September 2017
I, Eline, was sitting in a car in New Zealand. I just finished a Bible school I did over there. On that moment I clearly felt God speak to me about Europe. He asked me if I wanted to invest the coming years of my life in a plan He had to see Europe being transformed by the Gospel. I didn’t know how it would look like, but I said ‘yes’.
Coming back to the Netherlands I was praying and searching: “God, what do You have in mind, what should I do?”
One of the pictures I got was a spiderweb over Europe: a network of groups who’d come together in their own neighbourhood to seek God and reach out.
But, how to start, what to do? After four months of praying and seeking God, I kind of gave up. I didn’t know how to make any concrete steps.
That time I wrote down everything I felt like God was speaking. The last thing I wrote down was: ‘I will send the right people at the right time. I am faithful.’
March 2020
Last march, when I just got back from a mission trip through Europe, a friend of mine, named Rosanne, visited me.
Somehow, I ended up sharing this story to her. Her response was: “Can I start the first group?” That moment it felt like my eyes were opened. I had faith again. God had said ‘I will send the right people at the right time’ – was this the person He had in mind?
From this moment Rosanne and I have been video calling weekly. Praying, writing down vision and plans, doing a pioneering and leadership course…
One morning Rosanne woke up and thought: the name should be ‘YouTurn’.
This is how YouTurn Europe got born, with the vision to see former DTS-students and other Christians come together in their neighbourhood to seek God, pray for and reach out to non-Christians.
YouTurn Europe is not another kind of Bible Study group. There are already many of them and the Church is very good in equipping the Church with God’s Word. But, we believe there’s still a lot of potential in the Church to reach out more. This is the focus of YouTurn Europe: making God known to those who don’t know Him yet.
YWAM is very good in discipling and training. But, as DTS-students go back into normal life, we often loose connection with them. With YouTurn Europe we hope to offer something that helps them to continue putting in practise what they learned and have influence on society.
September 2020
Since March 2020, Rosanne and I have been praying and dreaming together. It’s still very new and we’re still at the beginning.
We do really feel like this is God’s project. We are not doing it for ourselves, but for Him. That’s also the reason for the Bible verse on the home page:
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen. – Romans 11:36
This project feels like walking in faith. For every next step ask God to speak. Because without Him, the big dream we have would be impossible.
It’s so special to see God leading, to see Him bringing the right people on our path.
And, maybe you will be the next person…