Dear Friends,
Thank you for praying with us for Dr. Gelu Paul Faina in Romania.
Home to over 19 million people, the southeastern European nation of Romania is known for its medieval towns and castles, Transylvanian forests, and Carpathian Mountains. Modern Romania formed in 1859 and gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877. The country fell under Soviet occupation after WWII until the 1989 Revolution. Today, Romania is a democracy with a developing market economy. Approximately 81% of Romanians are Eastern Orthodox, while 5% are Catholic and 6% Protestant.
Gelu earned his PhD in Educational Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (USA). A pastor, theologian, and teacher, Gelu currently ministers at Missio Dei Baptist Church in Timişoara, Romania. He also co-founded and serves as President and Strategic Coordinator of BIG Impact, a network of church-based training centers preparing Christian leaders throughout Romania. In addition, Gelu founded Estera Foundation, a crisis pregnancy center, where his wife Lidija also serves.
Gelu shares the following message:
The pandemic finds us serving the Missio Dei Baptist Church in Timişoara, and translating and printing an excellent book by Bill Hoyt, Effective by the Numbers. This will be the second handbook for the organizational management course taught in BIG Impact’s advanced training seminars.
Like most churches in Romania and beyond, our church has been holding Sunday church services on Zoom and YouTube, but we are slowly attempting to get out of Internet mode. We are trying to move out of a state of emergency into a transitional state of alertness. We are getting tired of meeting online at home for church, and we pray and hope for face-to-face interactions with the world and with our friends.
Estera Foundation, our crisis pregnancy center, works hard to address the needs of women caught in crisis pregnancies. We hope for a swift return to normal.
My prayer requests are for:
1) Protection from the coronavirus.
2) Efficiency and effectiveness in church ministry.
3) Opportunities to serve our neighbors during the pandemic.
Blessings!
Gelu Paul