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.”

Ţigmandru 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.

Nazarene work was started in this village in the spring of 2002. The work began in response to an invitation to come and pray for a family in the village. At this first meeting and prayer time, both husband and wife accepted the Lord. In order to disciple these new believers, a small group started going to the village each week for a time of prayer and Bible study. Other people found the Lord, and this weekly prayer meeting became a regular church service.

Children’s work was begun, and soon almost 100 children were attending the weekly program. Church services were held in the community center. It soon became clear that people were hungry for the Lord and that a church was needed in the village.

Land was purchased, and construction was started on a ministry center in the summer of 2004. The building was officially dedicated on December 1, 2007, with about 200 people present. The church was officially organized on that same day with 20 charter members.

The ministry center is an active place with regular church services, Bible studies and prayer times, children’s programs, youth activities, a mothers and babies group, and literacy classes in addition to a sewing workshop, a small woodworking shop, an ecology lab, and a doctor’s office. On the church property are three greenhouses and a cultivated area with vegetables as well as roses, gladioli, and 1000 tulip bulbs. The gardens and workshops provide a little work for a number of people in the village.

The Cini family are the ministry leaders in Ţigmandru. In addition to serving as pastor, Magda oversees the sewing workshop and the gardens, and Nelutu directs the youth and children’s programs. They are also beginning a new work in the village of Zagar.

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.

Bucharest Blessing 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.

Bucharest is a city of about two million people in the southeast of the country. The majority of the people live in large apartment buildings built in Communism days. Nazarene work was begun in Romania in 1992 by missionaries Jon and Margaret Scott.

The Blessing Church of the Nazarene is pastored by Cristi Boseff. It is an active congregation that has outgrown its present facility and is currently looking for land on which to build a new building.

The people in the Blessing Church volunteer in a geriatrics hospital where many of the patients have no family to care for them. This ministry, directed by Dan Cristea, not only brings hope and love to the elderly people, but also gives them spiritual support, meals, and physical therapy sessions. The patients look forward to the visits of the church people who have become like family to them.

The Blessing Church youth group enjoy each other - studying the Bible, listening to music, and playing together.

For the Least of These

This video was produced for the Church of the Nazarene's World Mission DVD, highlighting a ministry in Bucharest.

 

General Assembly

Nazarenes from around the world recently came together in Orlando, Florida, USA, for the 27th General Assembly and Conventions.

Magda Balaban from the Sighisoara Church was the only elected Romanian delegate who was able to attend the General Assembly. In the Wednesday evening opening service, Magda represented Romania in the march of nations, recognizing the 155 world areas where the Church of the Nazarene has work.

Also present were Jay and Teanna Sunberg (District Superintendent/Field Strategy Coordinator), Roberta Bustin (pastor, Sighisoara & Tigmandru Churches), and Jonathan Phillips (district discipleship ministries coordinator).


The Eurasia Region and Southeastern Europe Field had exhibits in the Exhibit Hall. Items sold in the partnership exhibit included dolls made by hand by some of the members of the Church of the Nazarene in Tigmandru, Romania.

It was officially announced at the Southeastern Europe Field Partnership Meeting on Saturday evening that missionaries Michael and Tamara Hudson and their daughters and Jonathan Phillips will be returning to Romania in August. The Hudsons previously served in Romania from 2005-2007. Jonathan was a student in Romania in 2001, and served in Sighisoara from 2002-2004.

We hope we will be able to provide more frequent blog updates of the events in the Church of the Nazarene in Romania in the coming months. Thank you for being patient with us during this time of transition.

Bulgarian, Romanian Youth Pull All-Nighter

Bucharest, Romania—Piled into one vehicle, 10 young people from the Razgrad, Bulgaria, church ventured across the border to join eight youth at a Bucharest, Romania, church for an all-night event in –––.

“This was the first time the two districts had done anything like this and everyone agreed that it was a great first start,” said Teanna Sunberg, missionary to Bulgaria, who joined the event with her four daughters and Mission Corps worker Cassie Lara.

Thanks to the hosting efforts of Monica and Cristi Boseff in Bucharest and the efforts of Pastor Nikolaj Kolev from Razgrad, most of the young people were able to stay up all night, then take a walking tour of Bucharest in the morning.

Though the two countries are neighbors, Bulgaria and Romania, like most of the countries on the Southeastern Europe Field, have nothing in common linguistically. It’s a significant challenge for the field, whose nine major languages are so diverse that multi-district events are generally conducted in English, like this one was. Still, the youth had plenty to talk about.

With the Orthodox Church dominating faith in both countries, and having joined the European Union at the same time, the two post-communist nations face many of the same social and economic challenges.

They also discussed ways to share Christ’s love with their friends and neighbors who do not yet know Him.

“One of the Romanian youth who has just recently received Christ said, ‘They
aren’t bad people, they just don’t know about Jesus yet,’” said Sunberg. “On that Sunday morning, her parents came to church for the third Sunday in a row.”

The district continues to look for new ways to support and encourage one another, so in April, the Razgrad church took a van of adults and youth to Sighisoara, Romania, to visit and worship together with Roberta Bustin, Dorothy Tarrant, and Magda Cini, who are co-workers helping lead the ministries in Sighisoara and the nearby village of Tigmandru.

“Again, they are finding ways to cross the language barriers that naturally present challenges,” said Sunberg.

Source: Where Worlds Meet – Year 6, Issue 5 - June 2009