Brian traveled to Greece upon completion of University to serve within an existing ministry, headed by Gail Stathis and others. Brian served that ministry in various capacities, and in 1996, helped to co-found this new mission effort, EME Ministries. He now serves as the General Director for the ministry, which has its base in Glyfada, Greece (a suburb of Athens).
In the time that Brian has been engaged in cross cultural work, he has served as a Senior Pastor and Co-Pastor in the Glyfada Christian Center, where he still retains that leadership post. His primary responsibilities now include the general oversight of EME Ministries, including project oversight, fundraising and recruiting, personnel management, etc. He continues to travel in ministry throughout the countries of South Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa as a speaker, and as point person with projects supported by EME Ministries. Brian also serves as the Mediterranean Zone Leader of Vision International Training and Education Network. With this role, he spends time interacting and assisting other local churches to develop education and training programs of their own.
A key to revival in our region is to see leaders in Orthodox church set on fire for Christ, and our Arab brothers and sisters empowered to win one another for the Lord.
Dr. Brian van Deventer, World Zone
“As a refugee from my beloved Iran, my life was hard in my adopted nation of Greece…but I am grateful for my new life here. I believe God is preparing me, through church here in Glyfada and Vision to return someday to Iran, to open schools of ministry and to help plant churches…by His grace we will do it.” – (Name withheld for safety reasons)
Twenty-one modern states have a coastline on the Mediterranean Sea. As one can see, this is a vast area, some of which overlaps into Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Our World Zone Leader for the Mediterranean has responsibility for this vast area with multiple languages, in cooperation with our Western European and African Leaders. Our need is to find key leaders who can catch the vision of Vision in these nations
Mediterranean Zone Leader: Brian Van Deventer Contact him at brianv@ememin.org
last month. Ernesto is one of our Master’s degree graduates from a while back. He has replanted a growing church in Galveston. He typifies a Vision graduate…well educated through secular university, but with a call on his life. He had limited opportunity for bible college. He and his pastor at the time, Dr. Rob Carmen (another Vision graduate) started a Resource Center in their church in New Mexico, and trained hundreds of students while completing his studies with us. There are hundreds and hundreds of Ernesto’s in North America, serving in local churches, hungry to study ad complete a diploma or degree, who need and want a flexible and affordable program that does will prepare them for greater leadership in the local church…Lord…help us find each other for your glory!
I was giving a speech in my high school…I was running for student body President and was using a phrase from a popular Christian chorus to make one of my points. The chorus was “I only takes a spark to get a fire going” and I was, of course, the spark (a politician in the making…promises, promises). In the middle of the speech, the room, which was filled with 95% white teenagers, suddenly changed to an outdoor setting, with thousands of men and women from various places, multicultural and multicolored, hands in the air praising the Lord while I was preaching to them. The vision only lasted a minute at best, but it made an indelible impact on my life…my heart was for the nations.
International Center houses our offices and now allows us to conduct local training and video development of our courses like never before. Further, we can hold mini conferences and outreaches to the Ramona community, which is a blessing. Having a physical home strengthens our profile in the community and the nations, and we are more dedicated than ever to see our dynamic curriculum utilized for certificate or degree programs in local churches around North America, and also provide mentor hybrid programs, at a fraction of the cost of most comparable programs, accredited or non-accredited, to hungry students here at home.
As with our other World Zones, we need benefactors who can help provide scholarships for worthy students and support our local outreach through your generous giving.
