God Uses Weak People as Churches of Christ Focus on Holy Spirit’s Role in Europe and Mongolia

International Photo by Erik Tryggestad 1 day ago Romania Print Share: On Facebook On Twitter On LinkedIn On Reddit ‘God uses weak people’ Christ followers from post-Christian Europe to Mongolia focus on the Holy Spirit’s role in reshaping their lands.
BUCHAREST, ROMANIA — It hardly seems like a fair contest.
On one side: post-Christian Europe, a continent where cathedrals have become tourist attractions rather than houses of worship. Population: 743 million. On the other side: a group of believers gathered in a hotel conference room in formerly communist Romania, praying for the spread of New Testament Christianity in their homelands. Their number: 110.
The Spirit, often-overlooked though representing one-third of the Trinity, is the breath of God himself, Wes McAdams said as he addressed the ninth European Vision Workshop. The Spirit was with God at the very beginning of time.
“Can we picture what is being painted here?” McAdams asked as he read the first chapter of Genesis. “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.”
Like air filling a balloon (a visual aid McAdams used during his talk), the Holy Spirit can breathe new life into a Europe that’s seemingly beyond hope, said the minister for the McDermott Road Church of Christ in Plano, Texas, and cohost of The Christian Chronicle Podcast.
A movement of the Spirit launched the workshop 10 years ago in Athens, Greece. Waves of Middle Eastern refugees crossed the Aegean Sea from Turkey into Europe, many reporting dreams about Jesus and visions of the cross. Longtime missionaries among Churches of Christ, including Bill McDonough, organized a seminar to equip Christians to share the Gospel with the asylum seekers.
The gathering became an annual event, moving among countries, including Italy, Slovakia, Albania and Poland. Sunset International Bible Institute, World English Institute and Healing Hands International sponsored the 2026 workshop.
Fighting wars, speaking in tongues
Before addressing the gathering, Claudiu Murtaza prayed that the Holy Spirit would grant him the gift of tongues. One tongue, actually. English.
Murtaza, minister for a Church of Christ in the Romanian city of Sibiu, usually preaches in his native language. But for the international crowd, English was the lingua franca.
“There is a war going on in each and every one of us, the war between the flesh and the Spirit,” Murtaza said, referencing the apostle Paul’s words in Galatians 5, “and there is no way through it except by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
The workshop, which brings together leaders from Churches of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and other Restoration movement denominations, emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in spiritual renewal and mission. Participants share testimonies of answered prayer, conversions, and the impact of spiritual gifts such as prophecy and healing.
The event highlights the belief that the Holy Spirit is not only a divine presence but also an active force in transforming communities and individuals. Through prayer, worship, and the proclamation of the Gospel, participants seek to bring about the renewal of Europe and other regions where Christianity is in decline.
The focus on the Holy Spirit reflects a broader movement within the Restoration movement to emphasize the work of the Spirit in the church and the world. This emphasis is seen in the teachings and practices of Churches of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and other related denominations, which prioritize the authority of Scripture and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in ministry and mission.

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