A church’s call to Belgium

It was the summer of 2007 and Belgium kept coming across his radar. In the news, on TV, on the Internet–the small country in Western Europe seemed to be everywhere. Kyle Goen, associate pastor at LifePoint Church in Smyrna, Tenn., wasn’t sure what this meant.

“I really didn’t know much about Belgium … waffles, chocolate, capital of the European Union, and N.A.T.O. headquarters were located (there). But as to its actual location, I had to find a map and get my bearings straight,” he says in his blog.

Before he brought anyone else into his thought processes, Kyle began seeking the Lord alone on this topic. He prayed, journaled and read Scripture, while striving to be open to where God might be leading regarding Belgium.

After a church-wide time of prayer and fasting a few months later, Kyle was certain God was growing a passion for the country in his heart, and shared this with his pastor, Pat Hood, who reminded him he wasn’t alone.

“(Pat) spoke about how if God was calling me, as one of the leaders of the church, God was also calling us as a church to be involved,” Kyle said.

He shared with his wife, Amy, how the Lord had slowly been turning his attention toward Belgium, and together they committed to continue praying and seeking direction.

Within a week God led them to connect with a family from another church who was preparing to move to Belgium. Then in March 2009 Kyle, Amy and four other LifePoint leaders visited the country. It wasn’t long before the answers were clear.

“After a week of traveling, talking with nationals and listening to the Spirit lead, our team knew we were called to Belgium as a church,” Kyle said. “My wife and I both knew we also were called to lead the (group) LifePoint would send as a church-planting team.”

As for the church, jumping on board with Belgium is part of its DNA of simultaneously engaging its “Jerusalem, Judea and to the ends of the earth.”

“LifePoint sees international missions as a part of what we are all called to be about as followers of Christ,” Kyle said. “We believe that mission and missional living is first and foremost for God’s glory and for spreading the fame of Jesus’ name. We also go because Jesus commanded us to go in the gospels.”

Through the leadership of Pat, Kyle and Global Director Tim Patterson, LifePoint has launched a Sending Church Campaign where it hopes to lead believers to plant churches on both local as well as international levels. The church currently has six points of focus, three near Smyrna and three in other parts of the world–Bangkok, Belgium and East Asia.

The Belgium team has the goal of moving overseas this year, and consists of Kyle, Amy and their three children, as well as four other families–together they are 10 adults and eight children. As they prepare for their relocation, they are fundraising, selling their homes (Kyle and Amy’s family shifted from living in a house to an apartment to downsize and help with their future adjustment), getting out of debt, seeking Belgian work visas and studying French.

The team had been looking for a language teacher when one of its members overheard a female French accent at a local department store. When asked, the woman said she had been in the country for 30 years and would be delighted to teach their team. The group has been meeting with her weekly since mid-January.

Written by Natalie Kaspar. Natalie is a freelance writer for The Upstream Collective and lives in Texas. She served as a missionary writer based out of Prague, Czech Republic, from 2007-2009, and plans to return to full-time international mission work.