SEARCHLIGHT IN EUROPE

1986 Bruce Garrison moves in January from the USA to Malmesbury, England. Ten months later, Mike, Anne, and Pippa Barton arrive in Malmesbury from the east side of England. They are all working in conjunction with a church planting that is taking place in that historic English town. (Mike and Anne Barton were privileged to return to King's Church in the summer of 2005 to visit a church that is still functioning 20 years later.)

1987 Searchlight's first unofficial visit to Europe takes place in the summer when Bruce Garrison and Mike and Anne Barton are part of a music ministry team that visits Poland, which is still under the control of communism.

1988 After this trip to Poland, they all feel that God has brought them together for wider ministry. At the beginning of the year the Bartons become a permanent part of Searchlight. It is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship.

1990 The first issue of "Light for Life," a magazine of devotional teaching, is published in England. It is produced on a photocopier that has been donated and is sent out to a mailing list of 60 people around the United Kingdom.

1991 With the fall of Communism across eastern Europe, new opportunities for ministry become available. Armed with only one name in Romania and two pastors in Poland, Mike and Anne Barton travel to Romania and Poland. While meeting with church leaders in each country, they are told repeatedly that there is a great need for biblical teaching and good Christian literature in the native language. God blesses their journey of faith, and Searchlight's activity in eastern Europe begins to develop. 

Winter trips into eastern Europe were often full of interesting adventures

1992 After a conference on evangelism and discipleship held by the Searchlight team in a mining camp in the mountains of Romania, a Romanian edition of "Light for Life"-- Luminã pentru Viaþã--begins. It is reaching Romania and parts of Moldova.

1992  Światło Życia, the Polish edition of "Light for Life," starts the same year. It has just completed its 13th year of publication. With the translation skills and oversight of Paweł and Jan Cieślar, twin brothers who are both pastors in Poland, and their families, Searchlight has also published several Christian books in the Polish language.

1992-95 In addition to the literature, Searchlight is involved in several relief projects in eastern Europe, especially in Romania. Mike Barton visits that country seven times in one year during this period. In this way, the work begins to spread across Europe. This has included teaching conferences, ministering in local churches, working with church leaders, and training workers.

Mike Barton assists in the first public baptism
held in this Romanian village in 40 years

1999 Searchlight Publications publishes its first book: A Guide to True Peace, a reprint of a devotional classic based on the writings of Miguel de Molinos, Madame Jeanne Guyon, and Francois Fenelon.

2000 Following a trip to Cuba by Mike Barton and Bruce Garrison, a Spanish edition of "Light for Life"--Luz para la vida-- is started. It is reaching into Argentina and other Spanish-speaking countries. We continue to pray for God to open new doors into other countries in his time and his way.

2001 The Garrison family visit fellowships and friends in the Netherlands, France, Romania, and Czech Republic. Out of the visit, two new translations of "Light for Life" begin:
    • The Hungarian edition--Az Élet Világossága--is reaching Hungary and parts of Romania.
    • Lumière de Vie, the French translation, is being sent to several countries in Europe, 13 countries in Africa, and the islands of French Polynesia and New Caledonia.

2004 Searchlight Publications publishes the children's missionary classic, The Obstinate Horse and other stories from the China Inland Mission.

Searchlight continues to distribute the English edition of "Light for Life" throughout the United Kingdom and to other English-speaking readers in Europe and around the world. Possibilities for new European language translations are also always being explored.

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