Although Midtown Church was founded to reach people in the urban area, God has brought worldwide mission opportunities to our doorstep. Many of these contacts have come from partnering with other churches in the metro Atlanta area. Several Midtown members have had the opportunity to minister cross-culturally in Cuba, Eastern and Western Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Midtown Church also actively supports missionaries on these continents through finances, prayer, and other resources.

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Retha has served in missions internationally since 1983; for 20 years with Youth With A Mission, 2 years with Transformational Leadership Center in the UK, and currently with Grace Connections, here in Georgia. She is from South Africa, but has lived in many different countries since she started serving in missions. Retha’s focus in ministry is teaching, training and developing individuals and groups into an understanding of their true identity in Christ. She also teaches seminars on Inductive Bible Study, and develops and writes Bible study material from time to time. “For me, one of the most exciting things in ministry is watching people break through the truth of who they really are in Christ, and then starting to understand what it means in day-to-day living that Christ has become their Life,” she says.

Retha began her relationship with Midtown in the fall of 2000 when she attended both a Grace Life Conference and a Grace Life Workshop, and immediately followed with the Advanced Leadership Training (the Internship), all with Grace Ministries International or GMI (talk about saturation!). “This experience has been a turning point in my life and ministry,” she says. “After 18 years in Missions, I came to realize that I had no clue of who I was, and that I had even less of a clue of what the Cross of Christ meant in my life! During my time at GMI I came to understand my true identity in Christ and how inseparably this identity is connected with the Cross. It was like a second conversion, and I am eternally grateful for the work God has done in my life during this time.”

“Midtown has become my ‘spiritual home’ here in Atlanta. It’s been brilliant getting to know everybody better, and just being a part of this wonderful and relaxed community of Ragamuffins…!”

Bill and Jean Buffton
Heart to Heart

The concept behind Heartline Ministries was developed after sensing the need for further discipleship training and teaching after the completion of counseling. Through the years, we have found that people are in constant need of new tools to be used in relationship building.

Since 1994 we have served as a resource, assisting the local church in the discipleship and equipping of Christians to help them learn to live through Christ's provision and life.

The cornerstone of our foundation for providing Christ-centered discipleship counseling, training and teaching is the truth of the Bible, the inerrant Word of God. We advocated complete dependence on Jesus Christ, who is the very heartline of our lives.

Barry Grecu
Ministry Emaus Atlanta

Barry Grecu, a Midtown Church home missionary, has served on the staff of Grace Ministries International in Marietta since 1993. As a discipleship counselor, Barry developed "The Advocate Series" and was both the general editor and a co-author of the series. These booklets, primarily designed to help facilitate a person's growing awareness of his or her identity in Christ in discipleship counseling, have also been used in Sunday schools and home Bible studies. Besides ministry as a discipleship counselor, Barry has taught the Grace Life Conference and Workshop here in the US and overseas. While in France several years ago, Barry helped with the French translation of a Pastors' Leadership Conference on the Exchanged Life, the first of its kind. In the local church, Barry has led retreats for both youth and single adults and served as a Sunday school teacher.

A few years ago, Barry assumed a new role at GMI as "Coordinator of Spiritual Formation". His focused was directed primarily on student interns in GMI's nine week and eighteen month advanced training programs.

Vladimir (Vlado) Hoblaj
Varazdin, Croatia

Vlado is the founder and Director for Hope For Life Ministry in Varazdin, an exchanged life counseling and teaching center. Varazdin, one of the oldest European cities, dates back to the 12th century. It is a place of great tradition and often referred to as "Little Vienna" for its many balls, classical concerts and world famous festivals. One will find numerous mansions and churches built in the Baroque style. The recent war has resulted in many bad social consequences, resulting in many young people, caught up in hopelessness and depression, turning to drugs to alleviate this sense of depression from the war. The government is not equipped to face the broad spectrum of social troubles. This summer approximately 3000 Satan worshippers from all over the world will descend on Croatia for a strange and evil occult "festival". The message of grace and life in Christ is the only real hope. Vlado's desire is to raise up and establish many Hope For Life centers like the one in Varazidn, in many other Croatian towns, especially the capitol city of Zagreb.

Vlado sees counseling as a very delicate process where: "a counselor enters the privacy and often painful areas of the soul of the counselee. The counselor must be very careful, and follow the teachings of scripture very closely. Everyone has gone through different circumstances, and has taken on various character traits. These traits consist of coping mechanisms we all walk in, for protection. Galatians 2: 19-20 speaks of God's offer to transform the fleshly life for the life of Christ in us. When this happens, coping mechanisms are no longer necessary. Life in the flesh was never designed to cope with life's daily troubles. Therefore, the intent is not just to help solve particular problems, but to point to the total defeat of the flesh. Once one gives up on his own resources, he is ready to experience the total victory of the Spirit life (Ephesians 3:20). Daily renewing of the mind with God's truth will enable Christ Himself to express His power through our troubles. Total repentance and brokenness is the condition to experience new reality. All who have realized and accepted this perspective can walk in complete and lasting healing. Vlado is seeking all the prayer partners he can possibly get who will stand with him and his staff as they take on this awesome challenge that God has called them to.

Igor and Elina Ivanishin
Lviv, Ukraine

Igor and Elina attend New Life Church in Lviv. During the week they provide counseling, and the burden for this is great, as there are more asking for counseling than they can minister to. They also conduct conferences on grace life issues, and those who show further interest are encouraged to attend the Grace Internship in Budapest, Hungary. To help meet the needs of the local villages, they distribute food and clothes, which affords them an excellent opportunity to preach the Gospel. They have been joined by Clarence and Peggy Ledford (see below). You are invited to enter into a relationship of prayer and encouragement with Igor and Elina.

Clarence and Peggy Ledford
Lviv, Ukranie

Clarence and Peggy began in Budapest working with the Grace Ministries International regional office / training center. From here they were able to reach out to surrounding countries. Their time was spent in counseling, conducting conferences, and the internship in Croatia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. The ministry in Croatia is nationalized (carried out by local staff). The present work in Slovakia involves training for Pastors and their wives, and lay leaders. The culmination of this time will see an Exchanged Life ministry birthed and run completely by the nationals themselves. In their own words, Clarence and Peggy's heartbeat is the people of Ukraine, and their relocation to Lviv allows them to work alongside Igor and Elina Ivanishin. Previous short-term trips have revealed a desperate need for grace in the lives of these folk who have been so wounded by Communism. In Lviv they teach the youth leaders at a local church. A training center has recently been opened for discipling. They also conduct conferences for the international staff of Intervaristy - Ukraine. their next step is to host the national staff. Feel free to contact them at the above email address.

Stuart and Millie Lieberman
Middle East

Due to the sensitive nature of their location, we have removed many of the details of their current work. Please pray for this couple as God brings them to mind.

As part of our family, they share many of the same struggles as we do with the World, the Flesh, and the spiritual attacks from the Devil. Sharing Truth in the face of much danger often means a person can expect an extra dose of spiritual attacks.

Laurie is originally from Southern California.  From the age of 16 she knew that she was created for the adventurous life and has since then been living her dream to share Christ with people all over the world.  After serving as a youth minister for three years she knew it was time to “pack up and head out.”  From that time on Laurie has been active in “hands-on” discipleship through directing Advanced Training Internships, Discipleship Training Schools, teaching conferences and workshops, leading retreats, and mentoring individual believers for the past 14 years.  She served with Youth With a Mission in Amsterdam, The Netherlands for 5 ½ years, traveling to more than 20 countries before setting in Atlanta in 1999 where she worked Grace Ministries International for more than 4 years.  In 2004 Laurie joined a wonderful ministry community called, “Grace Connections” where she serves as Training Director.  She stays busy teaching conferences, retreats and Bible Studies both here in US and around the world.

“For as long as I can remember there has been a passion in me for adventure, change, and the pursuit of something greater than myself.  As I’ve come to realize this more clearly in relationship to my calling and destiny as a child of God, this passion has increased and developed into the desire of my heart for others.  And, the most wonderful part of it all is, I get to work in an occupation where these desires are my main focus.  What a blessing it is that the Lord has privileged me to lead, teach, and disciple people into an understanding of their own personal destiny and calling.  The church is hungry for the Truth of God’s love and grace and that is why I am excited to be doing what I do.”

Laurie has been a part of Midtown church for over 6 years now and loves being “home with the family” whenever possible. Laurie has a real heart for people; you do yourself a great turn in getting to know her.