In Acts 16:9, the Apostle Paul has a vision where a Macedonian begged him to come and share the Gospel. Paul obeyed, yet over the past 2,000 years the believing community has dwindled away in this part of the world.
Today most Macedonians consider themselves Orthodox Christians though many claim this in name only and not beliefs. Many view joining another church as unpatriotic and on par with being a traitor to their homeland. These same people would refer to Protestant churches as “cults.” Converts to Christianity often face persecution and marginalization. A large group of Muslims also reside in Macedonia. Many are Albanian as well as Turks and Gypsies (Roma). This is where Steve Rudd and YWAM (Youth with a Mission) come in.
Steve is a base leader for YWAM Macedonia. He has a smaller base – he and his wife are the only people who work there. I had the opportunity to talk with him about his ministry and the prospect of potentially hosting a future World Race team. (Unfortunately, this conversation took place over Skype, and I have yet to visit Macedonia at this time.) Their ministry focuses on the Muslim Albanians who have immigrated to Macedonia. He takes a sensitive approach with the community since many are strong in their Islamic faith and trains teams to do the same. They are always looking to take more teams, but not those who are looking for “easy evangelism.” He cares about equipping teams and introduces them to his strategies. He also likes to utilize the team members’ gifts incorporating them into all different avenues including sports outreaches, bar ministries, and community outreach programs. Networking with other ministries throughout Macedonia creates more opportunities for ministry.
Here is what Steve had to say about several of his biggest projects:
Summer Camps
"Every summer we offer a camp called Challenge for Change. During this one week camp participants are challenged in many areas of their life regarding knowing God in a more personal, intimate way; making God known to others; and being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. Challenge for Change has a bilingual component (Macedonian & English) that makes it available to all English speaking foreigners. This camp is a prerequisite for going on a Short-term Outreach."
Short-term Outreaches
"We want to see Christians mobilized into missions, and Short-term Outreaches are a great starting point. Our first Short-term Outreach was to the Olympics in Athens in the summer of 2004. Every summer we plan to give people the opportunity to join the first two weeks of our DTS outreach. (Prerequisite: Challenge for Change summer camp)"
Discipleship Training School (DTS)
"The DTS is a 5-6 month program that is designed to ruin you for the ordinary. Our DTS in Macedonia offers a bilingual school in both Macedonian and English and is made up of 2 parts:
"Lecture Phase: Students of the DTS are challenged to the fullest in their relationship with God as they hear teachings on Hearing God’s Voice, Intercessory Prayer, Relationships, Destiny, Father Heart of God, Spiritual Warfare, Evangelism, Missions, and much more. In the DTS, every activity contributes to create a learning environment and learning becomes a lifestyle.
"Outreach Phase: This is the time when students go out in teams and put everything into practice in a cross-cultural ministry setting. Ministering to Muslim Gypsies and Muslim Albanians are some nearby outreach opportunities, but the world is the limit.
"Our DTS has another special dynamic. The DTS is being held in a city where there is no local church and most of the population of the city is Muslim Albanian. One of our main goals is to help Christians to better understand Islam and to help Muslims to know Jesus."
Steve’s long term goals are to plant churches among the people and train up leaders in the community to go out and disciple more. Pray that this ministry continues to flourish and that more doors are opened for the Race in Macedonia.
