Raising Hope for Romania

Raising Hope for Romania is an effort of the Godley church of Christ, working together with other congregations of the Lord's people, and individual Christians, to raise funds so that the Gospel of Christ can be more widely preached in Iasi, Romania. Several years ago my family, along with two others (the Hollands and the Welches), established a small church in Iasi, Romania. While some of our mor

e mature converts in Iasi left the country seeking employment, others proved less than sincere, but three have remained steadfast and strong as they continue to meet together each Lord’s Day, rotating between having worship in each of their very small apartments. These men (all in their early 40’s), have been without an American missionary presence for about 10 years now. They have proven themselves worthy of our assistance, remaining strong under difficult circumstances. By assistance, I don’t mean giving them money, but helping them evangelize. Though their earnings in a month is about as much as we make in two days, they never ask us for money for themselves, but they do ask for us to help them reach lost souls with the Gospel. In March of this year I made a trip to Iasi, as well as to Cluj, Romania. I spent several hours with all three men discussing the work there. Here are some mutual conclusions that we have drawn and the first steps we would like to take with your help:

(1) Rent a small space for worship. The men are not having any success inviting others to join them in their apartments for worship. This is no exaggeration… their apartments are around 7’ x 13’. Perhaps you can understand the credibility problem with inviting others into a situation like that, especially when religion in that country idolizes ornate buildings. (2) Print a flyer advertising Bible study materials. They have around 2 1/2 lockers full of books, courses, and tracts that we translated and printed while we lived there. They actually showed me a flyer they had made without any prompting on our part. It was very crude because of their lack of ability in that area, and using a very dated computer and printer. We are just about to print that flyer. If it is well received, we will plan to print more. (3) Begin running Facebook campaigns to get our message regularly in front of thousands. These Facebook campaigns will target the city of Iasi and will show up in the resident’s Facebook “Newsfeed.” I did something similar to this a few weeks ago in Cluj where I preached a Gospel meeting. Around 6000 people saw the advertisement for the cost of $40. We can write articles, offer free Bible correspondence courses, and invite people to services (after we secure a meeting place). We would like to run such campaigns each month so that thousands of people repeatedly see the message of Christ and are offered opportunities for Bible study and worship. (4) Start having one or two Gospel Meetings (or other similar events) in Iasi each year. This would be a highly advertised event. Before the meeting in Cluj, around 3000 flyers were handed out, posters were put up around town, advertisements were placed in two newspapers, and we advertised through Facebook, as well as by word of mouth. One of the reasons I agreed to preach this meeting was so that I could get a first-hand look at such an event. We did have around nine visitors at the meeting, and I’m hopeful we learned things to help us be more effective in reaching a greater number of people next time. Will you pray about having fellowship with us in this work? The small congregation in Godley where I preach has generously positioned itself behind the work agreeing to pay for my travel up to two times per year (a cost of around $4000 per year). Here is our budget for the work in Iasi, Romania:
Renting a small meeting place - $400/m
Printing materials - $150/m
Heating the building - $40/m (The three men have agreed to pay the light bill and for the water.) Facebook campaigns - $120/m (or, $40 for one)
Website - $50 (we just created a website and have begun archiving Bible lessons in Romanian for Iasi and the Lord’s church throughout the country, as well as for outreach)
Gospel Meetings and other evangelistic efforts - $150/m

My goal during this phase of the work is to raise around $500/m of support. Paul Holland is also seeking to do the same (plus raise money for his travel expenses). We would like to have all of the funds in place in the next couple months so we can start renting a small space in September. Your prayers and your financial help would be greatly appreciated. Please consider helping us with just $25 a month. If you are able to contribute to this work, funds may be sent to the Godley Church of Christ, P.O. Please earmark the check: Romania Mission Fund. Please contact me any time if you questions. May God continue to bless our work for Him, and the building up of the body of His Son.