Is your church irresistible? Maybe that's not the word you would use to describe it. But do you think it should be? Pastor Iulian Vasile of Romania thinks so.
" We believe that the local church should be irresistible .
We believe that people should wake up on Sunday morning…
and actually want to go to church. Imagine that." – Pastor Iulian
Just a few weeks ago I had the privilege to meet with Pastor Iulian and hear his heart for spreading the gospel and growing the kingdom of God through his church in Romania. I never would have had the opportunity to do this if my team didn't have a special assignment for this month. While my teammates and I were still in Moldova we found out that October was going to be Unsung Heroes month for us. Normally on the World Race, each team is assigned to one ministry host in every country. This month, my team entered Romania without a host.
As the WR grows, more ministry contacts are needed- and not just anyone. Adventures in Missions really desires to be sending teams to ministries that are working hard to fulfill the Great Commission and really need help. This trip is not and should never be about full-time missionaries being burdened with the chore of keeping a team occupied with busy work for a month. Our heart is to be putting teams in places where the need is great and the harvest plentiful. That's what the Unsung Heroes project is about. This month my team was give the task of traveling to different areas of Romania to connect with and interview potential future contacts. We get to hear their stories, be a part of their work for a couple days, and pray with them.
A conversation over the phone can only tell you so much. That's why my teammates and I were excited for the opportunity to meet with Pastor Iulian. We were able to connect with him face-to-face and hear what God is doing in his community. Iulian is a passionate visionary with lots of fresh ideas about the local church. In our meeting he told us that he doesn't even call their meeting place the church- he sees the people as the church and the building as a Christian community center. The center is open several days a week for a whole host of programs, from typical things like worship and prayer meetings to more unique like sport events and instrument lessons.
Pastor Iuiian and his congregation believe that God gave us our purpose in the very beginning when He said "Let us make man in our image…" (Genesis 1:26) God wants to make a masterpiece- each of us in His glorious image. Though we do bear His image, we obviously fall short of reflecting the Lord in many ways. That's what Iulian's church exists for. He calls it a factory for producing people who look like Jesus.
They recognize that no one can (or should even try to) drag someone to God and force them to change or adopt a set of beliefs. So Iulian's goal is to simply create the best environments possible to allow the Holy Spirit to work. They have programs for all ages and seasons of life, with special focus on what the pressing needs of the community are.
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Please pray for Iulian and his church! They need the Lord to provide strength, resources, and continued vision. He is faithful to do it.
