Where oh where Wednesday: Around the world

When we first started making plans to work with the church in Dutch-speaking Europe, we looked at where might be good to go. There were already congregations in the north of the Netherlands and in the western and central parts of Belgium. I remember making a study of areas that not only did not have congregations, but which were also on a crossroads - as was Philippi when the apostle Paul showed up there. 

When we, together with two Dutch couples, established the congregation in Maastricht, it was because the Dutch couples were moving there, because there was no congregation in the province of Limburg, and because Maastricht sits at the crossroads of this area of Europe. 

Maastricht in the Netherlands, Aachen in Germany and Liege in Belgium form what is known as a Euregion. These cities work closely together. Students from Germany come to Maastricht to study and vice-versa. When we would go to market in Maastricht on a Saturday, in the days before the Euro was introduced, we could hear all three languages and use all three currencies at any stand. This area was exactly what the European Union had in mind when they thought of cooperation. 

The wonderful thing for us has been how we have been able to connect with brothers and sisters from across Europe because of these links and the location of the city and church. We have connections with the church in Germany in Aachen, Cologne, Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Chemnitz, Hildesheim and Hamburg. We have also worked with German-speaking churches in Bern, Zurich, Luzern and Schaffhausen in Switzerland and Graz and Vienna in Austria

In France, Belgium and Switzerland we work together with or have worked with congregations in Liege, Verviers, Brussels, Lille, Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Geneva. We work with members from Russia and our members in Maastricht connect us with the church in Ukraine. Farther from home, our members connect us with the church in Ecuador and Ghana. The congregation has supported works in Kenya, Uganda, St. Maarten, Myanmar and Vietnam. 

And of course we are linked to friends and family - Christian and blood - throughout the United States. God’s family is not restricted to one place. When we hear our singing echoing in our small room in Maastricht as we meet with about 35 people, we know that song is also ringing out under trees, in huge meeting halls, in living rooms all around the world. It is good to know that we are part of an amazing, living body of Christ.