One of the major priorities of BIG-Impact is forming and equipping tomorrow’s generation of leaders from the evangelical churches in Romania. Following is a short update of the Youth Network, offered by it’s coordinator, Cristi Petricioiu.
“On a personal note, God has taught me in these months a few things that are becoming important in my ministry. One of them is about God’s will and God’s work that we are called to. For example, if his will is about our sanctification, obedience or prayer, then his work for us is the same as it was for Jesus: to make disciples who, in turn, would make disciples (see Matthew 28, or John 17). The second important thing is that not every believer is necessarily a disciple. The disciple is the believer who listens to Jesus, follows his steps and lives the way he lived; Jesus was dependent on his Father, who enabled him to reach those who were redeemed! In the light of these teachings, the youth ministry is aiming toward teaching the young generation to love the Lord and, in obedience to him, to make disciples who will love their Lord and Savior and make him known.”
The youth ministry on the BIG-Impact platform is beginning to take shape. During the BIG 5.4 conference in Sovata, 22 youth leaders met and discussed ways of connecting and working together. They also talked about the philosophy for ministry and their future plans.
In September our network was joined by Bill and Bobbie Trenckmann, who came alongside the Romanian team and who will contribute directly to the development of this network in Romania. We are truly grateful to God for this added value!
September 23-29, in Malenovice, Czech Republic, the annual Josiah Venture Youth Conference took place, with 180 participants from 11 European countries. Romania was represented by 12 people involved in youth ministry.
The highlight of this conference was it’s disciple-making theme which comes from I John 2:6: “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”
According to the personal experience and level of involvement in the youth ministry, the participants were divided into three groups, each having different study modules – from learning how to be a disciple of Christ, to making disciples for Christ, to laying the foundation for a movement of disciple making!
The main topic, the relational time and the pleasant atmosphere turned this conference into a very appreciated one, by all the participants. Here is the insight of Andreea, one of the Romanian attendees:
This fall conference touched me in a positive way, both through the rich and useful content and through the pleasant atmosphere I was in. This was the first international conference I attended, with lots of young people from Europe and US, I had a feeling of uncertainty in the beginning, thinking if I would be able to make friends. But all my questions and uncertainty vanished in the first day. The evenings spent with my team, discussing, sharing and praying together made me feel as in a family. Our leaders were joyfully helping us understand and learn new things, and I felt very blessed there, as we were gathered together, each of us speaking different languages, but sharing the same Father – what a joy to be part of his family!
As a conclusion, we believe God is drafting what we hope will be a major ministry, using the Youth Network for this purpose. We are thankful he sends people we need, offers us training opportunities, renews our passion and vision and we believe he will give us the resources needed to do this ministry. Please join us in prayer, so that everything we do will bear his mark, the mark we want to see imprinted all over the youth ministry.
This is so exciting. I am filled with such joy to hear about this Youth Network. God bless you all i will be praying.