“Last week, I visited Bahnea, a small town in Romania, and stayed with Pastor Nelu and his wife Anca, who are pastors of a Roma church. One night, Anca shared how she came to faith in Christ through reading Derek Prince’ book Blessing or Curse. God set her free completely. She is now a worship leader, doing women ministry and overseeing 5 Roma churches together with her husband. She’s also a mother, and they take care of two more children not of their own. Even though they have few earthly possessions and very often no money to buy food, they have faith in God!”
This wonderful testimony was shared just before Christmas by a Dutch lady, who contacted the Derek Prince Ministries office in the Netherlands. But she wanted more than just share a testimony. She also had a specific request.
“From time to time, the pastor’s wife buys a copy of Blessing or Curse for other women, so that they can be touched by God too. But buying them a book often means that she has no money left to buy food for her own family. Is there anything you can do to help?”
Because of our global network of Derek Prince Ministries teams around the world, we could connect her with Brano, the outreach director of DPM Eastern Europe, and our office in Romania who gladly contacted Pastor Nelu and Anca to offer them free Romanian resources.
Revival amongst Romas
“There is a real revival amongst Romas (historically often called gipsies)”, Brano confirms. ‘This started about 15 years ago. Many are coming to faith, especially youth.” Brano recalls visiting a Roma church in Slovakia. “They gathered in a huge barn. In communistic times corn was stored there, but now a spiritual harvest is being gathered here. The atmosphere was unique.”
Seeing a Roma radically saved is a miracle. It not only changes them, but also brings healing and change into their families and communities.
"You need to lead these people to Christ before they reach the age of 20 years. If you don't reach them by then, many of them will spend the rest of their life in a bitter circle of unemployment, poverty, alcoholism or in prison – a life without hope and a future. Their prison punishments are usually quite low, but they'll be out of jail for a month or two and then be sentenced again ", a prison chaplain in Slovakia said to Brano.
Roma churches are growing rapidly, with new churches opening up everywhere. However, many Roma are very superstitious, so they rely on icons or 'idols' of the Virgin Mary and the Cross to protect them against evil. They need somebody to properly explain the basics of the Christian faith to them. They are also very practical: What do I need to do and how to do it? That is where Derek Prince’s Bible teaching can help them.
Sowing seeds of faith
DPM is supporting Roma churches with free Bible teaching resources by Derek Prince. "Our ministry is like sowing seeds. Very seldom a miracle happens by reading a short passage of a book. It's different from campaigns where you can count converts at the end of the night. We sow Bible teaching into the lives of people and then wait to see the result. The miracle of transformed life is usually a lifelong process of allowing God´s Word to impact all areas of your life. Teaching is a long process and the church in Eastern Europe needs workers for the harvest season to come.”
