The re-launch of the BIG youth ministry is one of our major goals. Cristi Petricioiu, the coordinator of this efforts, gives us an update of how this process unfolds:
The BIG youth ministry begins to take shape. Since the beginning of 2011, a ministry team dedicated a few hours weekly to meet on Skype, working toward drafting the philosophy for ministry, the overall strategy and understanding the needs of the youth ministry in Romania. This team was joined recently by Bill and Bobbie Trenckmann, missionaries working with Josiah Venture, our partner organization, who came to Romania to help energize the youth network.
Also, in Brasov, taking advantage of the curriculum development team meeting on March 16-18, the youth ministry team met and worked on the work calendar for short term. Following these meetings on Skype and in Brasov, I visited, with the Trenckmanns, two regions in eastern Romania: Braila/Galati/Tulcea, and Medgidia/Constanta. In each of these regions we met with the youth leaders from the evangelical churches, and attended local youth meetings.
The meeting in Braila was attended by around 25 youth leaders from Braila, Galati and Tulcea. Marius Mezin and Metanoia Church were our hosts. The discussion focused on getting to know and understanding the local youth ministries, the ways we intend to collaborate among these ministries and, also, on understanding the needs of the local churches youth workers. We also had a teaching time with Bill and Bobbie, who talked about the way youth learn.
The Medgidia meeting had almost the same format, being attended by 28 youth workers from Cernavoda, Navodari, Medgidia and Constanta. Flaviu Coman and Betleem Church were our hosts.
The calendar we drafted in Brasov includes, for the next two months, visits in: Timisoara/Arad/Deva, Craiova/Slatina, Pitesti/Targoviste, Alba Iulia/Cluj, Bucuresti and Iasi. Details about these meetings will be announced at the right time.
Also, on April 4-6, the national consultation team (an extended team of people interested in the development of the BIG youth network) will meet in Curtea de Arges, with the goal of finishing the work on the overall strategy, and the calendar for 2011.
We are praying that God will bless our efforts and we will be able to effectively serve the youth and the youth workers who share the same values with us. We are thankful to God for each team member and for the extremely welcomed assistance offered by the Trenckmanns.
