We've just been together for several days of meetings and conference. First our new European team met for 48 hours; then we had a weekend conference to conclude our 2-year [e4] training programme. We commented on our [e4] blog:

We're sitting here in Basingstoke, UK. Steve has just told the story of how, in this very room in 2005, we started talking about whether we could develop a way of encouraging the release of a new generation of Ephesians 4 ministries. Over time, the [e4] programme of webinars, weekends and mentoring was born. The first e4 course started in September 2007, and comes to an end tomorrow.

Today, there are 105 e4 participants meeting over this last weekend of [e4]. We look forward in the coming years to seeing the ongoing emergence of a new generation of Ephesians 4 leadership across our churches! Not an end, but the end of the beginning!

One particularly moving aspect of the time together was the growing strong sense of togetherness across the continent. We spent time praying for a number of our fellow-leaders who are being challenged by health issues, and stood with them in prayer to oppose the spiritual warfare that impacts leaders in God's family.

One person we particularly missed was Håkan Gniste, one of the Swedish leaders in our Nordic team. Hakan is still recovering in hospital from the house fire that nearly took his life, but his wife Gunilla, who was with us for the conference, spoke movingly of her trip to the UK:

Here comes a greeting from England. We had bought tickets to England before the fire. Håkan and I were going to go to a conference center to be with leaders from different countries in Europe for a few days. ... 

Håkan and I decided that I should make the trip as planned, and now I’m sitting here in England and I’m so thankful that we did it according to plans.

To meet all these good Christian brothers and sisters that we have here, who have stood with us in prayer for Håkan and us in these difficult times. My heart has been touched several times these days. Their love, their hugs, their tear filled eyes when they tell what Håkan has meant to them and that they have followed along through the blog and email these months.

What a mighty God we have. We are a part of something much bigger, with friends and siblings all over the world. ...

What a privilege to be part of a worldwide family - a family together on mission!