Alexandru Vlasin
Aspects of Communist Repression that Fostered Faith and Witness
Romania’s Communist regime left both a positive and negative legacy for the country’s Baptist churches. One positive element is that Communist repression drove churches and their members to be well-anchored in the Bible and prayer. Many believers learned portions of the Bible by heart and met regularly in prayer for hours. Also, in spite of severe restrictions, many believers took evangelism very seriously, sharing with others around them stories of their journey with God. In doing so, they used their own life experiences, rather than set evangelistic methods, of which they had no knowledge anyway. Moreover, church members had good reputations among their neighbors. Helping each other and helping neighbors and colleagues was part of their lifestyle. People outside the churches used mocking names for believers such as “the repenters.” However, these same mockers acknowledged the help and assistance they were able to obtain from the very people they mocked. So, in difficult times, believers were a source of love and care for others.
Regarding specific cross-cultural missionary work, other positive influences derived from Romania’s Communist era. First, after 1990, Romanians began to have access to difficult-to-reach countries in North Africa and Asia. The former Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu had formed good relations with leaders of such countries, and therefore Romanians are fairly easily accepted in these parts of the world today. In addition, because of their past sufferings it is easier for Romanians to wait in long lines for their documents to be approved, as is the case in many non-Western countries. Also, not having had access to indoor plumbing and other modern conveniences has made it easier for Romanian missionaries to adapt to difficult living conditions in Africa, the Peruvian jungle, and the slums of the Philippines. Furthermore, Romanian missionaries are able to survive on limited resources.
Negative Consequences of the Communist Legacy
On the other hand, the legacy of Communism has left its negative marks on Romanian churches. First, mission was mainly understood as visiting neighboring churches. Fellowship among churches was and is a very important element, but it cannot replace the work of mission on behalf of people outside the church. Moreover, no foreign mission agency could be registered in Romania under Ceausescu. However, missionaries residing mainly in Austria were active in Romania. These workers could not live in Romania, but travelled extensively here. Their presence was sporadic. Nevertheless, they were welcomed basically as brothers who came from Western churches to encourage local believers. Therefore, in the view of most Romanian pastors, the work of missionaries was not associated with formal mission agencies. Also, unfortunately, because of Communist restrictions, missionaries had to work exclusively within church premises. Communist authorities did not allow any spiritual activity outside church buildings. However, believers found ways to organize events in homes, such as frequent “birthday parties” as covers for prayer meetings and Bible studies. “Birthday parties” were also used as evangelistic events and even in church planting.
After 1989 mission outreach continued to be limited by an incomplete theological understanding of mission. Most pastors interpreted Acts 1:8 as a sequential mission: first “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and [then] in all Judea and Samaria, and [then] to the ends of the earth.” Working simultaneously at home and abroad was not really considered. Another misunderstanding involved Romanian church leaders receiving international missionaries and resources after 1989 as before, but very rarely going or sending cross-cultural workers abroad.
After 1989 churches also focused on building projects. It is true that buildings expressed the identity of the church under Communism. If the church building remained standing in a community, it meant the church was able to continue its activity. However, if the church was destroyed by bulldozers—which happened many times—the church felt it had failed. This mentality was not easily changed after 1989. Believers continued to build buildings as part of their identity in the community Another development that hindered the growth of cross-cultural missions after 1990 involved the desire of local churches to reassert their autonomy, reversing the trend before 1989 of ever-more centralized unions of churches. Thus, as local churches began to exercise greater independence, they also developed mission projects on their own that sometimes lacked sufficient vision and coordination.
Furthermore, after 1990 foreign missionaries started to introduce themselves as representatives of mission agencies. They were no longer seen as brothers from the West eager to help Romanian churches, but rather as personnel of mission organizations with their own agenda. This shift was so pronounced that some church leaders advised against working with so-called parachurch agencies. For Romanian Baptists, the highest position in the church is the office of pastor. Sometimes missionaries have been viewed as “second-string ministers,” not able to prove themselves as good enough, despite their work and effort. On the other hand, it should be said that most international missionaries are very much appreciated by church members and many pastors.
Communist attacks on religion meant that churches were always on the defensive. Therefore, pastoral training focused on the study of biblical apologetics, an emphasis that continues in Romanian theological education. This almost exclusive concentration upon apologetics and pastoral work in theological schools gives practically no room for courses on missionary subjects and even fewer designed to develop skills and attitudes for effective cross-cultural mission.
In the first years after 1989 an additional impediment to effective Romanian participation in cross-cultural missions was top-down decision-making, often by single individuals in foreign agencies. Romanian pastors had little input beyond asking for funds. Therefore, some believers came to the conclusion that Romania was the final beneficiary of missions. However, in time Romanian Baptists came to understand that the Bible teaches that we are not the end of mission, or as David Bosch said, the “waiting room for hereafter” (Missions and Theological Education in World Perspective, ed. by Harvie M. Conn and Samuel F. Rowen [Farmington, Michigan: Associates of Urbanus, 1984], xxiv). Rather, we are the means to God’s end—reaching others with the Gospel beyond our borders. To that end, Romanian Baptists are seeking a fresh understanding of mission and are striving to increase cooperation among churches and between churches and mission agencies.
Romanian Baptist Missions Today
With slowly growing interest in international mission among Romanian Baptists, the denomination’s leadership established the Mission Department of the Baptist Union of Romania to assist churches in the task of making disciples of all nations, as commanded in Scripture. This department exists to serve churches and pastors in their missionary effort. Underscoring the importance of crosscultural ministry is a limited but powerful Romanianlanguage literature depicting the sacrifices missionaries have made in Africa, India, and other parts of the world. At the same time, international mission agencies have the intention of sending Romanian missionaries abroad with Romanian support, an approach that has not been received so well by churches that considered themselves entitled to continuing help from foreign churches and missionaries. Foreign mission agencies moved forward recruiting Romanians for missionary service abroad, but often without the support of Romanian churches and pastors. Newly formed Romanian mission agencies hope churches will cooperate with them, but it has not happened yet.
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of having a national mission organization helping churches participate in international missions? A local mission agency can bring churches together to work cooperatively and to design a common strategy for mission. It can also educate churches for mission and coordinate national mission events and conferences. As to disadvantages, a local mission organization just underway cannot move as rapidly as can long-established international mission agencies. In addition, a local mission agency has a limited capacity to send cross-cultural missionaries. Thus, a need exists for partnership with international mission agencies.
Examples of Baptist Cross-Cultural Ministry
Currently, Romanian Baptist churches support 40 cross-cultural missionary families and singles. They are scattered around the globe in the Balkans (Serbia and Bulgaria), Eurasia (Moldova and Ukraine), Africa, Asia (the Middle East and the Far East), and Latin America (Peru and Bolivia). Some of these missionaries serve abroad with the support of a sending mission agency, while others are serving with international mission agencies based in Romania. Romanian cross-cultural missionaries currently engage in a variety of ministries including church planting, evangelism, social projects, and educational efforts. Examples of outreach by Romanian Baptist missionaries include the development of discipleship programs in Central Asia, planting churches in Peruvian jungles, and the founding of a medical clinic in the Philippines. Romanian Baptist pastors who are especially active in support of cross cultural missions are Cornel Boingeanu, Benjamin Poplaceanu, Romica Iuga, and Viorel Candrianu.
In addition to the Romanian Baptist mission department coordinator, Romanian Baptist missionaries themselves promote missions as they travel back home, encouraging their churches to support the sharing of the gospel abroad. Among the greatest personal needs of Romanian Baptist missionaries are consistent spiritual, moral, and financial support from their sending churches and effective ways to educate their children on the field.
It should be noted that the profile of Romanian mission candidates is changing. A decade ago, Romanian missionaries left for the field with very little preparation and few resources. And they did not hesitate to move to difficult situations, as was the sacrificial practice modeled by Romanian pastors in the past. However, today expectations have changed. Prospective missionaries ask for a salary or make inquiries about the safety of a prospective country. Current missionary candidates also tend to have less experience in evangelism, church planting, and discipleship in Romania prior to their departure abroad.
Today, Romania has two indigenous mission agencies and ten international missionary-sending organizations. The indigenous mission agencies are closely connected with two denominations of the Romanian Evangelical Alliance: Pentecostals (http://www.apme.ro/) and Brethren (http://www. agentiakairos.ro/en/). International mission agencies working in Romania and involved in sending Romanian missionaries to other parts of the world are: Wycliffe, Operation Mobilization, Alega Viata (Campus Crusade), OCI (One Challenge International), ReachGlobal (Evangelical Free Church of America), Frontiers, Youth With a Mission/The Pentecostal Mission (TPM), and Greater Europe Mission.
In Conclusion
In the 25 years since the fall of Communism in Romania, Baptists and other evangelicals have successfully launched a movement sending Romanian cross-cultural missionaries abroad. Many young people have been stirred by the Holy Spirit to serve on the mission field. They are members of God’s army willing to go to difficult places to serve Him. In addition, churches and their leaders are taking up the cause and are becoming involved in support of missions. Short-term mission trips also promote longterm mission activity in various parts of the world. An increasing number of churches are designating funds for missions on a regular basis. In addition, pastors are leading church mission conferences to promote the spread of the gospel abroad. It can safely be said that a mission movement is alive and well in Romania today. Joining hands with our brothers from the West and learning from each other, the potential exists to expand Romania’s part in answering God’s call to spread His Word across the globe.
Alexandru Vlasin, Ph.D., is coordinator of the Mission Department of the Baptist Union of Romania (