirs of the world to come.

“You can’t take away what matters,” he said.

Mac and Ashlee Buchanan traveled from Italy with their three children. Ashlee said the fellowship lifted their spirits after discouraging efforts to share the Gospel in Naples.

“When you go out, and you’re trying to teach other people, sometimes it’s very deflating and discouraging … so making contacts and enjoying singing with other saints has been wonderful.”

Erdenedavaa Purvee, known as Eric, and his wife Munkhzaya came from Mongolia, where roughly 40 percent of the population claims no religion.

“God uses weak people,” Purvee said, finding comfort that the Spirit works through human limitations.

He recalled Elijah’s cry that he alone remained faithful, only to learn that thousands had not bowed to false gods. In Romania, 110 believers gathered instead of thousands, yet their songs rose like angels.

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Faith Facts

• Malik Willis, a former Liberty University standout, now plays quarterback for the Miami Dolphins.
• Willis has openly credited his Christian faith for helping him stay grounded in professional football.
• He reminds himself that Jesus endured far greater hardships than any NFL challenge.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis is leaning on his Christian faith as he navigates the demands of the NFL.

The former Liberty University standout has spoken about the importance of staying rooted in Christ while facing professional pressure.

“Jesus has it way harder than I do.”

Willis has emphasized that remembering the suffering of Jesus helps him maintain perspective during difficult seasons.

“Jesus has it way harder than I do.”

His comments reflect a growing trend among Christian athletes who publicly tie their identity to faith rather than performance.

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Faith Facts

• Since 1956, the Bell Trust has distributed approximately $40 million in grants to individual congregations for minister salaries, building maintenance, and mission vehicles.
• Barbara Bell Packer, now 98, has served continuously as a trustee since the trust’s founding, representing one of the longest recorded tenures for any foundation board member.
• Family members spanning three generations continue to oversee the trust’s mission of advancing the gospel through Churches of Christ around the world.

The Bell family built one of Dallas’s largest grocery empires and then turned their resources toward eternal purposes. Robert and Katharine Bell established the Bell Trust in 1956 to support the advancement of religious, missionary, and charitable works within Churches of Christ.

Seventy years later, the Texas-based foundation has awarded roughly $40 million to congregations for needs ranging from minister and missionary salaries to church building maintenance and mission vehicles.

“Churches are always dreaming of how they can impact the kingdom,” said Clark Packer, great-grandson of the founders and the trust’s executive trustee since 2020.

“If we can play a small part in helping some of those dreams come to reality, that’s a powerful testimony to the heart of the Bells from the beginning.”

Legacy Church of Christ in North Richland Hills, Texas, has received support to send missionaries to Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, and Ukraine. Missions committee chairwoman Nancy Snelson praised the trust’s model that keeps missionaries accountable to their sending congregations rather than the foundation itself.

Tom Riley, senior minister at Canyon Church of Christ in Phoenix, received grants that helped plant a new congregation in Arizona in 2003. He described the trust as a “cruciform ministry” shaped by the cross of Christ, noting that the trustees seek to make Jesus memorable rather than themselves.

Robert Bell served more than three decades as an elder at Preston Road Church of Christ in Dallas before his death in 1982. The original board consisted of his daughters, sons-in-law, and minister Hulen L. Jackson, all of whom served faithfully for decades.

Barbara Bell Packer, approaching her 98th birthday, remains an active trustee. Her son Barry Packer called the family’s multi-generational commitment “very rarefied,” noting that no one he knows has served as a trustee for any organization for seventy years.

J. Terry Johnson, former president of Oklahoma Christian University and longtime friend of the family, observed that the fruit of the trust’s investment is incalculable, with congregations planted across the United States and abroad, souls saved, and human needs met in the name of Jesus.

The current nine-member board continues to meet quarterly in Dallas to review grant applications. While family members remain the predominant focus, the board also includes ministry and missions representatives to ensure wise stewardship of resources.

Collin Packer, director of strategic development for Let’s Talk Race Ministries, said it is an honor to carry on the legacy and pass down the same values that guided his great-grandparents when they first established the trust.

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