Mikulov is a town in the South Moravian region of the Czech Republic. It has 7,500 residents. Svatý kopeček or “Holy Hill” overlooks the city. The top is 363 meters above sea level. If you trek it, you can experience Stations of the Cross along the way and visit the chapel and bell tower on top.

The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross includes 14 stops with images that depict the events leading up to the crucifixion and death of Jesus. The practice of walking the Stations originated in medieval Europe with Christians who wanted to meditate on the passion.

Stations provides a fitting visual to illustrate the progress of GTP program work in Europe. It implies that we believe God has helped us get to specific steps, and yet we feel the journey has just begun. We report the progress using three words: standards, support, and staff.

Standards

On a retreat in the shadow of Holy Hill in April 2024, 25 skilled servants from the Czech Republic and Slovakia convened to have strategic discussions facilitated by Gabriel Hakulín (Czech Republic) Gary G. Hoag (USA), Steve Kerr (Australia), and Viktor Pecer (Slovakia),

The conversations centered around what it might look like for churches and ministries in the Czech Republic and Slovakia to join the global movement of having standards for administration and governance and forming a peer accountability group (PAG) to verify compliance and affix a seal.

A working group formed and created a draft of standards by September 2024. They also mapped the foundational statements for forming a PAG. They have shared their draft with influential workers and have started to get great feedback for strengthening the standards and statements.

Support

On five GTP trips to Eastern Europe (April 2022, April 2023, September 2023, April 2024, and September 2024), Gary reports building many important relationships. It started with a key foundation whose support helped underwrite the cost of the Mikulov Retreat.

These trips also solidified the official partnership GTP has with 4D Ministries. Their staff members have dedicated time to network and resources to advance standards and peer accountability for strengthening churches and ministries in Eastern Europe. 4D is with GTP each step of the way!

Also, GTP has located individual givers, specifically in the Czech Republic. Their support has helped GTP advance program work in Ukraine. It has also enabled us to take a bold step to hire a staff member in the region. 

Staff

Since 2022, we have prayed at GTP for God to show us the time and the person to add as a staff member in the region. Earlier in 2024, we realized the needed help in the finance area, but we also sensed that the person needs to have the ability to teach and train.

So, in July 2024, we posted the role of Financial Controller and Regional Trainer. In answer to our prayers, God led us to hire Dr. Olena Hetman in October 2024. With a Ph.D. in economics and teaching and training experience, she has proved to fit perfectly into the role.

And she compliments Gabriel well. He speaks English, Czech, Slovak, and some German. She speaks Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, and grows in her English proficiency daily. We believe hiring her represents another great step of progress for the region.

Prayer Points

Please take time to praise God with us for the draft of the standards and statements. Pray for church and ministry workers to give good feedback and for God to help this working group take steps to form a PAG for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Pray also for support for this accountability movement to grow from individuals and institutions. Pray for Olena as she just got started and envisions helping GTP manage financial operations and training workers in many languages in the region.