Ministering Around the World

Ministering in Romania

I had received a number of prophecies that God would send me around the world to preach the gospel, with power, signs and wonders. These prophecies have begun to be fulfilled in the last 8 years.

In 1992 at the age of 26 I gave my computer business over to others and flew to Seoul, Korea where I stayed for around 4 weeks with a friend I had gotten to know while he was in Australia. I was blessed to visit Yoido Full Gospel church and see what God can do. This church had around 750,000 members at the time. From what I know it still has around that many members but many new ministries and churches have come out of that church since then. I got to preach in a high school and some churches where God used me I believe to lead quite a few to Himself. I also visited prayer mountain and spent a few days fasting and a few more praying without fasting. It was a time when I had almost no responsibilities at all except to pray.

After that I flew into Austria, where I met some leaders of a mission there. I went with a Baptist pastor by train from Vienna to Romania. My plan was actually to find a way to visit Russia and minister there, since so much was happening there after the fall of communism. However, this was not God's plan, and I ended up staying in Romania for about 6 months during which time I got my first taste of open-air mass evangelism with signs and wonders following.

Romania at that time was still quite spiritually hungry and people were willing to listen to street preachers. I preached in churches at first but soon could see that the leadership was very traditional and not geared up for growth at all. After a couple of weeks pastors sent me out to their village churches. We saw many healings in those places as I laid hands on the sick and commanded their bones to move into place, and their internal organs to be made new. This was an encouragement and led us into even bolder forms of ministry.

Romania is a traditionally "Orthodox" country and certain aspects of "Orthodox" thinking had penetrated into evangelical and pentecostal circles also. One of these is the kind of "fortress mentality" where leaders are more conerned about preserving what they have than in reaching out into new areas and winning others to Christ. Sometimes the evangelistic efforts of foreigners were not so appreciated by evangelical church leaders. I was quite appreciated by a few pastors but not by all.

At the same the "Orthodox" church leaders who saw multitudes coming to hear the Word of God for the first time were not at all encouraged by this. In "Orthodox" thinking, only their priests have anything truly worthwhile to give, since they have been authorised by their church to administer the seven sacraments without which, in "Orthodox" thinking, salvation is impossible. Only the priest can trasmit the "grace" necessary for salvation. Those who preach salvation through faith in Christ alone are viewed as heretics, "sectanti" and sheep-stealers who are a threat to the unity of the Romanian nation. Pentecostals and charismatics were portrayed by the leaders of the "Orthodox" church as being in the same category as Mormons, Jehovah's witnesses and other weird cults. The Orthodox church had and continues to have powerful connections in the media and in the Romanian culture generally, and used their influence to poison the minds of the people against evangelical Christians of any sort. A lot could be said on this subject. Looking upon these priests as they go about with long black robes and long beards, one cannot help but think of the Pharisees of Jesus' day. They were the orthodox priests of their time,  and Jesus condemned them, since they not only refused to enter the kingdom of God themselves, but also hindered others from doing so.

No one who believes Orthodox doctrine has any assurance of salvation. "Only God knows" if he is saved. The main concern of Orthodox leaders were that people remained faithful to their churches, even if "in name only". No more than 4% of the population of Romania can be found in an Orthodox church on Sunday, yet the church boasts that 88% of the population is Orthodox, and constantly seeks to promote laws designed to make other churches illegal. This they have already basically achieved in Russia and they would like to do it in Romania also.

After the revolution in Romania, there were enormous opportunities for the Kingdom of God, many of which were lost. Neo-protestant churches lost a huge opportunity to impact the nation of Romania in a lasting way. Foreigners who sought to co-operate with existing church leaders got their fingers burned again and again, and a lot of the aid that was sent to Romania was commercialised on the black market. Nevertheless, many people did find Christ and hundreds of new churches were planted both within traditional denominations and also by new groups which had not been present in the country until after the revolution in December 1989. So we can praise God for that. I thank God that I had the opportunity to be in Romania at least from 1992 onwards.

I entered Romania quite oblivious to the business opportunities that were present at that time. My passion was to preach Christ. I began to preach Christ on the streets of Bucharest, Sibiu and in other places. I declared that Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday today and forever. Laying hands on the many who came to hear me preach and sing on the streets, we witnessed the power of God heal people of all kinds of conditions. These ranged from headaches and back-aches to deaf ears opening and major improvements in eyesight. Paralysed people and those with broken legs were instantly healed on occasions. It was a time of joy for me and the fulfilment of a vision to do the works of Jesus just as Christ did - out in open places where the people are.

God gave me various translators to work with, and we preached in all kinds of unconventional places. I particularly enjoyed preaching in the main railway station in Bucharest "Gara de Nord". In this place I led many in prayers to receive Christ and laid hands on many sick with apparently good results. We preached in the city centre, in open-air markets, in subway stations, and in parks. More people testified to receiving Christ and relief from pain than I can accurately number. It showed me the importance of being ready to declare Christ and expect his power to work where God opens an effective door in a place full of spiritually hungry people.

The Need for Churches

I returned to Australia in September 1992. What became obvious after my first experience in Romania was the need for new churches to contain the new wine that God was pouring out. Without teaching, people would lose their way very quickly and return to the world after a brief consultation with their local "Orthodox" priest on the amazing experiences they had. While back in Australia, the Lord put on my heart to plant a church in Bucharest. If I had known what this was to entail I am not sure that I would have begun. However, many times the Lord does not reveal to us what lies ahead, but instead puts a burning desire in us, and a conviction concerning things not yet seen, which He would desire to do through us in the future. This was the case with the church in Bucharest.

In 1993 I returned to Romania. All the translators I knew had gotten involved with other things - aid ministries, music and heretical groups such as the "Children of God" which was very active in Bucharest in the first 5 years after the revolution. I ended up contacting an English friend with whom I had preached in 1992. He had believed for and gotten a large Volvo F12 truck which he used for ministry and distribution of aid ("helps"). He got me in touch with some Christians in Brasov. I worked with these believers for several months doing street evangelism and teaching and encouraging them. In June 1993 I launched out with a translator and came to Bucharest. Within a day we had found an apartment in a poorer area of town and we began preaching in Bucharest in the market there (Piata Rahova). We typically began our meetings by me singing with the guitar and then boldly preaching the word of God through a translator. Scores of people gathered to listen, and every day many prayed to receive Christ. Also, the people would push to get close and get minstry for healing, since God was doing so much. We would then invite people to a nearby apartment where we sought to form cell groups. Within a few weeks we also hired a hall in the centre of the city and began to have Sunday meetings, which quickly grew. Outstanding miracles such as the disappearance of tumours took place in those meetings. People claimed visions of Christ and many prayed to receive Christ and receive healing.

It was through those meetings that my wife met me. She wanted to serve the Lord and we really needed female co-workers because of the large number of women and girls who were praying to receive Christ. Marilena is a precious gift from God to me and did much to help me in those days. She is gifted in many ways and adds a lot to our work together. I really thank God that he provided her to me as a wife. We married on  September 24, 1994. This in itself was a fulfilment of a prophetic word Marilena received though the Bible. "On the 24th day of the 9th month of the second year I will give you my blessing" - see the last chapter of the book of Haggai.

We organised a number of house groups and this became the central strategy for growth and leadership development in the church. However, we also had lots of opposition and many people left after we were forced to move from hall to hall against our will. I also made the mistake of promoting people to leadership roles too quickly. Many a church planter in Romania made that mistake. Romanian people were generally eager to receive salvation but needed much edification an

Get your free registration and log in to view entire article