On May 3-5, GES conducted a regional Bible conference at Christian International Fellowship, a church pastored by David Showalter, an American missionary. He and his family have been in Italy for many years. The church is located in Sesto Calende, Italy, which is near Milan. Obviously, the country’s culture is heavily impacted by the Catholic Church.
The conference centered on passages in the Synoptic Gospels that are commonly misinterpreted. Ken Yates conducted the sessions. Kathryn Wright traveled with him and helped with all the logistics, along with Micaela Manley, an intern working with GES this spring.
The conference ended with Ken bringing the message to the church on Saturday and Sunday. The Italian service is conducted on Saturday evening. The international congregation, with many English speakers, meets on Sunday morning. For all the sessions and messages, Ken spoke in English and was translated by a native Italian speaker.
Each session ended with a time of questions and answers. The people asked outstanding questions. It was clear that some did not have a clear understanding of rewards, and some of the questions centered around this issue. It was difficult for them to understand how the Lord could rebuke any of His children when He returns. Ken spoke on the Parable of the Talents in Matthew, in which the Lord severely rebukes the third servant because of his unfaithfulness.
Matthew 7, where the Lord speaks about knowing false prophets by their works, also presented some problems for a few people in attendance. One questioner said he always thought this referred to people who claim to be believers but do not have the good works to back up their claim. Ken pointed out that this passage is talking about the words of false teachers.
An exciting aspect of this conference was that it was our first conference where we had a book translated into Italian available to those who came. Manuela, a translator for GES, had recently translated Zane Hodges’s The Hungry Inherit, into Italian. Approximately ninety of these books were purchased and will be distributed to four churches throughout Italy. For those unfamiliar with the book, it clearly delineates the difference between the gift of eternal life and discipleship. It uses the account of the woman at the well in John 4 to teach these fundamental truths.
The book points out that eternal life is given absolutely free. Since it is eternal, it cannot be lost. Discipleship, on the other hand, is costly and is not automatic. Even though they will be in the kingdom forever, believers who do not follow the Lord in discipleship will lose eternal rewards and will be rebuked by the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Many believers in the United States have been greatly impacted by this book. We can all pray that results will be similar in Italy.
This trip was also a great opportunity for Ken and Kathryn to spend time with those in Europe who translate blogs for us. These included not only Manuela, but also Valentina and Kristina. It was also a great learning experience for Micaela.
Special thanks go out to David, his intern Ben, and all those at the church who provided such great hospitality. We had great times of fellowship and theological discussion over meals in some beautiful Italian settings. Thanks go out as well to all the supporters of GES who make such trips possible.
