We are all celebrating here at Three Worlds about the Oldhams receiving 100% of their support!  This means that soon the Oldhams will be on a plane to Egypt and will officially be over here working for our Three World objectives.  Ken and Keli worked very hard to raise their funds.  Over the past few months, Ken has been traveling tirelessly sharing about their passion of the Egypt and talking about the 3W vision.

The other side of the story is YOU!  The churches and individuals who have made this happen (and make Three Worlds happen!). There were churches making room in their budgets despite the budgets being fixed, there were commitments made on faith, there were individuals sacrificing during a recession, there were churches that are already supporting 3W personnel and added one more family because they believe in what we are doing and in the Oldhams, and lots of others that have made pledges.

As I was sharing recently, the fundraising process is boot-camp.  It is a giant leap of faith.  You don’t have a job, insurance, and you have to spend your time on the road never knowing if the long 8 hour drive will lead to a new partner or a rejection.  Your support plateaus at some point (maybe 10%), and all the while you long to just get on the field to do your work.  Even Jamie and I still have to do this even though we are Regional Coordinators.  So we are all utterly dependent on your generosity.  It is humbling, it is challenging, and I think ultimately, if you are the right person for the job, it is refining.

All of us over here in Europe and the M.E. are very excited to have the Oldhams here.  Please pray for their transition, especially for the children. Our team is prepared to love on them and give them a whole lot of support.  The kids are going to have lots of “3W Aunties and Uncles” looking after them.  And we have plans in the works to expand the level of care and love that we can give our 3W kids.

Last night as we waited to get the final results (the push over 100%), it felt like waiting for electoral votes on election night.  When word came through at about 11PM Berlin time we celebrated. The Oldhams are still not done fundraising however, as our goals it reach 110% which is very important because there has to be a protection against shortfalls and also schooling expenses for the kids.  So there’s still room to continue giving, but there is enough to get them on their way.

Of course, this is only the beginning of the adventure–one that will have many twists and turns.  Our hope is that 3W’s system will be the shock absorbers that will enable the Oldhams and the next generation of leaders to handle the challenges that come along with greater support and ease.  Thank you for coming along for the ride.

This coming April 5th through April 19th, Three Worlds will be introducing its first ever Care-a-Van experience.  Care-a-Van is an opportunity for North American Christians to join us on the road in Europe as we visit a few small churches located throughout Europe that could use encouragement.  Throughout Europe we have many Church of God congregations that are isolated and struggle in an environment hostile or indifferent to Christianity.  It is difficult to stay encouraged.  Consequently, the Care-a-Van will give North Americans the opportunity to connect to these churches and encourage them through prayer and fellowship.

The Care-a-Van (a group of cars driving from church to church led by the Nachtigalls and Aaron and Nicole Varner) will set out from Munich, Germany and make their way through the Alps to visit congregations in Southern Germany, our newest church in Arco, Italy, as well as to join in the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Rome Church of God.  Along the way our visitors will be educated on the challenge of ministry and mission in the European context and given ideas for how churches in North American can enhance their global connections.  The trip will be educational, strategic, encouraging, and will include some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. It will be a great introduction to Three Worlds.

We highly recommend this trip for mission pastors as well as lay-leaders and pastors who are interested in learning about the Three Worlds vision and connecting with churches in Europe and the Middle East.

Cost: Approximately $2,000 + Airfare to Munich, Germany.  Contact us for further details.

The long awaited, and much delayed episode 3 of Gateway Berlin Radio is up. In this episode The Oregonian film critic M.E. Russell discusses why Christian movies are often shallow compared to secular movies and what would make Christian art better.  Also:  A farewell to our summer intern Jael Tang.

Right click to download the podcast:

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In this episode, host Patrick Nachtigall brings us a blast from the past.

Also:  Remembering Emmy Lou , checking out strange but true headline news from around the world in the “Around the Horn” segment.  In the In-Depth segment: we look at the city of Singapore with our guest co-host and summer intern Jael Tang. Finally, a World-Cup Roundup with Greg Dorr.

Right click to download the podcast: Gateway Berlin Radio / Ep. 2

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“Live” from the McQuarium Studios in Berlin:  This is Gateway Berlin Radio Podcast, Episode 1.

In this episode, host Patrick Nachtigall and intern Jael Tang introduce the GBR podcast, discuss issues of faith in the multicultural city of Berlin, and check out strange but true headline news from around the world in the “Around the Horn” segment. in the In-Depth segment Patrick and Jael look at a church in Mexico City trying an unusual method to reach youth, and finally there is a visit the Turkish Market.

Listen online:  

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Download the podcast here: Gateway Berlin Radio / Episode 1

Patrick’s third book Mosaic: A Journey Across the Church of God was released in June.

Does a reformation movement born in the nineteenth century still have a future?  Beginning at the cemetery where his great-grandfather is buried, Patrick Nachtigall sets out on a journey to see how the Church of God is facing six critical challenges.  From a megachurch in the flatlands of the Midwest, to an isolated churchin Siberia, to the Philippines where pastors deal with Pentecostal movements, to the Middle East where a former Al-Qaeda member comes to Christ, Patrick treks to six different continents to talk with Church of God people.  He seeks to understand the realities that we face in the twenty-first century.

Here is a picture of a very diverse movement where some congregations exist in a traditional Christendom world, others in a post-Christendom world, and yet others in a pre-Christendom Book of Acts world.  Patrick finds that we are a movement filled with holiness but desperately lacking unity.  So our future is an open question.

Mosaic is for anyone who wants to understand the macro trends that affect not only the Church of God, but the entire Christian church worldwide.  Visit the Mosaic website, purchase the book and post your opinion.

Welcome to three-worlds.com, it’s great to see you!  You are now in the Three Worlds Diary where we will continue to write about our life, our ministry, our travels, as well as discussing geo-political issues and covering the international scene.  Thank you to all of you who have followed us on chinatimesonline.com for the last 8 years.  We are now moving to our new home at three-worlds.com.  Please reset your browsers bookmarks and get ready for a global view coming out of Europe and the Middle East.

We are now the Regional Coordinators for Europe and the Middle East for Global Missions and will be based in Berlin, Germany as of July 9th, 2010.  We are working with a team of missionaries that we call the Three Worlds Team (or 3w Team).  You will be hearing not just about us, but about our individual team members as well.  They are based in Germany, Bulgaria, the Middle East, and other parts of the region.  Mostly, you will be reading my voice, but you will also hear from the rest of the team members in writing, in audio, and eventually through video.  Three-Worlds.com will be our primary mode of communication about our work–although most everyone on the team has their own web pages, facebook pages, and other ways of communicating.

For those of you that have been following the Chinatimesonline for years (and there actually are many of you), this diary will be similar to the last one.  There will be considerably less China analysis (although that still remains my area of academic expertise), and more about Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.  At the heart of this website, however, will be our attempts to process the global shifts that are occurring in Christianity.  Three Worlds as a team and a website will be a place where we try and stay ahead of the curve of all that is happening globally in the world of religion.  Hopefully you will learn a lot, be inspired, get involved, and laugh a lot too!  Laughter is a big part of our Three-Worlds Team.  You gotta have fun too.

So welcome to Three-Worlds.com.  We are still building the website.  It will be months before things are fully looking how we want, but we start here.  Check out the photos, check out the news, and in time–you will definitely want to check out our podcast:  Gateway Berlin Radio.  So let’s get this party started.

COMING SOON: Gateway Berlin Radio

Patrick Nachtigall and the Three Worlds Team will discuss issues of faith, evangelism, Christianity, global politics, and other issues of the day.  Coming to you “live” from the “McQuarium Studio” in Berlin, Germany, GB Radio will enlighten you, make you laugh, and eat up time out of your busy day.  Our podcast will be launching soon.  Stay tuned!