Under this motto a leadership training was organized in Varna, Bulgaria, by the Family Ministries Department of the Inter-European (EUD) and Trans-European (TED) divisions. The event, held from March 27 to April 2, 2026, is part of a three-module training organized on an annual basis. It brings together more than 50 leaders from all over Europe who serve to build families both in the church and in society.
The growing challenges the modern families face create the need for training specialists and spiritual leaders to support the building of healthy relationships in the various aspects of marriage and parenthood. The training was not just a transfer of theory, but “arming” local leaders with specific tools for practical work.
“We have fun together, people love to come to our trainings and sometimes they do the whole three-year cycle once again and they have a good reason for that,” points out Karen Holford, TED Family Ministries Director.
The training aimed at equipping participants with the necessary knowledge and practical experience to prepare and organize events and seminars related to uprising family bonds in their cultural and national context. Leaders build skills as facilitators for support in a crisis or development process.
This year’s program included the following topics:
- Intergenerational Worship
The worship service should be understandable for all generations. It is a kind of weekly evangelism for children who have not yet made a decision to dedicate themselves to Christ. Churches that actively involve their children and youth are the fastest growing ones.
- Family Ethics
How do we make decisions? The dynamics of individual ethics and societal norms, personal interest and values, external and internal motivation of the person, approaches to making decisions on controversial ethical issues were examined.
- Spiritual Parenting
How can we love purposefully? The most important needs of children were examined, how to exercise positive and effective discipline, how to build daily spirituality in children, and how to emphasize the strengths of children's character.
- Human Sexuality - a biblical view of human sexuality.
Sexuality is a gift from God and must be protected. The topic of sex should not be a taboo but should be talked about. Specific steps for building deep intimacy with the spouse were also discussed.
What changes do our church need in this respect? Gabor Mihalec, the author of No More Games, emphasized on the openness – to be able to talk about it, to be less judgmental and more positive. Most of the time people in our churches and especially young people hear about sexuality only when something goes wrong. And we need to be much more pro-active – to talk about sexuality when nothing happens, just to prepare them for a balanced, healthy life. They should learn about that from the church, not from the street.
The lectures were paired with many practical exercises, role-playing games and discussion groups. Last but not least, an important component was the opportunities for creating new contacts and friendships, as well as the exchange of ideas and experiences between participants from different countries and cultures.
“I love working with them because year by year I see friends – both old and new ones. All of them come with that expressed wish that they want to contribute to the change in their countries”, enthusiastically shared Gabor Mihalec.
