The Lord has paved the way for us to share the loving gospel of Jesus Christ with a small gypsy village in the Romanian countryside separated from the rest of "civilized" society. We have been given the opportunity to completely facilitate their Sunday church service. When we arrived in Oradea, the two men that were pastoring the church had recently moved on to new ministry opportunities and there was a real lack of leadership in the church.
And that's where we came in...
As we began to go to the church we began to notice that the church was heavily based in Romanian church culture. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it could easily be considered overly religious. Our heart for the people there is to break through the chains of religion and replace it with Biblical teaching, true fellowship, intimacy in prayer and worship.
There are 4 groups of people we desire to reach within the village:
The Children (babies to about 12 yrs old): The children make up the majority of the population of the village and the people who attend church. They are definitely the most interested and the most impressionable but are very wounded and bitter which causes them to be unruly and to have very short fuses which usually result in violence. We have started to teach them short Bible stories and are incorporating prayer into each lesson we teach. As we began to incorporate prayer we were excited to see how hungry they were to actually pray. Please pray that the Lord would restore the purity and youthfulness to the children as well as continuing to open their hearts to receiving Him. Also that they would break free from generational life style patterns and behaviours.
Teenage Boys and Girls: We know that they are in the village but it has been difficult to draw them out. Our hope is to be able to do weekday Bible studies with them separating them into girls groups and boy groups. Please pray that the Lord would draw them out and place a hunger in their hearts for Him.
The Women: They are and will be the backbone of the church and are crucial to the village accepting all that the Lord has for them. There are 7 faithful women who attend church each week and who are truly hungry for the Lord and what He has for them. They love to pray and worship and when they sing it sounds like a well-rehearsed choir. Please pray that the Lord would give them strength to be the light in such a dark place and to not lose heart at what the Lord is doing within the village.
The Men: They are the most influential people in the village and basically control all that happens there. Unfortunately they are the most against the Lord and what He stands for. There are only 1-2 men who will even come to church and the rest choose not to attend because they know the life they are living is against who God is. They are unwilling to forgo the lives they live. They live lives of alcoholism, theft, dishonesty, adultery, and abuse. Please pray that the Lord would break their hearts of stone and give them hearts of flesh because they are the ones who influence the village in the way that they live.
Matt has been given the opportunity to pastor the church by teaching the Bible at their Sunday church services and by praying with the women every week after church. Please pray that the Lord would give us great vision and fresh inspiration to do a new work within the village. We desire to do more outreach with them throughout the week as well as begin regular Bible studies coupled with prayer and worship meetings.
On a funny but sweet side note: the Jesus movement was started with people who came to church without shoes and shirts and who were considered dirty...we are hoping Jesus would move in Sabolciu with naked children and half clothed adults (since summer has officially started we always have a handful of completely naked children in church.)
Teenage Boys and Girls: We know that they are in the village but it has been difficult to draw them out. Our hope is to be able to do weekday Bible studies with them separating them into girls groups and boy groups. Please pray that the Lord would draw them out and place a hunger in their hearts for Him.
The Women: They are and will be the backbone of the church and are crucial to the village accepting all that the Lord has for them. There are 7 faithful women who attend church each week and who are truly hungry for the Lord and what He has for them. They love to pray and worship and when they sing it sounds like a well-rehearsed choir. Please pray that the Lord would give them strength to be the light in such a dark place and to not lose heart at what the Lord is doing within the village.
The Men: They are the most influential people in the village and basically control all that happens there. Unfortunately they are the most against the Lord and what He stands for. There are only 1-2 men who will even come to church and the rest choose not to attend because they know the life they are living is against who God is. They are unwilling to forgo the lives they live. They live lives of alcoholism, theft, dishonesty, adultery, and abuse. Please pray that the Lord would break their hearts of stone and give them hearts of flesh because they are the ones who influence the village in the way that they live.
Matt has been given the opportunity to pastor the church by teaching the Bible at their Sunday church services and by praying with the women every week after church. Please pray that the Lord would give us great vision and fresh inspiration to do a new work within the village. We desire to do more outreach with them throughout the week as well as begin regular Bible studies coupled with prayer and worship meetings.
On a funny but sweet side note: the Jesus movement was started with people who came to church without shoes and shirts and who were considered dirty...we are hoping Jesus would move in Sabolciu with naked children and half clothed adults (since summer has officially started we always have a handful of completely naked children in church.)
They are truly coming to Christ just as they are.
No comments:
Post a Comment