MONUMENT, CO – The vision for 4D Ministries was planted in the hearts of Hank and Mona Paulson as an extension of other ministries under their care during the era of the Cold War.

When the Curtain Went Up

The construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 was not merely a symbol of the entire Iron Curtain surrounding Eastern Europe. It was also a visible barrier that precluded Christians from sharing Bibles and the Gospel message with the people who lived under the dominion of the USSR.

But, sharing the Gospel was far more important to the Paulsons than any “curtain,” wall, fences, or border guards posted to prevent the spread of the Word of God. They put their lives at great risk to take Bibles and Christian literature into Communist countries under the auspices of their newly-formed Eastern European Bible Mission.

When the Wall Came Tumbling Down

When the wall came tumbling down in 1989, the Paulsons initially thought their ministry was no longer needed. On the contrary, however, they renamed their faith-based agency as New Hope International and converted their mission to publishing and distributing Christian literature to local churches in seven of the previously off-limits Eastern European nations.

When a New Door Opened

As years passed, the Paulsons and their team realized that the needs of the local churches within their purview were changing. Because of their commitment to a field-driven, rather than institutionally-driven, approach, they founded 4D Ministries in 2011. The change was radical.

4D Ministries is “all about helping churches in Eastern Europe be fruitful and missional. The best way for 4D is not to grow “our” tree bigger, but to help networks of national churches be more outward-looking and fruitful. More important than one large tree is God’s orchard of fruit-bearing trees!”

In fact, the idea for 4D did not emanate from the U.S. headquarters, but from a student in Romania who suggested that “We have been so blessed by the American teams coming over to help us. Now it’s our turn to be a blessing and help others. Can we?”

The 4D website explains that

“We are not about building an institution or organization, but about building His Kingdom in a way that inspires, empowers, gives national ownership, is field-driven, reproducible and sustainable . . . 4D is more interested in the nature of spiritual and reproducible impact than in numbers and statistics.”

4D Ministries is now consumed with networking, training, equipping, and launching others into ministries of determined discipleship. Reports from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Moldova, and Slovakia are replete with evidence of fruitful ministries that are being blessed by our Lord, Jesus Christ.

4D has come alongside Eastern European Christians, helping to equip them for evangelism face-to-face or through multiple media platforms. Lest we forget, Hank Paulson would remind us that networking with other, like-minded ministries, such as VIA, Ambassadors Together, KnowingGod Czech, Media Safe, and LeaderXpress, has accelerated the spread of the Gospel and the growth of the church.

Working together, as the Body of Christ should, 4D Ministries and its partners are evangelizing and equipping Eastern Europeans to effectively spread the Good News in the 21^st Century. No walls, nor any weapon formed by man, can stop them.

Read more news on the Eastern Europe and World Missions on Missions Box.