Dear Friends,
Please intercede with us this week for Nikola Galevski in North Macedonia.
One of 11 Balkan states, North Macedonia gained independence in 1991 following the dissolution of Yugoslavia. The republic comprises the northern third of the larger region known as Macedonia, parts of which also lie in Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, and Kosovo. According to 2011 data, approximately 71% of North Macedonia’s 2 million residents are Christian (predominantly Eastern Orthodox) and 29% are Muslim. The country’s ethnic composition (64% South Slavic, 25% Albanian, 4% Turkish, 3% Romani, 2% Serbian, 1% Vlach) reflect its rich and complex history, including 500 years of Ottoman rule.
Nikola is Senior Pastor of Evangelical Church Soulcraft (Skopje, North Macedonia), National Director of the Global Leadership Summit, and Coordinator of the Macedonian Evangelical Protestant Churches in North Macedonia. He also teaches New Testament, Bible Interpretation, and Urban Mission and Ministry at the Evangelical Theological Institute Kumanovo, the only theological school in North Macedonia.
When Nikola served previously with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), ScholarLeaders sponsored his Master of Christian Studies in New Testament at Regent College (Vancouver, Canada). Earlier this year, Nikola lost his wife, Anet-Marija, to cancer. They have a teenage daughter, Giselle-Maria.
Nikola shares the following message:
My name is Nikola Galevski, pastor, theology lecturer, evangelist, and coordinator of the Macedonian Evangelical Protestant churches in North Macedonia.
Family
The last two years have been the toughest in our lives as a family. On February 9, my beloved wife Anet-Marija Mancheva Galevska died after a year of battling cancer. Fighting for Anet’s life amid the COVID chaos was painful and exhausting on so many levels.
It is now the two of us, our daughter Giselle-Maria Galevska and myself. It is only by the love and strength of God, and the support of our global Christian family, that we have been able not only to stand, but also to continue our work in advancing the Kingdom of God and the Gospel of Christ in North Macedonia, Eastern Europe, and beyond.
Giselle, who is 16, started a Bible study group for her non-believing high school friends only three months after her mother died. I am proud of her commitment and concern for their salvation even during a time when I would not have expected anything but mourning for her mother. She is a high school student who is very public about her faith, not wasting a single opportunity to share her faith.
North Macedonia
The situation in North Macedonia is full of challenges. Youngsters, sick and tired of corruption, are trying to leave the country, with those who are older feeling stuck in a country that offers very little optimism. Evangelical Christians are only 0.02% of the population.
Ministries
My contribution is in several different areas. First, it is through the Evangelical Church Soulcraft, the church that my wife and I planted 15 years ago, right after our studies at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada. The mission of our church is to change the salvation picture of Skopje (the capital of North Macedonia), North Macedonia, and the Balkans by inviting people to start and cultivate their relationship with Jesus Christ.
In the last year, despite my wife’s battle with cancer and despite COVID, we have been able to witness to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people by giving away Christian literature and through my online sermons.
The Global Leadership Summit is another area of Gospel contribution. We started with only 50-60 people in 2013 to reach 700+ people right before the pandemic.
Research and Teaching
I am delighted to have initiated the very first joint missional research effort in Skopje, North Macedonia. After concluding that the Macedonian church leadership is far more action- than contemplation-oriented, we decided to create a Christian think tank to offer in-depth cultural and missiological analysis using Tim Keller’s Center Church as a guide. I am convinced that this is the most important project that we have ever undertaken. It will help all of us in advancing the Kingdom in unprecedented ways and with unprecedented understanding.
For several years now, I’ve been teaching New Testament and Bible Interpretation at the Evangelical Theological Institute Kumanovo, the first and only theological institute in our country. In addition, I’ve been asked to teach in the area of Urban Mission and Ministry.
Currently, I am working on the very first Macedonian Introduction to the New Testament, which will be published in 2022. I am also working on several books and booklets on evangelism and discipleship.
A big part of my research focus has been in the area of cultural and missiological analysis, something that I am planning to pursue and write as a PhD thesis next year. My hope is that this research could be my contribution to North Macedonia and the Balkans in reaching a new generation for Christ and helping them develop as committed, mission-minded followers of Christ.
Prayer Requests
Your prayers would be more than appreciated for:
1. Soulcraft Church in Skopje, North Macedonia to secure an adequate space conducive to the growth we are experiencing.
2. The Christian think tank to produce strategic cultural and missiological analysis that will help us reach North Macedonia in unprecedented ways.
3. The outreach we would like to intensify, to reach as many as we can in North Macedonia for Christ.
Nikola Galevski