Prayer for Christianity in Romania
The younger generation is a poignant image of the brokenness of Romania. Yet young people, especially in urban areas, are the segment of the population most responsive to the gospel. There are several significant prayer needs:
a) Stories of the hundreds of thousands of orphansand abandoned children in the 1990s broke the hearts of many. While this is still a great need, churches and missions do an increasingly good job caring for these young people. Working among them are the Baptists, Samaritans Purse, SGA, WVI and many other expatriate and national agencies. EU policies helped limit the unscrupulous use of adoption as a means of profit for some, but these actions also make it difficult for those doing effective ministry with orphaned and at-risk children.
b) The relevance of Christianity to youth is a challenge - this is more an issue of church culture and tradition than openness. Churched youth are often dedicated and effective in ministry. Unfortunately, most church programmes are not attractive to unbelieving young people. Pray for effective programmes and pastors who are willing and able to mobilize the youth into ministry, an area of ministry surprisingly lacking until now.
c) Students and their discipleship. CCCI, OSCER/IFES, Romanian Missionary Society (RMS),YFC, CEF, and the SdA all actively work with children and young people. Christian camps (RMS, Life 2 Romania) are a very fruitful ministry.
Romanians as a mission force are a new and quickly expanding dynamic. At least ten indigenous sending agencies have emerged since 2000, and training programmes are multiplying. Members of Partners in Mission, most notably OC, were instrumental in shaping these changes. Romanians can easily access fields that Westerners cannot, and agencies are interested in Romanians serving with them. Limiting factors are the lack of financial support/sponsorship and the lagging missions vision in many churches. Pray for the removal of every barrier to the full flowering of an indigenous missions movement.
