By Jo Blackwell, serving with Agape Europe in Barcelona, Spain
Photos from Vilnius workshop by Jennifer Pang, serving with Agape Greece in Athens, Greece. Photo on left by Paul Gilmore for Unsplash.
Eight workshops have been done this year – London, England; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Thessaloniki, Greece; Geneva, Switzerland; Valletta, Malta; Barcelona, Spain; Lausanne, Switzerland and Vilnius, Lithuania – with an average attendance of 35 participants. Agape Europe’s goal is to be active in 100 cities.
Their vision statement for the city of Vilnius, Lithuania is:
"In a historical city full of contrasts, a group of Christians who care about Vilnius decided to come together to empower professionals who will create strong community and be a part of the city’s prosperity."
This may sound like the trailer for a new superhero movie or the intro to the battle of Jericho. In reality, it's a trailer for The City Workshop, developed by Agape to help staff, volunteers and partners join together and make Jesus known in their cities.
The most recent City Workshop took place in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was a two-day event with a group of locals, along with a handful of international representatives from other cities around Europe, who are interested in taking this workshop back to their own cities. During the workshop, the group collaborated to find the answers to these five questions:
Five Questions
- Vision - How does God see our city?
- Team - Who are we?
- Goal - What do we want for our city?
- Action - What is the next turning point?
- Momentum - How do we follow through with this vision?
You are not alone. God is already moving in your city.
The answers to these questions differ depending on the participants, the city and the way the Lord is already moving in that area. Whatever the outcome, participants gain a greater understanding of what God is already doing in their city. With this new vision, everyone can use the abilities and passions God has given them to join His story.
Rūta Rušinskienė in Vilnius, Lithuania
“It’s not that we say what they have to think or that we give them the solutions it’s just that we create an environment where knowledge can grow,” said Eva Aldea, one of the facilitators of the event. The City Workshop is a time for like-minded people to spiritually walk around the walls of their city. It is a time to hear hearts, to see needs and to brainstorm solutions.
Do you long for Jesus to be known in your city? Perhaps you do but the walls around it, like the walls of Jericho, seem daunting. You don’t know where to start. If that is the case, we want to encourage you with God’s words to Joshua before he faced the walls of Jericho “Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
Think about that trailer from the beginning. Perhaps you are one of those people. Perhaps it is your city silhouetted by the morning light. What will your story look like?
Think about that trailer from the beginning. Perhaps you are one of those people. Perhaps it is your city silhouetted by the morning light. What will your story look like?
If you are interested in having a City Workshop in your city, please contact us for more information.
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