By Rev. Dr. Samuel H. Lee, Korea UBF Director, Doctor of Missionology

“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. lthough the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” (Exodus 19:5, 6)

Praise and thanks be to our God who established UBF through late Dr. Samuel Lee and Mother Barry and accomplished the great history of Korean and world campus disciple-raising and self-supporting lay mission for the last 48 years through numerous sacrificial servants of God. Today, all the fruits of European campus mission that we could witness, perceive and feel were born from God. We just offered our simple faith and obedience towards God’s words, earnest prayer, many tears, toil and devotion like Andrew’s loaves and fish. God prayed on them and used them. Ever since UBF sent out three nurse missionaries to Germany back in 1969, God continually sent out over 3,000 professional self-supporting lay missionaries to over 90 countries for the last 40 years.

Our UBF missionaries gave up worldly titles and glory and offered their youth and whole life to God as a kernel of wheat, simply obeying God’s world mission command. They offered their faith, obedience, prayer, tears, toil and devotion to God. God preciously used them to establish the great work of salvation. Thank God!

I give glory to God who allowed us to have 2009 European International Bible Conference upon celebrating the 40th Anniversary of UBF European campus mission.

I give glory to God as well for the publication of ‘UBF European Campus Mission 40-Year History.’ I would like to send my thanks to each and every pioneering missionary in Europe who were sent out to various regions of Europe, bore the cross of self-support and sacrificed their lives for campus gospel mission and disciple-raising ministries.

Even if this world does not recognize your effort and sacrifice, our God cherishes you and preciously used you for European campus mission and continuously uses you. All of you are indeed the history makers and the heroes of faith in this generation. I give all of you a big hand. I also express my sincere thanks to European coworkers and European UBF director, Dr. Peter Chang who wrote, compiled and published this book. I add my congratulations on the publication of the book.

This book covers the entire history of European UBF campus mission from the very beginning to the present. The book also includes special features on several people involved in campus mission. It also features the almanac and various photographs giving the graphical ideas and pictures of 40-year European campus mission history. Therefore, this book is the important reference as well as the historic record. Through this book, all the missionaries from non-European countries and Korean coworkers could also have a chance to observe European UBF campus mission history.

Furthermore, I believe that there has been no better time to publish this book than now as the interests in self-supporting professional missionaries are growing more than ever before. Today, selfsupporting professional mission is emerging as a major alternative for the evangelization of the unreached in the world. More and more evangelical leaders take the interests in self-supporting professional lay mission. This book would be a great source and an instrument that provides relevant examples and excellent knowledge on selfsupporting professional mission work. I expect that the exemplary cases of UBF self-supporting professional mission work may provide a role model for the world evangelical mission.

It is certainly God’s amazing work that local people are evangelized and raised by Korean self-supporting lay issionaries and become leaders for the local chapters. The Nevius mission plans and Apostle Paul’s mission strategies are being fulfilled. This presents a positive and bright future for UBF world mission.

The number of local leaders who accept the calling as missionary and are sent out to the third countries as missionaries has started growing. This is clearly the new beginning of God’s history that starts the new chapter for UBF world mission history. Right now, this new beginning of history of local leaders being sent out as selfsupporting lay missionary seems like a small mustard seed. However, after 20 or 30 years, this small mustard seed will grow to become a giant tree. Thus, I see the great vision that many missionaries would be sent out from every mission field around the world just as many missionaries were sent out from Korea. Through that, the day will come when God’s knowledge covers the whole world as the water covers the sea. We can see this vision through our almighty God who starts this work and completes this work!

I pray that this year’s European International Bible conference and the publication of ‘European campus mission 40-year history’ may light the fire for spiritual revival. Also I pray that this book may be used to serve God’s mission through self-supporting professional lay missionaries. This book may become a source of joy, grace and gratitude for all the coworkers in Korea and the missionaries around the world who faithfully devote themselves for the expansion of God’s kingdom. Also, this book may be offered as the five loaves of bread and two fish for achieving our vision to send out 100,000 selfsupporting professional lay missionaries by 2041.