Everyday Eurasia | Relu Cristurean

The Church of the Nazarene in Romania

A Brief History

Following the fall of communism in Romania in December 1989, members of the Church of the Nazarene in many parts of the world were prayerfully looking for opportunities to respond to the needs of Romanian Christians who had faced persecution just a few years earlier. In the autumn of 1991, leaders of the Romanian Evangelical Alliance participated in a Nazarene Compassionate Ministries conference in Germany. They were impressed with how the Church of the Nazarene balances the holiness message and compassionate ministries. As a result of this meeting, the Evangelical Alliance invited the Church of the Nazarene to join them in carrying out new initiatives in Romania.

In 1992, Nazarene missionaries Jon and Margaret Scott arrived to begin the work of the Church of the Nazarene in Romania. In that same year, the Evangelical Christian Organization for Aid and Development “Nazarineanul” (abbreviated as OCEAD Nazarineanul) was established with the help of the Evangelical Alliance. Throughout the 1990s, hundreds of Nazarenes – missionaries, volunteers, mission teams, and groups of university students – came to Romania to work alongside members from many Evangelical churches in Romania in a wide variety of ministries. In Bucharest, compassionate ministries focused on the isolated elderly at the geriatric hospital and the abandoned children in the orphanages. Nazarenes from the USA, UK, Germany, and the Netherlands began to send shipments of material aid that were distributed to individuals and institutions in different parts of the country still recovering from communism.

Alongside compassionate ministries, OCEAD Nazarineanul offered regular educational courses in theology, computers, and business through partnerships with universities in the USA, Germany, and Romania. These compassionate and educational ministries, alongside evangelistic and church-planting efforts, gave the Nazarene team many opportunities to share the Gospel in practical ways. This resulted in new believers being discipled, growing in their faith, and being equipped for ministry. The first Nazarene congregation in Romania was established in Bucharest in 1993 with Jon Scott as pastor.

Nazarene missionaries in Bucharest faced a challenge shared with missionaries from other denominations – providing quality English-language education for their own children. In 1993, Margaret Scott joined with other missionary families to establish a homeschooling co-op. What began in a single classroom hosted in the Nazarene ministry center has since grown into Bucharest Christian Academy, an accredited international Christian school in Bucharest for children in preschool through grade 12.

Beginning in January 1992, Eastern Nazarene College (ENC), located near Boston USA, sent several short-term groups of students to Romania. In the fall of 1993, the college established a program under the direction of Professor Dorothy Tarrant that gave students the opportunity to study in Romania for an entire semester while also volunteering in the compassionate ministries in Bucharest. In the summer of 1995, ENC’s program moved to Sighisoara where the Church of the Nazarene was preparing to launch a new ministry.

In Sighisoara, ENC students began compassionate ministries focused on poor street children, abandoned children at the orphanage, and the isolated elderly. The actions of the ENC students and the collaboration with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries led to the establishment of the Veritas Sighisoara Foundation in 2001, with Dorothy Tarrant as its first director. Professional Romanian staff – Christians from Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant churches – continued the work begun by ENC students. In the following years, Veritas began offering accredited social services for children, teenagers, special needs adults, and the elderly, along with a campaign against domestic violence. Additionally, through its educational services, community activities, and café in the historic citadel, Veritas expanded its presence and influence in the town as an ecumenical Christian organization. Since 2006, Veritas has been recognized as a Nazarene Child Development Center and maintains a partnership with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries.

As Veritas was forming, so was the Sighisoara Church of the Nazarene. The American students met each week for a Bible study that they invited their Romanian friends to attend. Young people were attracted to the church through the various youth activities like coffee house and ecology club. In time, the parents of several teenagers also began to attend the church services. Many of the elderly ministered to by the weekday Elderly Club also joined the church. Soon, an inter-generational congregation was being formed. Nazarene missionary Roberta Bustin served as pastor until Relu Cristurean became the church’s first Romanian pastor in 2012.

In the spring of 2002, a new Nazarene ministry began in Tigmandru, a village near Sighisoara with a mixed Romanian, Hungarian, and Roma population, many of whom were living in poverty. Roberta Bustin worked closely with Magda Cini, a member of the Sighisoara church who was originally from Tigmandru. In addition to establishing a local congregation, they sought to improve the quality of life in the village by intentionally ministering to the whole person. A child development center was established to care for the holistic needs of children. The church has offered instruction to the adults in the village on topics including literacy, health, nutrition, parenting, and other practical skills. The desire to provide vocational training in sewing and carpentry workshops resulted in the establishment of Ateliere Nazarineanului (Nazarene Workshops) in 2012. In 2013, Magda Cini officially became the church’s pastor.

In the fall of 2002, a group of Romanian church members from the Bucharest Central Church of the Nazarene planted a new church in a different section of the capital city. From the very beginning, the Blessing Church of the Nazarene has been led by Romanians. Cristian Boseff has pastored the church since 2005. After a few years, the remaining members of the Central Church joined the Blessing Church to form a single reunited church in Bucharest, spanning multiple generations. Over the years, the Blessing Church has prioritized worship, prayer, and Bible study while continuing to emphasize compassionate ministries in an urban context.

In 2013, under the leadership of Monica Boseff, a member of the Blessing Church of the Nazarene in Bucharest, the Open Door Foundation opened a ministry for survivors of human trafficking that includes a residential shelter, counseling, and judicial assistance. From the beginning, the Blessing Church has provided the spiritual component of the holistic care for these survivors. Church members intentionally integrate the survivors into the life of the church by developing caring relationships and inviting them to begin new lives in Christ. Open Door Foundation maintains a partnership with the Church of the Nazarene in Romania as well as with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries international.

On several occasions over the years, Nazarenes have led adult Bible studies, children’s and youth activities, compassionate ministries and other initiatives in several towns and villages in different parts of the country. Our long-term goal is to plant new churches that will holistically impact their communities.

In 2022, after completing the necessary studies and other requirements, the largest group of Romanian ministers was ordained, marking significant progress in the development of the Church of the Nazarene in Romania from missionary leadership to Romanian leadership.

The Church of the Nazarene in Romania Today

Today, there are active congregations of the Church of the Nazarene in Bucharest, Sighisoara, and Tigmandru that make up the Romania District. In addition to the activities of these local churches, Nazarene activity in Romania also includes translating and publishing literature as well as partnering with European Nazarene College to offer theological education courses in the Romanian language. A key component of our work remains offering compassionate ministries, which includes long-term programs such as Child Development Centers, short-term emergency initiatives such as responding to the 2022 Ukrainian refugee crisis, and ongoing partnerships with the Veritas Sighișoara and Open Door Foundations.

The Church of the Nazarene occupies a unique place among the churches in Romania. Although we are not one of this nation’s predominant historic churches, we share much in common with our Christian brothers and sisters from these traditions – the ancient Christian creeds and councils with the Orthodox Church, a common history of Western Christianity with Catholic and Protestant churches, and the marks of the Protestant Reformation with the Reformed and Lutheran churches. Additionally, we share many practices and beliefs with other Evangelical and Neo-Protestant churches, such as our forms of worship, an emphasis on evangelism and discipleship, and a saving, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Along with the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, we emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Due to this shared foundation of the Christian faith that we hold in common, we value establishing partnerships with Christians from various churches.

With these shared traits identified, it is also important to note how we are distinct from the established churches in Romania and how our theological heritage has shaped our identity as a denomination. The Church of the Nazarene is part of the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. John Wesley was a priest in the Anglican Church who lived in the 18th century. He followed Arminian theology, taught holiness (Christian perfection), and emphasized compassion to the poor. From a theological perspective, we are closest to the churches and organizations of the Wesleyan tradition, such as the United Methodist Church and the Salvation Army. We also share key aspects of our theology with the Orthodox Church that they do not hold in common with Protestant churches from Reformed or Calvinistic theological traditions.

The Church of the Nazarene in Romania is closely interconnected with the international Church of the Nazarene. We share doctrines, form of government, and leadership with Nazarenes around the world. The Romania District of the Church of the Nazarene is part of the Central Europe Field in the Eurasia Region.

About the name “Nazarene”

Nazareth was the small town in Galilee where Jesus lived. When Philip was first told about Jesus, he asked, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46) Jesus and the early Christians were often associated with Nazareth as a mark of derision. Pilate ordered that a sign for Jesus' cross should say "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" (John 19:19). In Acts 24:5, the apostle Paul was accused of being “a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.” Given this, our denominational leaders decided to choose this name to identify themselves with ministering to the marginalized. Therefore, we are called to follow the example of Jesus the Nazarene in serving the poor and marginalized of the world.

In order to avoid any confusion, it is important to note that the Church of the Nazarene and OCEAD Nazareneanul are not related to the Nazarene Religious Association, founded in 1990, based in Arad, Romania (with roots that go back to an Anabaptist movement founded in Switzerland by Samuel Fröhlich and promoted in Hungary and Transylvania by Lajos Hencsey in the 19th century), nor to the Nazirite oath described in the Old Testament.

The Impact of the Church of the Nazarene in Romania

After more than 30 years, it is hard to calculate the impact of the Church of the Nazarene in Romania. Through the ministry of the local churches, whole families – often spanning multiple generations – have been transformed. Children have been instructed through kids’ clubs and Sunday schools. Teenagers have discovered their identity in Christ in youth groups and summer camps. Adults have been prepared for Christian ministry. Through compassionate ministries, Nazarenes have brought the love of Christ to abandoned children in the orphanages and to the elderly in the geriatric hospital. Clubs for the Elderly and Special Needs adults have provided a renewed sense of value and dignity as beloved people created in God’s image. Marginalized children have received hot meals at a Child Development Center, women and children have found shelter from domestic violence and human trafficking, Ukrainians were offered refuge in Romania as they fled the war in their country, and unskilled laborers have learned job skills. Christians from other churches – Evangelical and Orthodox alike – have grown deeper in their faith as a result of the ministry and devotion to biblical study of Nazarenes. Through educational courses in English, computers, business, and theology, Nazarenes have equipped Romanians for their future, many of whom are now living and serving in different countries around the world. Students from countries around the world have received a primary and secondary Christian education at a school begun by a Nazarene missionary. The lives of American college students who came to study and serve in Romania were often transformed by their experiences in ways that shaped their career choices.

The Church of the Nazarene in Romania may be small in size, but God has used us for advancing His Kingdom in countless ways. We look forward to continuing this legacy into the future.

Video: 30 Years of Nazarene Ministry in Romania

Ordinations in Romania

From Eurasia Region Snapshots, November 4:

 

We celebrate with our brothers and sisters who were ordained in Romania on Saturday 29th October.

The District Assembly took place in Brasov and saw 3 men and 2 women be ordained -- of which 3 were members of the same family!

We praise God for his faithfulness and pray for our newly ordained elders, their lives, families and ministries.

-- photo shared by Dr. Busic, General Superintendent

District Assembly Videos

On Saturday, October 29, five Romanians were ordained as elders in the Church of the Nazarene as part of the Romania District Assembly. The ordination service can be watched here:

The Sunday morning Communion service, led by General Superintendent David Busic, was streamed live from the Bucharest Blessing Church while the churches in Sighisoara and Tigmandru participated.

Prayer Mobilization Line: Country of Focus

Nazarene Missions International - Prayer Mobilization Line - October 20, 2021

Romania

 Country of Focus • Fast Facts

General:

Romania—work established in 1992; 3 organized churches; 72 members.

Regional:

Romania is on the Central Europe Field of the Eurasia Region.

Cultural:

Romania, as a nation, dates back to 1862, and gained independence in 1877 from the Ottoman Empire. During the First World War, Romania joined the Allied Powers, and following the war acquired Transylvania as new territory. During the Second World War, it aligned itself with Germany in the invasion of the USSR. However, overrun by the Soviets in 1943, and the establishment of a communist “people’s republic” in 1947, along with the abdication of the king that same year, Romania entered into a period in its history marked with oppressive regimes that continued until 1996, when the communist-dominated government lost power. Romania is now a part of NATO and the European Union (EU).  

Special:

The official language of Romania is Romanian. The majority religion is Eastern Orthodox Christianity (82%). Protestant denominations make up only 6.4% of the religious landscape. Recent laws (2006) have made it more difficult for denominations and religious charities to register in the country. Over 24% of the population is under the age of 25 years, and the literacy rate stands at nearly 99%. The poverty rate (nearly 24%), is one of the highest poverty rates in the EU. The country reports more than 1.5 million children are living in poverty. It is estimated that 41% of the Romanian population have no access to running water.  

Mission and Ministry

Ministry Challenges

During the COVID-19 pandemic the number of cases in the Romania has reached 1,398,264 with 40,461 reported deaths.

Romania has been reporting few COVID-19 cases, and particularly in areas where our churches are located, the numbers were low. However, those numbers have begun to rise as more people choose to stay inside as colder weather increases. Because of the physical sizes of our church facilities, maintaining required social distance is not easy, and churches have had to go to online or hybrid delivery of services. Re-engaging church members and communities is proving a challenge, and churches who have done significant compassionate ministries are finding that people are feeling disconnected from the churches because of limited access to buildings. In rural communities, young teenagers during the pandemic lockdowns have been married, with some brides being as young as 13 and 14, with many becoming mothers for the first time. This will, no doubt, have an impact upon this young generation. 

Ministry Approaches

One of the significant ministries in Romania is the Open Door Foundation, helping those who have fallen victim to the human trafficking, primarily of women. God has been doing amazing things in the lives of those being helped by Open Door, and the ministry of the Bucharest Church of the Nazarene. Many have come to faith in Christ and have begun mentoring younger women. The pandemic closures of churches have made it possible for repairs and renovations to take place in our buildings, an unexpected blessing. Also, children in Tigmandru have returned to the Child Sponsorship Program in greater numbers. Many children have been anxiously waiting for the return to in-person programs through the churches, and there is great excitement that these programs are beginning again. Small gathering services have begun in several homes that were not operating before COVID-19. 

Praises

• “We give God thanks that our churches are able to meet together in person again. Even during this time of COVID, people have come to Christ and have been baptized. Ministries to children are growing.” (Josh and Shannon Herndon)
• Give praise to God that visitation to many in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the birth of numerous house churches that are beginning to reach new communities with the Good News of Jesus. 
• “The upcoming district assembly will see five Romanians ordained, a significant milestone since there are currently no ordained Romanians serving on the district.” (Jonathan Phillips)
• Missionaries serving in Romania “give thanks to God that there is renewed motivation and inspiration for the work.” (Casey Bloom)

Prayer Requests

• Pray for the ministry to survivors of human trafficking that is being carried out through the Church of the Nazarene in Bucharest.
• Pray for the work being done in the renovation of local churches, and construction work in Sighisoara.
• Pray for the young mothers in Tigmandru and their children, and that children’s ministries may continue to grow and thrive on the district.
• Pray for the Herndon family as they begin to make preparations for a transition from Romania to Italy, and all that will involve for their children.
• Pray for the continued work of education through EuNC in the preparation of ministers for the Romanian churches.
• Pray that God will continue to increase the unity among the churches, pastors, and congregations, as they seek to carry out their ministries, that new believers will develop a deeper relationship with the Lord, and that there will be a spiritual curiosity about God in communities.
• Pray that the church may be a transformative presence throughout the country.

2020 EuNC Romania Learning Centre Graduation

All participants in the graduation ceremony

Three graduates of European Nazarene College’s Romania Learning Centre were awarded the Qualification in Spiritual Formation on Saturday, November 28, 2020. 

Since this year's Romania District Assembly had to be cancelled due to Covid restrictions, a special ceremony -- held on Zoom and streamed live on Facebook -- was planned to celebrate the accomplishments of the graduates. 

The online format of the ceremony allowed participation and viewing from many different places around the world. Participants joined from 5 locations in Romania and from 2 countries in other parts of Central Europe. Viewers from at least 3 continents watched the live Facebook stream, which is available for viewing on the Learning Centre's Facebook page. 

EuNC Rector Mária Gusztinné Tulipán delivered the commencement address and conferred the degrees from Hungary. 

The 3 graduates with the rector and LC coordinator

This year's graduates of the Spiritual Formation programme are Roxana Cini, who serves as the leader of the children’s program in the Țigmandru Church of the Nazarene; Relu Cristurean, who serves as the pastor of the Sighișoara Church of the Nazarene; and Oana Cristurean, who serves as the administrator for the Romania Learning Centre. The former two are nearing completion of the Diploma in Christian Ministry to fulfill ordination requirements in the Church of the Nazarene. 

The Spiritual Formation programme corresponds to the first year of studies in a Vocational Bachelor's degree, whereas the Christian Ministry programme corresponds to the first two years of studies in a Vocational Bachelor's degree.

--Jonathan Phillips, Romania LC Coordinator

Elderly Club leader retires

Mia Golea

Originally published in Veritas View newsletter, Spring 2019

After 20 years of working in a variety of roles at Veritas, Mia Golea has retired. Her work was celebrated in a special devotional and reception time on February 22. 

Mia’s work with Veritas began when she became the first manager of the International Café. She took care of the paperwork necessary to start this for-profit business, never easy here in Romania. 

Mia’s real love, however, was caring for people, so when asked to consider leading an Elderly Club in the Baragan area of Sighisoara, she went door-to-door to see if people were interested. The club began, grew rapidly, and exists today as one of three Elderly Clubs. Mia worked with clients in all three locations. 

Mia expressed her care for the elderly in quiet service. She knew their names, their family histories, their preferences, their struggles. She laughed and cried with them. She baked cakes and visited those who couldn’t leave their homes, she visited them in the hospital. Dorothy Tarrant said, “She brought joy, peace and hope into many fragile lives.” 

Jonathan, Mia, Petra and Roberta look 
at the scrapbook gift given to Mia.

Of all her jobs, Mia enjoyed most working with the elderly. She said, “They needed attention and it felt good to be able to give it.” At the time of Mia’s retirement, it was decided to have the Elderly Club that meets at the Nazarene Church become a program of the church, rather than one of the clubs within Veritas. So, now as a volunteer, Mia continues her work with these club members. This was very important to Mia, both for the clients so their club wasn’t disrupted, and for herself. 

The Veritas staff wish Mia God’s grace and presence as she enters this new stage in her life.

Video: The Church of the Nazarene in Romania

Video by Casey Bloom for the Central Europe Field Conference, September 2018

Video: Veritas Social Services for Retired Adults

Arnold Stefan Orban, social assistant for Veritas, shares about the social services offered for retired adults.

Veritas is a Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (NCM) partner organization in Sighișoara, Romania. The Sighișoara Church of the Nazarene and Veritas partner together in ministering to retired persons in the community.

Find us on Facebook

You may already know that the right sidebar on this website includes links to several ministries connected with the Church of the Nazarene in Romania.

What you might not know is that several of these ministries also have pages on Facebook that you can like. Check them out below:

Biserica Nazarineanului Binecuvantarea - Bucuresti
The Blessing Church of the Nazarene in Bucharest

Biserica Nazarineanului Sighisoara
The Church of the Nazarene in Sighișoara

Biserica Nazarineanului din Tigmandru, Romania
The Church of the Nazarene in Țigmandru

Tâmplăria Țigmandru
The carpentry shop in Țigmandru

Central Europe Field
The Central Europe Field of the Church of the Nazarene, which includes Romania

Eurasia Region
The Eurasia Region of the Church of the Nazarene, which includes the Central Europe Field

Veritas Sighisoara
NCM Partner organization in Sighișoara

Open Door (also in Romanian as Ușa Deschisă)
Shelter for Human Trafficking Survivors in Bucharest

'Global Classroom' links Arkansas and Romanian high school students

Dr. Roberta Bustin

Republished from Engage Magazine
By Richard Gammill

A brainstorming session between two Nazarene friends resulted in a ground-breaking, globe-spanning experiment. It united two groups of students from Batesville, Arkansas, and Sighisoara, Romania, to solve community needs. The project has provided an opening for a Nazarene Romanian pastor to mentor youth in the Sighisoara high school.

The story unfolded when Dr. Roberta Bustin asked her friend, “What can we do to reach out to the youth in my city? After almost 20 years of ministry, we still have not found the answer.”

Roberta is a volunteer with Nazarene Mission Corps., the mission-sending arm of the denomination that matches willing volunteer missionaries with ministry opportunities around the world. Before going to Romania in 1997, Roberta taught chemistry at Lyon College in Batesville. For nearly 20 years, she has had a “boatload” of mission assignments: teaching, preaching, church planting, and more.

Her friend, Jeanne Roepcke, is a teacher at Batesville High School.

“I have an idea,” Jeanne told Roberta. “It is something that has never been done before, but I think we can make it work.”

Jeanne is the facilitator for the EAST program in her high school. EAST is the acronym for “Environmental and Spatial Technology.” It began in 1996 and has expanded to nearly 250 schools across Arkansas and four other U.S. states. A unique model in modern education, it is a project-based, service-learning program. The classes use high-end technology obtained from the most progressive fields in the world. Jeanne is leading seven of these classes in her high school.

“EAST is designed to enable my students to tackle a new problem, take a team approach and come up with their own solutions,” Jeanne said. “We will take the program to Sighisoara and see what develops.”

Jeanne’s school and the Batesville community enthusiastically adopted her proposal. The first step was to establish and equip a laboratory for the high school in Sighisoara. A $5,000 grant preceded financial and material donations from the business community. People donated thousands of dollars worth of supplies, including three laptop computers, a 3-D printer, and a projector.

Back in Sighisoara, Roberta advertised the venture as an opportunity for students to further their knowledge and use of English. School authorities approved the concept and 10 students signed up. The facilitator would be Relu Cristurean, local Nazarene pastor.

Visiting Sighisoara in September 2015

In September 2015, Jeanne went to Sighisoara with two Batesville students and two technicians to open the laboratory. In the first year, instructors focused on teaching the students to use the software, develop three-dimensional animation, use Adobe Photoshop software, create three-dimensioned objects, and more. Ten Romanian students come to the Nazarene church at least twice weekly and meet with the Arkansas students by way of Skype, working around the eight-time-zone separation.

"This may not sound so different from some American classrooms, said Amanda, a Batesville student. “Yet, it highlights the way in which EAST can meet educational needs anywhere and prove transformative, regardless of borders or cultures.”

Her classmate Emma added, "Our Romanian classmates are very smart kids, really nice kids, too, and you can tell they really want to learn."

Pastor Relu is there to work with them.

“Participating in the EAST program is something new for me,” he said. “I get to build relationships with these 10 students. This is a good experience. The students are very bright and eager to learn. We talk about many things and I tell them about Romanian history and geography. I also have opportunity to talk about what it means to be a Christian. One student asked me for a Bible.”

Students in Sighisoara

The Romanian population is more than 70 percent Eastern Orthodox and, thus, virtually everyone identifies culturally as Christian. Pastor Relu says, “I tell them having religion won’t help you. You must have a relationship with Jesus Christ.”

A couple of last year’s students have graduated. One of them wants to return and help Pastor Relu teach the new term. Through the classroom partnership that Roberta and Jeanne established, this young pastor with three children has found a way to build relationships with the youth of his community.

This year the EAST program will expand to the nearby Romanian village of Tigmandru, a poor village that provides its children with limited education. As the EAST students wrestled with the extreme needs in the village, they focused on a single priority. Food becomes scarce during the bitterly cold winters, shutting down even the indoor greenhouses. Weeks of discussions between Batesville and Sighisoara students led to an innovative project.

Students in Batesville Arkansas Skype with Romanians

The Batesville students designed small, three-level hydroponics growing units to be installed in private homes, using available materials such as soda bottles. With the 3-D printer, they designed nozzles, valves and other components. The classes in both Sighisoara and Tigmandru plan to employ the same technology in the coming academic year.

The Batesville community has gathered and shipped the materials needed for the in-home “farms,” including vegetable seeds, pumps, tubing, zip ties. The Romanian communities are gathering soda bottles and other available materials.

This is the first international project done by an EAST class. It is providing more recognition in the two Romanian communities for the Church of the Nazarene. And the residents appreciate Pastor Relu for his significant involvement in working with the students who are learning teamwork and technology as they meet community needs.

Netherlands Mission Team Goes to Romania

A mission team from the Netherlands traveled to
Romania to support Nazarene churches there

By Jenny Ward
Eurasia Region Communications 

Reprinted from Where Worlds Meet, December 2014

The Church of the Nazarene in the Netherlands sent a Work & Witness team to Sighişoara, Romania, from 11 to 26 October. This team consisted of 19 people, ranging in age from 30 to 63, from eight different Nazarene churches throughout the Netherlands. Rolf Noordhof, who attends the Church of the Nazarene in Amersfoort, led the trip.

This was Noordhof’s fourth trip to Sighişoara, having led a youth organization to Romania 10 years ago. Upon meeting the Nazarene Church he then returned half a year later and then in 2007 he brought 44 computers to Sighişoara as the church continued to develop.

They traveled to Sighişoara with three main goals in mind. The first was to help rebuild the church so it can serve as a multifunctional location complete with a youth room and large kitchen to prepare meals for the elderly.

“Relu Cristurean, [the pastor of the Sighişoara church,] has big dreams about using the building for outreach so that the church can grow again…they want to renew youth in Sighişoara,” said Noordhof.

In the past the church was filled with over 20 youth members, but in Romania many young students leave to study elsewhere, sometimes even leaving the country. Relu and the pastoral team hope they can restore the building and create a place where the youth in Sighişoara will be able to spend time again.

The second goal was to visit the elderly several times a week. The elderly members of the mission team enjoyed meeting with the elderly of Sighişoara. “To talk, to pray, and to encourage them…that was a splendid time for them,” said Noordhof.

The third goal was to reach out to the children at the Church of the Nazarene in Tigmandru, a nearby village. There were about 30 to 40 children and Noordhof and his team visited them six times during their stay.

“We went for a short Bible story, to sing with them, play a little guitar, I brought my clarinet, and we shared small gifts with them.”

As the team worked together throughout the 15-day trip, they realized they were also forming a strong bond. “Although the team was very different in ages, in skills, everyone found a place and worked very well together,” said Noordhof. “Some team members said they’ve never felt so accepted and like they belonged to a group than this week. Now that’s remarkable.”

Roberta Bustin, a volunteer missionary in Romania, thanked Noordhoff and his team for their visit. They helped the Church of the Nazarene in Sighişoara feel connected to the international church and provided encouragement to the pastoral team as they continue to develop the church building.

A Year of Music

Jay & Sheri Hartzler

Music has the ability to bring people together in unique ways. That’s been the case for Jay and Sheri Hartzler, who are spending a year as Nazarene Mission Corps volunteers in Romania. They have brought the joy of music to children, youth, and adults, and have led both experienced musicians and beginners in worshipping God through song.

Music played a vital role in bringing the Hartzlers to Sighisoara. Five years ago, the Hartzlers, who are active members in the Mennonite Church, were leading the Eastern Mennonite High School choir’s tour through Eastern Europe. While in Sighisoara, Romania, they met Nazarene missionaries who arranged for the choir to sing in Tigmandru, a predominantly Roma village where the Church of the Nazarene ministers. After seeing how the people, especially the children, in Tigmandru had few opportunities to learn music, they began to consider the possibility of returning to Romania to teach music. There is not participatory music teaching in the public schools, so people growing up in Romania have little opportunity to learn how to sing or play instruments.

“They wanted to teach music to young people,” explained Roberta Bustin, Nazarene missionary who ministers in Sighisoara and Tigmandru. “They recognized the needs for music in the church, and working with young people would benefit the church for many years to come.”

Tigmandru Children's Choir

After leading a second choir trip to Romania in 2012, the Hartzlers decided to return to Romania for a year as Nazarene Mission Corps volunteers, but with the added blessing of the Mennonite Church.

Since their arrival last August, the Hartzlers have found many opportunities to use their musical gifts in both the Sighisoara and Tigmandru Nazarene congregations.

Every week, the Hartzlers go to the Tigmandru church to teach music to children. They have formed a choir of nearly 50 children who have sung in special children’s programs as well as Sunday services.

Jay teaching guitar class

“When we started, there were as many notes being sung as there were children present,” Jay recounted. “But eventually they were not only able to sing on pitch, but to change pitches…. The group sang songs in Romanian, English and Swahili, with great enthusiasm. It was rewarding to hear bits and pieces of songs being hummed or sung during craft time and parents reported the children singing the songs at home.”

Jay has been able to use his experience as choir director to develop the worship leaders in the churches and to introduce the congregations to new songs. He formed and led youth and women’s choirs in Tigmandru. He has also taught guitar classes, preparing musicians for both the Sighisoara and Tigmandru churches. Similarly, Sheri has been teaching private piano lessons to students who will soon be able to accompany congregational singing in the churches.

Sheri teaches a piano lesson

“Teaching piano here is one concrete way I see to leave behind a skill that can be used for personal enjoyment as well as in the churches.” Sheri commented.

The Hartzlers have been active in teaching music outside the context of Nazarene congregations, too, mainly in the context of Veritas, a Nazarene Compassionate Ministries partner organization in Sighisoara that serves the community through social and educational programs.

Each week, Jay directs the Veritas Gospel Choir, made up of approximately 20 people from various church backgrounds and ethnicities. In addition to the choir’s normal Christmas and spring concerts, many from the Gospel Choir joined members of other choirs in the town in a performance of Handel’s Messiah in May. Accompanied by Sheri on the electronic organ and professional musicians from neighboring towns, the concert was attended by over 300 people. It is believed to be the first time in 50 years that the Messiah has been performed in Sighisoara.

Gospel Choir singing in the park

One exceptional opportunity to work in the community came when Jay was asked to teach English-language music to two English classes at one of the largest high schools in Sighisoara. Even though the students had little experience with music (it was English – not music – class, after all), they successfully sang as part of the school’s 90-year celebration talent show in April.

Summing up the year, Sheri remarked, “We came to Romania, expecting to do some work with music, but we did not expect the amount of opportunities we would have to lead in a wide variety of settings with various age groups. We also did not expect the enthusiasm for music – for singing, playing, and listening. We have been truly blessed in the relationships and the musical experiences we have had this year.”

*****

An added bonus to having an online article about music is that you can listen to the various music groups under the Hartzlers' direction:

Over 300 were in attendance when 20 singers from Sighisoara performed Handel's Messiah in May.

The Tigmandru Children's Choir singing "Children Go Where I Send Thee"



Tigmandru guitar students playing "This is the Day"

Teen choir in Tigmandru singing "King of kings and Lord of lords" with the congregation



The Veritas Gospel Choir singing in Sighisoara's ecumenical Christmas concert:

Post by Veritas Sighisoara.

Please pray for the Hartzlers and their music ministry in Romania. Ask God to bless their efforts, and for the light of God’s love to become even more transformative in the lives of those who are learning music.

Reprinted in Where Worlds Meet - July 2014 and NCN News.

"paXan" Team of German young adults performs "Week of the Knights" for children in Sighişoara, Romania

Written by Dorli Gschwandtner, Helping Hands
Reposted from the Eurasia Region's website

Sighişoara: a picturesque little town in the Romanian part of Transylvania, established in the twelfth century by German immigrants. Even today, many local children attend a German school. High above the river lies the "citadel", the town's historical centre and the ideal location for a real German "Ritterwoche" – a "Week of the Knights".

11 German young adults travelled to Romania from 24th August to 1st September as part of the "paXan" team 2013. paXan is an annual Work & Witness trip for young adults that served in Beirut, Lebanon, in 2010, in Berlin, Germany, in 2011, and in Dimbula, Sri Lanka, in 2012. It is usually made up of 10 to 20 young adults (18–30 years old) from Nazarene churches all over Germany.

The name "paXan" is derived from "pax" (Latin: peace) and "Pack's an!" (German for "Go do it!" or "Get active!"). So every afternoon the young people got very active at the local Nazarene church in Sighişoara. They did plastering and painting work on the church's exterior wall, painted the gate and cleaned out a lot of rubbish for more rooms to be renovated.

The local Nazarenes were very grateful for the good work of the team, which "made the church entrance look much more inviting", Roberta Bustin, a Nazarene volunteer living in Sighişoara, said.

But paXan teams are not just known for "getting active" and leaving behind shiny buildings and freshly painted walls. One of the young adults' primary goals is to build relationships, share peace and hope, spend time with the local people and show them that they are valued and loved.

This is also why programs for children and youth are always an important part of these trips.
During this paXan trip, the town's children assembled every morning on the square in front of "The House on the Rock", which houses an international café and several classrooms and serves as the administrative centre of the Veritas Foundation. Veritas is a Christian organization that offers services to the community, a variety of educational programs, and intercultural exchange.

Appropriate to the medieval setting in Sighişoara's citadel, the team had planned a "Ritterwoche" with the "armour of God" as the main theme. From 9am to 1pm every day the children enjoyed a VBS-type program with a variety of "knightly" activities highlighting the armour of God and the weapons of His spirit. Activities included drawing and themed crafts (such as tiny egg-spoon knights dressed in the armour of God), stories, skits, and lots of games and fun.

The children, but the parents too, were enthusiastic. "This is the first holiday program that my child begs to be allowed to go to every day!" one mother was happy to report.

But not just the children enjoyed the "Ritterwoche". "I really enjoyed all of it – but especially the kids' program", said David Paul, who was part of a paXan team for the first time this year. "Whatever you put into it, the kids return it to you many times over!"

The paXan team was also able to minister to children in the village of Ţigmandru and to teenagers in a Roma community just outside Sighişoara. Especially the Roma youth, who face great poverty and hopelessness, really enjoyed spending time with the German young adults.

"The German team was a tremendous blessing to all of us", said Bustin, who spent most of the week with the team. "They were able to minister to both middle class children, a group with great potential but a group which is often neglected in the Romanian culture, and very poor Roma children from a nearby village. This team was a great example of giving of themselves and their talents, of sharing, of enjoying each other, and of showing the love of Christ wherever they went."

The ministry trip was also a great experience for the young adults, with lots of new impressions and a lot of fun. Every day was started with a team devotional and in the evenings the team met for feedback sessions, to review the day, make plans for the following day and pray together.

"The week turned out totally different than I'd expected", said Christian Bangert, who has participated in three paXan teams so far. "But it was a tremendous time. Everybody really jelled as a team and together we were able to accomplish a lot of things."

****
The following video (in German with Romanian subtitles) highlights the Proethnica Festival in Sighisoara. Christoph Nick of the paXan team was interviewed (time index 5:48) about the team's activities in Sighisoara.

 

Third Romanian woman ordained

Pictured: Magda Cini, Paula Creely, Roberta Bustin

It’s not every day that a Romanian is ordained, so when a Romanian was ordained at the Philadelphia District Assembly on April 22, it was a time of celebration.

Paula (Cini) Creely grew up in Sighisoara, Romania, where she started attending the Church of the Nazarene as a teenager and became very active in the life of the church. After graduating high school, she attended European Nazarene College in Büsingen, Germany. She then moved to the United States and continued her studies for ordination.

Paula is married to Gary Creely.  Together they pastor the Macungie, Pennsylvania, Church of the Nazarene.  When they arrived in Macungie, there were no children in the church. Paula has been active in developing a thriving children’s ministry and in helping the church to double in size in three years. Paula and Gary have a five year old son named Everett.

Two people influential in Paula’s life were able to travel from Romania to attend the ordination service. Paula’s mother, Magda Cini, who pastors the Tigmandru, Romania, Church of the Nazarene, and Roberta Bustin, Mission Corps missionary who served as pastor of the Sighisoara Church of the Nazarene while Paula was growing up there.

Roberta has known Paula for almost 16 years and when asked to describe her feelings about the ordination she said, “I was very excited … I was also thinking about how proud I was of her that she persevered to finish her course of study even when it was not easy (studying in a language which was not her first language, studying after she had a family and church responsibilities, etc.)”

There are 3 ordained Romanians in the Church of the Nazarene – notably all women: Magdalena Balaban in Romania, Simona Berdowski in Poland, and Paula Creely.

“Paula’s passion is to be doing ministry,” Bustin said, “She is a natural leader [and] I see her continuing in ministry, thinking of new ways to do things, developing new ministries and being faithful to God’s call.”

Reprinted in Eurasia Snapshots

The Answer Stood On His Doorstep

The following story, written by Gina Grate Pottenger, appeared in Engage Magazine:


Sighişoara, Romania – Relu Cristurean clearly remembers the night he called out to a God he didn’t know.

Walking home alone from a disco, he noticed how clear the night-time Romanian sky was. You could see every star. He walked with his head tilted back so he could take in the vast, sparkling dome.

“God, you know what? I know you exist. I know you’re there somewhere and I know you can hear me now,” he recalls saying.

“I was just talking out loud, ‘cause nobody was [around],” he added. “And I said, ‘You know, I think something’s wrong with my life. It’s not what it’s supposed to be. Something is missing. This is not [a] good life. So, if you have something else for me, please lead me or send someone to me so I know that’s the way.’”

Afterward, the 20something young man continued with his lifestyle of working, smoking, drinking and having fun.

Several weeks later, the answer to his midnight question stood on his doorstep.
 
An old schoolmate, Claudiu, showed up for an unexpected visit. Relu had always liked the young man, and always sensed something different about him.

The friends had dinner and spent the weekend catching up on life. Relu enjoyed it so much he asked if he could in turn visit Claudiu and stay with him for a short time. The young man eagerly agreed.

The first night at Claudiu’s town, he surprised Relu by taking him to a Church of the Nazarene.

In some Eastern European countries, evangelicals are viewed as cults and looked on with suspicion. As a result, Relu was skeptical about the experience. He observed the people singing on the stage and listened to the sermon. Every time he tried to question his friend, Claudiu said, “Just listen.”

In Romania, where more than 80 percent of the population claim membership in the Romanian Orthodox Church, part of the Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity, Relu and almost everyone he knew already considered themselves to be Christians. He described the popular image of evangelicals as boring, singing slow, plodding music, adhering to too many rules and so conservative in their dress as to be marginalized from mainstream culture.

“Here, the songs were alive, or had rhythm,” he said. “And then the sermon … was so different, I said ‘Whoa.’ And I can understand what was said there.”

After the service, Relu demanded Claudiu tell him more about these “strange” Christians who call themselves Nazarenes.

Claudiu and another former classmate later took him to a Youth With a Mission service, where Relu realized he enjoyed these meetings. A man shared his testimony of how God called him from a life as a rock singer and changed him and now he was a missionary.

Relu was amazed.

“Is this God? It’s not the God I knew and not … that image of God I had before,” he thought.

When the speaker invited people to come forward for prayer to accept Christ, Relu wanted to invite Christ into his life, but didn’t have the courage to move to the front. Instead, he prayed silently in his seat.

“Something happened then,” he said. “I felt like something was lifting up, lifted off me. You know that feeling, like, ‘Whew.’” Relu sang to himself all the way home.

Not long after, an English missionary arrived with a vision to build houses for poor people in the community, working with a Nazarene-founded compassionate ministry called Veritas. Relu offered to provide translation services for the summer. When the ministry team went to a community to build, they also shared the Gospel. The man gave Relu a book with Bible stories and asked him to explain the stories to the local children.

Afterward, Relu applied to and attended a small Bible school to deepen his faith and relationship with God. For the next seven years, he continued working with Veritas; in 2003 he married Oana, whom he met in his local Nazarene church.

In 2008, during a Southeast Europe Field (now the Central Europe Field) conference, he became aware that God was calling him to full-time ministry. He realized he’d been resisting the call for several years.

“I’m a practical guy, I can work with my hands,” was his protest to God. “’Lord, you already gave me this gift, this way of serving you. I’m involved. I am the guy who’s in the back somewhere just making things work. You don’t need this ministry of pastoring or leadership.’ I was scared of leadership.”

Relu was in a losing battle, because what he didn’t know was that Roberta Bustin had been praying for Relu to hear and accept God’s call. As pastor of the Sighişoara Church of the Nazarene, Roberta had been working closely with Relu.

“I really prayed that this would be the time – at this conference – when he would recognize and affirm his call, if indeed God was calling him,” she said.

God persisted with Relu over the five days of the conference. On the final day, during a time of open testimonies, a district superintendent asked, “Is there anyone who felt God’s calling for ministry for being a pastor?”

“At that moment the chair was burning,” Relu joked. “And I said, ‘OK, this is it.’”

He stood and publicly announced that God was calling him to ministry, and now he was willing to make himself available.

“I will be your feet. I will be your hands. I want to be your mouth,” he recalled saying. “But you have to do everything. You have to teach me step by step, you lead me.”

Roberta burst into tears.

“I don’t show my emotions much, but that night I cried and cried,” she recalled.

From that point, she began mentoring him. Although he was terrified of public speaking and had no formal training in preaching or teaching, he sweated and trembled through his first sermon. Through repeated preaching, he gradually gained confidence.

“I’m so amazed by God’s faithful and grace and love,” he said. “I have to prepare a sermon, and I pray, ‘Lord, what do you want me to tell to your people?’ I read through the Bible and sometimes some passage comes alive and I can only explain how it works but the words and the story and everything becomes alive and I can see the full picture, I can see the message.”

Relu takes turns with Roberta on preaching, and also has led Bible study groups. He’s taking courses through European Nazarene College, and recently his wife, who teaches children’s Sunday School, began taking courses, as well.

“Throughout the years I have witnessed the miraculous ‘hand-work’ of the Lord in Relu’s life,” said Magda Balaban, who served the church alongside Relu for several years. “Because of his strong Christian character, wise and balanced thinking, as well as real approach to life, I believe he could and will influence the lives of many in Sighişoara.”

Relationships in Ministry: Sighisoara Elderly Club

2003 Baptism

 Written by Jonathan Phillips for NMI Adult Mission Education. 

Since the late 1990s, a group of retired adults have been meeting each weekday morning at the Sighișoara Church of the Nazarene for what has become known as “elderly club.” It is a co-sponsored activity of the Sighișoara Church of the Nazarene and Veritas, the NCM organization in Sighișoara. This ministry was begun to care for the pensioners who have very little money and no family to take care of them. Elderly Club provides a warm place in the winter to drink a cup of coffee, read the newspaper, celebrate holidays, play board games, etc. – all things they wouldn’t receive otherwise. In other words, the Church of the Nazarene has become the family that these people wouldn’t otherwise have. Today, the elderly program has expanded to 3 clubs, ministering in different parts of the town, and a home visitation ministry, bringing food, medicine, and conversation to those who are homebound.

Since Elderly Club is held in the same building where Sunday worship services are held, many of the elderly began attending worship services. Although many of them were raised in one of the traditional churches (Orthodox, Catholic, Reformed), many of them didn’t come to know God in a personal way until they interacted with members of the Church of the Nazarene. In September 2003, six members of the Elderly Club were baptized in the Sighișoara Church of the Nazarene. Although they had lived the majority of their lives without Christ, they were committed to living their remaining years with Him. Today, eight years after that baptism celebration, those who were baptized (with the exception of two who have passed away) continue as part of the church family. Although their health may prevent them from attending worship services, they are still a significant part of the church body in Sighișoara.

10 Years in Sighișoara

On Sunday, October 4, the Sighișoara Church of the Nazarene honored Rev. Magda Balaban—who has served in Sighișoara for the past 10 years—and blessed her as she enters a new chapter of her life.

Magda came to Sighișoara in September 1999, following her graduation from European Nazarene Bible College. Her original assignment was to work in the Veritas ministry for disabled persons. In time, Magda devoted full-time to church-related ministries at the Sighișoara church . Her ministry focused on working with the senior adults who attend the church and the daily elderly program at the church. Magda's ministry has also included leading weekday prayer meetings and Bible studies, translating both sermons and literature, serving on the District Advisory Board, teaching children's church, and teaching American students who come with the Romanian Studies Program.

After preaching the morning message, Magda announced to the congregation that she has accepted a job offer in Bucharest and will be returning to her hometown in just over a week. Magda, an ordained deacon in the Church of the Nazarene, is like many ministers on the Southeastern Europe Field who must rely financially on employment outside the church.

After an all-church dinner following the service, those gathered viewed a PowerPoint presentation celebrating Magda's 10 years in Sighișoara (view below). Many offered words of thanks to Magda for her service. The church board presented Magda with three gifts to serve as momentos of her ministry: a piece of Transylvanian pottery, a painting of Sighișoara, and a Sighișoara mug. As one person shared, “The Sighișoara Church’s loss is the Bucharest Church’s gain.”

Sighişoara Church

The Church of the Nazarene has work in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, and in Transylvania in the city of Sighişoara and the village of Ţigmandru.
Sighişoara is in the middle of the country in the region called Transylvania. It is a beautiful town of about 36,000 people which still has a walled citadel where people live and work.

The Sighişoara Church of the Nazarene grew out of the Romanian Studies Program as American college students met together for a Sunday evening devotional time. As students made friends with Romanians, some of them began to attend services. Soon a number of outreach activities developed, and young people were attracted to the church through Coffee House, theater classes, Ecology Club, music classes, etc.

Several parents came to church to see what what was so attractive to their children, and they found the Lord and became part of the church family.

The educational building houses two children’s Sunday School rooms, and the pastor’s office. The church would like to extend this building, adding a kitchen and fellowship hall.

The current focus for church growth is reaching out to families through children. A young couple, Relu and Oana Cristurean, feel a call to pastoral ministry and have become part of the pastoral team along with Magda Balaban and Pastor Roberta Bustin.

Work has recently begun in the village of Viscri where the Ludu family leads a ministry for children. They are also working with the parents to help them realize that their lives can have hope and meaning through Christ.

Veritas is a Compassionate Ministries center directed by Dorothy Tarrant who came to Romania in 1993. Veritas ministers to people of all ages and all groups across the social spectrum. It has a wide variety of educational programs and a coffee shop in addition to the social programs.

The House On the Rock, on the the main square of the old city, is the Education Center for Veritas. It also houses the International Café. The Elderly program ministers to about 95 elderly persons. Many of these people feel quite isolated and receive only a very small pension. One group meets four mornings a week at the Church of the Nazarene where the people chat with friends, read the morning paper, play games, enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, or have a short devotional or time of prayer. They also enjoy a hot meal at noon. Two other groups meet in other areas of the city twice each week. This program has brought a lot of pleasure into the lives of the elderly, and many of them say that they have grown in their faith and have found peace in their hearts in spite of their difficult situations.

The Pre-School, Kids’ Club, and the Adolescent Group have about 120 children enrolled. The Veritas staff minister to the families as well as to the children. It is here that many of these children learn for the first time that God loves and cares for them. The program for people with disabilities meets twice a week for a time of fun and fellowship. The staff who works with people in trauma because of domestic violence has had over 500 clients in the last five years.