Alumni Spotlight:

Seeking a Missions Movement in Slovakia

Veteran missionary Bevan Stein (M.Div. ’95) isn’t stopping now in his quest to be part of a missions movement for Christ

As a young man, Bevan Stein had an encounter with God at a revival service while attending Asbury College (now University) in 1984. The previous year, he had begun to sense a call to missions. At the altar in Hughes Auditorium, he experienced a work of God in his heart that would empower him with the love of God as he fulfilled that call to missions. Isaiah 43:10-12 became key verses for him, beginning with “‘You are My witnesses,’ declares the Lord.” As he sought to discern the details of that calling, he came across one of Patrick Johnstone’s Operation World books, which cataloged the status of evangelical missions among all the nations. One thing that stood out to Bevan was the assertion that there had not been a modern missions movement among protestants in the Slovak part of the nation of Czechoslovakia (today divided into the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic). Bevan determined to commit himself to a long-term vision to see God change that statistic, and a remarkable adventure as God’s witness has unfolded in the decades since.

Learning the Father’s Unlimited Love

Bevan had accepted Christ as a child. However, he experienced bullying as a child that filled him with fear. Later, he joined what was essentially a gang. Although he became involved for his own protection, membership involved participating in numerous illegal and destructive activities. By age 14, Bevan felt that he was “dirtied.” Desperate for a change, he made a vow to God, “If you will get me out of this, I will dedicate my life to you.”

When Bevan’s family relocated, he saw it as an answer to his prayer and an opportunity for a fresh start. Nevertheless, throughout his teenage years, he struggled with self-loathing, even to the point that he feared he would harm himself. He could believe completely in the forgiving love of God for others, but couldn’t appropriate it for himself. During that revival service, which was led by the father of WBS’s current dean, Andy Miller II, God finally broke through to Bevan. He sensed God was saying, “Now I’m going to show you that the limits of My love are not the limits of your love for yourself.” Bevan realized he had been “giving the devil glory” over his past sins rather than giving God glory for his redemption in Christ. In fulfillment of his earlier promise, he became committed to trying to give away what God had given him through local ministries and mission outreaches. “Rather than try to convince myself that I was loved,” Bevan explains, “I discovered that the more I stretched my heart open with love for others, the more I experienced that love for myself.”

Directed and Equipped through Relationship

After graduating from Asbury in 1986, Bevan initially intended to work as a missionary aviator in Africa, and he began to work with a ministry called Evangelism Resources in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). However, in 1988 he married Laura, who had also graduated from Asbury College in 1987 and sensed God’s call to missions. Laura persuaded Bevan that they should seek a ministry they could do in partnership, and her focus was on serving children with special needs. Together, they served for a season at a home for troubled boys in Bristow, Virginia, but they were still uncertain where their long-term focus should be, so they decided that Bevan would attend seminary.

Bevan connected with Wesley Biblical Seminary beginning in 1991, where he recalls professors like Matt Friedeman, Bill Ury, and Paul Tashiro investing heavily in his life. Dr. Spann, the president at that time, took a personal interest in Bevan and helped him find positions as a local pastor at nearby churches while in school. Gary Cockerill in particular became like a father figure to Bevan, he says. “It was more than education, it was character formation and life transformation,” Bevan recalls. It was during this time that he developed a vision for Slovakia, so after graduation, he and Laura set out for that Eastern European nation.

Earning a Hearing

Bevan knew he would not be easily received in his new mission field. Most of Slovakia is Roman Catholic, with Lutheranism predominant among protestants, and the Steins had no official invitation from the church hierarchy to come. The nation was also steeped in Soviet-era ways and suspicious of outsiders. The Steins were also just beginning to learn the language, which added to the difficulties.

However, Bevan’s strategy was not to seek out the approval of the highest people, but to serve the lowest, as modeled by Jesus. Given his wife’s interest in serving children, this meant searching out opportunities to serve the many orphans living in large state-run institutions dating from the time of Communist rule.

While in Africa, Bevan encountered some missionaries who ignored the physical needs of those in poverty, based on a theological belief that they were only called to preach and save souls. Bevan sensed, from his own encounter with the love of God, as well as the Scriptural evidence of Jesus’ ministry to the poor, that this was not an adequate approach. Instead, he saw sharing the gospel as integrally related to demonstrating the gospel through acts of love and service toward “the least of these.” Based on this, they called their ministry “The Heavenly Father’s Heart.”

The Steins began leading events for orphan children where they could enjoy activities, receive attention and love, and hear the good news of Jesus. The results were transformative: Orphanage directors reported lower incidences of violence, theft, disciplinary problems, and teen pregnancies among the children and teens they ministered to. As a result, other orphanages began to ask them to come in, expanding their ministry.

Raising Up Disciples

Although the ministry was growing, Bevan’s vision was not simply to do mission work, but to ignite a missions movement. Thus, his ultimate goal in the orphanages was not only to serve the children but to mobilize the church. He was able to recruit teams of young people to come alongside and assist with the work. In this way, Christians who had been sitting in the pews were now beginning to put their faith into action.

As a result, over the years the Steins have been able to see numerous volunteers respond to a call to full-time ministry themselves. Some went on to serve with Child Evangelism Fellowship or other agencies, while others went to Bible school or seminary and entered the ministry. Moreover, the ministry set up by the Steins is now carried on largely by local volunteers who organize themselves, so that they are both able to concentrate on new areas of ministry and confident that the work can continue long after are gone.

Starting at Home

In order to most fully incarnate the love of God for the Slovak people, Bevan wanted to do more than serve orphans: he and Laura sought to adopt as many children as they could, as well. After several failed attempts due to the reluctance of local officials to give children to foreigners, they went to the authorities and asked who were the children that no one else wanted. They were told school-aged children of gypsy ancestry with behavior problems had almost no chance of being adopted, so those became the children they sought out. Eventually, they adopted six children.

Bevan admits that adoption was not easy. All parenting can be stressful, and their children had experienced great trauma, adding to the challenges. Nevertheless, today the children have been successfully raised to adulthood, and Bevan views the difficult times as opportunities to participate in the sufferings of Christ and so join in the power of his resurrection. Moreover, the joy the children brought and the blessings they continue to channel into their lives far outweigh the difficulties, Bevan and Laura say.

Shifting Models, New Opportunities

Over time, the large institutional orphanages were replaced by smaller group homes. The Heavenly Father’s Heart ministry now turned from large events and programs to smaller teams, while also developing a new dream of an Equine Therapy Center. Laura had seen how effective work with horses could be for disabled and traumatized children and was trained to provide equine therapy. The Steins purchased property for a center but ran into opposition from nationalists who disliked outside groups owning land in Slovakia. Through patience and faith, the Steins have outlasted the attempts to stall their vision, and are now ready to begin building.

Bevan also developed a ministry to unsaved bikers whom no one else was reaching. While he naturally refuses to participate in sin with them, such as when they go into strip clubs, Bevan has been consistent about building relationships with these men, and so has gradually won their respect. Rough motorcycle gangs have come to embrace him, seeking him out to come and pray blessings over them. He has presided over funerals and walked with them through their most difficult times. These relationships have led to opportunities to preach the gospel to large groups, and he has helped to organize a Christian biker ministry.

Meanwhile, war broke out in nearby Ukraine, and Bevan found himself thrust into a new role. Initially, he received many donations from U.S. donors eager to help. However, there were challenges in getting aid into the war-torn country. Most European drivers were unable to cross the border because their insurance was not valid in Ukraine. Shipments had to be transferred to local drivers, which was not efficient. With the last of the donations he had received, Bevan decided to “gamble” on a big venture: He purchased a commercial-size truck so that he could drive supplies to those in need directly. Then he began to coordinate picking up aid boxes in Slovakia, with a network of distributors in Ukraine.

Soon, Bevan became known as a national leader for those distributing aid. He gained the trust of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, who asked him to serve as national coordinator for humanitarian aid to Ukraine. This led to more conversations about how the Slovakian Church could become more active in outreach and missions. Even through the horrors of war, God was advancing the vision he had given Bevan to see a missions movement sparked among the Slovaks.

Full-Circle to Africa

Bevan had never forgotten his desire to serve the kingdom in Africa, and now modern technology provided a new way for him to get involved. As he learned about the plight of refugees from the civil war in Sudan who have made their way to camps in Uganda, he reached out to International Messengers, his sending agency. They connected him to local leaders on the ground serving the refugee camps. Bevan wanted to help those whom no one else was ministering to, so the local leaders recommended a Sudanese pastor to him who was among the refugees and was a man of faith and integrity: James Kenneth, and his wife Jacqueline.

Again following a model of incarnational love, Bevan first began to provide James and Jacqueline’s personal needs out of his own funds. Then, he began to support them so that they could minister to other refugees, particularly orphans and widows, whom they paired up together. They created a plan to provide food and other necessities while ensuring that the orphans could participate in educational and discipleship programs at a local church, and the widows could be given job-training skills and micro-business opportunities. Next, they secured land that could be cleared and farmed to supplement their diet with fresh vegetables. Once again, they were demonstrating the Heavenly Father’s Heart, this time by supporting local leaders without ever setting foot on the ground. Now, Bevan hopes to launch the Uganda ministry publicly, expanding the number of refugee widows and orphans they can support.

“I want to be as desperate for God to use me as I possibly can,” Bevan explains. “I want to be in a position of needing God’s provision on a daily basis.” In this way, he can learn to walk more and more by faith, and thereby experience even greater measures of the Father’s love.

A Long-Term Vision

 With over four decades since his call to be a missionary, Bevan believes many missionaries simply don’t stay long enough to have a deep impact on a nation. It takes time to invest personally in people’s lives, as the Steins did with the children they adopted, and to raise local leaders, as they did in the orphan ministry. It takes time to win the respect of local leaders, as they did with the Lutheran church, and to overcome resistance to outsiders. Today, they are not only fluent in the language, they have become part of the people of Slovakia.

Bevan’s desire remains to see the vision fulfilled of a mission movement arising from Slovakia. They have seen local churches mobilized in ministry. They have seen the Holy Spirit raise up other missionaries who are also contributing to the vision in their own way. Bevan’s work in Ukraine has helped mobilize Slovaks to reach across national and ethnic borders to do ministry. Moreover, Bevan hopes that the Slovakians will even become engaged in the ministry he has helped to start in Uganda.

Most importantly, the young boy who felt self-loathing over his own sins, and experienced God breaking through with His unlimited love, now desires to see fewer and fewer limits on the opportunities he creates to allow the love of God to flow through him to others. For those who do not believe there is a heavenly Father who loves them, Bevan can truly say with Isaiah 43, “I am God’s witness.”