Faith Worth Imitating: 10 Days with Gospel Ministries InternationalWelcome to Gospel Ministries International Faith, without works, is dead. This doesn’t seem to be a struggle in the day-to-day life at Gospel Ministries International, in Iasi, Romania. Ministering in Romania, Moldova, Transnistria, and Ukraine, as well as other international areas, Ghiorghi Cazacu seems to have made it his commitment to never live a day without purpose. Whenever we traveled, even the little things were found to be significant opportunities to fulfill the “great commission.” During a tour of the largest mall in Iasi, we were approached by a young women handing out flyers. While he wasn’t too interested in her sales pitch, Ghiorghi was concerned with her salvation. He began by asking her whether or not she knew the reason for celebrating Christmas, and after a short Romanian discussion, she was praying for forgiveness and salvation in the name of Jesus Christ! This was a common occurrence though, and almost a dozen people came to Christ simply by giving them a ride in the van and taking to opportunity to share the gospel. Amongst these conversations was a group of young adults traveling together, a half sober women abandoned in the dark fog of a Moldavian backroad, and an Orthodox Priest traveling to his temple. And all these things were simply on our way to do the work of the ministry. Spending a week with Ghiorghi Cazacu and GMI led me to understand the fullness of the term, “Never a dull moment.” Every action was strategic, and every move was a part of a bigger plan. Across Moldova, we stopped by at least 8 GMI planted churches, another one in Transnistria, and of course there was the church at the GMI headquarters itself. But as we traveled, he was pointing out churches all across the country-side, more than I could keep count of; we couldn’t have stopped to see them all in a week even if we wanted to. Traveling with Ghiorghi to see the church planting in Moldova was incredibly eye opening. On the first trip, we were traveling for two days, and the second trip, we left for 5 days, even going into Transnistria. Every night we stayed in the home of a different pastor. The conditions there were quite poor. Most don’t have toilets, and may didn’t even have a tub to shower in. The bathroom was small wooden outhouse with a hole in the ground, but you had to brave the 25 degree weather and wind chill to use it. The homes also had very limited sources of heat. What really impressed me and impacted me as we traveled was the unity, the constant peaceful presence of the Holy Spirit, and the complete, unwavering, devotion to the Lord, regardless of the circumstances. Church Planters in Gradinita, Moldova One such house was that of Peter Halikov. Peter, his wife Christina, and their infant daughter Evelyn, lived in a home that would have been condemned in America. No indoor bathroom or tub, only two functional rooms, and only one with heat. They prepared food, ate, and washed in a small cold kitchen, and had one small room heated by a wood furnace where they lived and slept. Still, they were enthusiastic to greet us, as were all the brethren, and they had a sparkle and joy in their eyes that made the physical circumstances almost seem to fade. Not too long ago, this family was living in the city, with mostly modern conditions, but they gave up everything to live in this small forgotten village in order to do the will of God, and were now being supported through GMI as a church planting family. Daily Life and Ministry In Moldova, life is hard. Everything is a chore, and living the normal day-to-day life is constant work. Everything is homemade or grown, and they live, for he most part, by the fruits of their own labor. Though it’s their livelihood is more of a struggle, there are far less distractions. No Wi-Fi, no 4G LTE smart phones, and no Facebook. They had their family and their communities and that was it. The result though, is families and communities that are well connected. Every home we visited was joyful and serving, the children were mild and obedient, the wives were busy in the home and with the children, and the men were meek and focused. Families were together and invested in one another, and since the homes we visited were all Christian homes, we were in constant praise and worship and fellowship. What an amazing blessing it was to see the transformative power of the Spirit among these villages and the fruit of God’s work through GMI. Personally, I gained a lot in my 10 days with Ghiorghi Cazacu and GMI. Mostly I learned what it really means to be led by the spirit, to lay down your life for the gospel, and how to make disciples. Everywhere we went, every person we spoke to, and every dollar exchanged was for the purpose of building God’s kingdom. Everything was recorded and accounted for in an act of integrity and accountability that should set the standard for ministry. To most people in our modern American church, discipleship is a weekly bible study, some Q&A, and maybe even some good educated advice. Many times parents even leave the discipleship of their kids to a Wednesday night service and the youth pastor, but Ghiorghi took a different approach. In the morning, before and after eating, around discussion, while traveling, when we saw an ambulance, or for any other reason really, Ghiorghi was always leading in prayer. Outside of prayer, he was always working for the Kingdom, and taking his disciples with him to see and to serve, and among all these things, the praise of Jesus Christ was always on his lips. The first night of my arrival, all the household, about 12, was gathered together just to sing praises to the Lord, pray, and be edified. The next day Ghiorghi had the young disciples prepare and serve food for the poor, led in worship, and send them home with a month of supplies. On Sunday, the young disciples led worship and read scriptures that they themselves organized before the message, and then we all went and visited a brother in the hospital who had an appendectomy. While we were there, they all began singing praises to God, gaining the full attention of the rest of the recovering patients, and began to speak and pray with the others. At least one man came to Christ. In every circumstance, Ghiorghi was feeding them the word of God, giving them opportunities to serve, and they were doing life and ministry together. There was a closeness, and a level of accountability and obedience that I realized should be the core of true discipleship. Conclusion GMI has a long term strategic vision and approach for the Kingdom of God. The vines of the ministry are branched out in every direction, and you find the roots of it all at the main headquarters in Iasi, Romania. There it begins with evangelism and discipleship, and church planting which has extended out and been reproduced from Romania to and everywhere in between. From there, they feed the poor, care for orphans, preach Christ in schools, provide for widows, run rehabilitation centers, and is even establishing a 2 year bible school in Moldova. All the while sponsoring pastors and leaders to continue being a light in the darkness and salt the earth. All in all, Ghiorghi Cazacu is a man on a mission, and he continues to run GMI as a Spirit led ministry with the highest level of integrity and accountability. Ghiorghi truly holds a faith worth imitating, and he seems to strive towards a vision that shapes his every word and deed: Glorify God and bring all people into the obedience that comes from faith.
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1 Comment
Dorothy
12/22/2015 06:31:26 am
So awesome that you were able to experience this soon. We are reminded how great God is and how blessed we truly are. We take do much for granted and constantly complain about everything. Thank you for sharing. God is good!
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