In November, 2007, Gerald and Dorothy Hogenbirk, Regional Developers for the C&MA in Central Asia, Europe, and the Middle East gathered with 33 C&MA field workers for a six-day conference near Budapest, Hungary. The keynote speaker was Dr Charles Nienkirchen, Professor of History and Christian Spirituality at Ambrose. The objective of the conference was to increase the participants' effectiveness by raising their understanding of the religions and cultures of the countries in which they serve.

Dr Nienkirchen lectured on the following topics: The Geopolitical Landscape of the World in 2007: No Illusions about the World in Which We Really Live; World Christianity: Current Global Trajectories and Regional Mosaics; Christ Versus Muhammad: Addressing the Islamic Challenge; Down Ancient Paths: A Personal Quest for Christian Antiquity in the Context of Postmodern Spirituality. He also made himself available for spiritual consultation with individual missionaries. In reflecting on the event, Dr Nienkirchen noted that it had "provided an opportunity for international workers to have an experience of continuing education which is not always available to them in their locations of service."

We were all amazed at his grasp of the issues and his ability to be able to bring this together in a succinct, practical and understandable way.

In a letter to Dr George Durance, Gerald Hoogenbrink summed up the experience of those in attendance. "We want to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to you for allowing Dr Charles Nienkirchen to be the guest lecturer, mentor, and friend for our leaders. We were all amazed at his grasp of the issues and his ability to be able to bring this together in a succinct, practical, and understandable way. Not only did he take the time to prepare and lecture, but [he also] listened to our 33 leaders. He customized helpful suggestions at points of need in personal consultations. Charles' academic excellence and passionate heart for God and His work blessed us all beyond measure. Words cannot express our collective gratitude for Charles and to you both for allowing him to clear his schedule for this crucial leadership gathering.... We would be very hard pressed to find anyone apart from Charles who could have given us this unique blend of expertise in history, present trends in this vast region, as well as spiritual formation." In the next few months the Hogenbirks are planning regional follow up strategy discussions based upon what was gleaned from the time together with Dr Nienkirchen.