Give Us Your Eyes...

Andrew visiting with Panas, a woman in a nursing home in Satu Mare.

On April 28 - May 1, 2011, myself (Andrew) and three other leaders from the church had an opportunity to take a trip together to a different city to be at a gathering of missional churches - churches that are not cast in the mold of traditional churches at all.

So we left from Drobeta Turnu-Severin on April 28th and drove to Timisoara where we stayed the night. The next morning at 3:30 we got up and left for the rest of our journey which would take us through Arad, Oradea, (and a myriad of small villages) and finally to Satu Mare, our destination - about 570km total (about 10 hours' drive!)

Beginning Friday the 29th until Sunday May 1st at about lunch time, the people and churches that had gathered from many different parts of Romania shared their experiences, asked questions,learned and interacted with each another, with the goal of understanding more what missional churches are and how they function. Some were there to share how they function as a missional church, and others were there to try hear more, and try to see if that is the direction God may be leading them.

The overall goal was sharing about and understanding more about what missional churches are and how they function. The missional church movement here in Romania is mostly made up of groups of people who meet in their houses once or more per week, similar to small study groups, except these are considered churches. In a given city or area, any number of these "house churches" meet together in a larger group setting, once a month or more, whatever the groups decide together should be the case. These types of churches are very interactional within themselves and with each other - and they are a phenomenal way to reach many unbelievers that people come in contact with on a daily basis (work, school, neighborhood, etc.), people who may not be interested in church in the traditional sense, but may be open to a gathering of friends and saints in a house setting (a house church). Based on the testimonies and stories shared at the gathering, this way of missional church - of living church daily in our every day way of life and touching the lives of those we come in contact - has opened many doors, and changed many lives.

At one point we broke into three large groups and went to visit three different places: a retirement home, an orphanage, and a psychiatric hospital. I was able to go to the retirement home, and it was very moving to see how happy and thankful the people were, just to have someone to listen to them for a few minutes. We also had a singer with us - Cristian Cazacu - who sang a few songs for them, to their great enjoyment. I think we stayed there a good hour or so, and during that time I got to visit at length with a woman who had just had her 86th birthday the day before, believes in God, but is tired of "religion". It was a great opportunity, we had a very nice talk, and just before we left she let me pray for her. It was a profound experience, and if you would like to pray for this woman, that God would touch her and turn her heart to him, her name is Panas. (She is the elderly woman in the picture with me at the top of this blog entry).

I have to say that this is an exciting time in Romania, and in the church around the world. As many of you already know, the missional church movement is not something that new, and did not originate in Romania. It is something that has been growing and building for some time, and one of the ways we believe God is using his people and working through them as time for the world grows short.

We learned a lot over that weekend (at least I did), and got to spend a lot of time visiting with and getting to know others who think in this same way. We were also blessed to stay with a family who has one of these churches in their house, and it was great to get to know them a little as well. Definitely my favorite part of the weekend, how I was blessed the most, was the time I got to spend meeting new people and in fellowship with others. There always seems to be that nearly instant bond with others that love the Lord that makes talking and getting to know one another so much easier.

And, praise the Lord, Sunday at lunchtime we headed home, and 10 hours and 570km later we arrived safe and sound back with our families in Drobeta Turnu-Severin.
Thank you Lord for keeping us safe, and helping us understand more of how you are working in our lives and the lives of those around us. Give us your eyes to see others the way you see them...Amen!
Andrew & Geta and family