From the January-April 2012 Issue
OUR MEN IN ROMANIA
Keith Noldt
Women´s outreach in Luna de SusOccasionally we hear of ministers who think they can only
prepare and preach one good sermon each week. Such is not
the case with our EMF missionaries in Romania. They are men
with many demands on their time and many opportunities
each week to preach the Word of God. My wife and I recently
made another visit to these brothers whom we esteem highly
in the Lord.
The three couples are Hungarians, living in Transylvania where Hungarians have lived for centuries, and the men are pastors in the Convention of Hungarian Baptist Churches of Romania. There are approximately 240 churches in this Convention, in four district associations, with approximately 60 ministers. Do the maths – each minister has many responsibilities.
Come with us on a brief, but busy, visit to them. But be warned: be prepared to be out every night!
István and Marta Borzási
István is the pastor of a large church at Pericei and also a smaller church at Varsolt. He is also a Vice-president of the Convention, a lecturer at the Hungarian Baptist Seminary in Oradea and a visiting lecturer at the Romanian Emmanuel University also at Oradea, 100 km away. Numerous other responsibilities mean he is constantly travelling and preaching.
Pál and Anna Borzási
Pál is pastor of the church at Luna de Sus and also at Mera, many kilometres away. He lectures at the seminary in Oradea, a 140 km journey, and also is the President of the Cluj District Association – they call them ‘Mission Districts’. Anna has a leadership role for Sunday Schools in the Association.
Sándor and Napsugár Kelemen
Sándor – I think he speaks English with a Welsh accent, courtesy of London Theological Seminary – is the pastor of the church in the city of Targu Mures. This church has gone through difficult times in the past but presses on with faithful older members. Sándor’s preaching attracts university students, who are a delight to any preacher, but alas, on graduation many must move away. There are two services on Sundays and week-night meetings as well. In addition he has three other smaller churches up to 35–40 km away. Each one has a Sunday service and a week-night meeting. Sándor is helped by some gifted men in the church, but he has the main responsibility for preaching 3 to 4 times every Sunday, plus meetings most nights.
These three men preach at least three times every Sunday, with much travelling and frequent meetings. How can we help? By praying! Pray for:
•Their sermon preparation time. They are godly men, but much preaching means they need to be continually refreshed from the Bible.
• Their safety as they travel over long distances, often on poor quality roads.
• Their families – like most ministers’ families they are longsuffering, so let us faithfully pray for them.
• Their churches. Some smaller village churches are unable to support their own pastor, which is the reason they are clustered around a larger church with a pastor.
• The advance of the gospel. There are other opportunities beyond the existing churches – even among Gypsies.
• The university students at Targu Mures – that the Lord will direct their steps and make them a blessing to other churches wherever they go.