EUROPE'S HOPE IS ALIVE

by Dr. Fred Powell                                                                                                              Vol. IX, No. 1, January 1996

In Oradea, Romania, is perhaps the greatest hope for reaching all of Europe and the former Soviet Union. The Emmanuel Baptist College and seminary was born 5 years ago out of extreme persecution and trial. At present there are over 600 students preparing for ministry in a strong conservative school that has a burden to reach the multiplied millions yet without Christ.

Currently we in the west are witnessing in Eastern Europe the greatest missionary challenge in all of history. The doors open now present the most rapid opening of an entire mission field, containing over 500 million people hungry for the good news of the gospel. This is a dramatic and dynamic opportunity. The suddenness of this opportunity, the enormous interest in Christianity, and the fact that missions have not been clone in astern Europe as they have in Asia, Africa, and Latin America for the last 150 years make it essential that we, as Southern Baptists, respond quickly, wisely, and thoroughly.

Dr. Jerry Rankin, President of the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board, speaking to Romanian Baptists in Oradea said, "God has called you to be like Paul and have a vision to evangelize the nations. God has called you to a mission greater than Romania alone."

The school is a springboard to the CIS [former USSR] and the Middle East. The population of Romania is 23 million, but there are another five million Romanians living in the CIS, three million in Moldova, one million in The Ukraine , and one million in Siberia, where they were deported by Stalin in the 1940's. Since the Romanians who live in the CIS speak Romanian, they are easily trained in Oradea. Since they also speak Russian they will be missionaries anywhere in the CIS. What man intended for evil God will use for good.

The seminary is now in it's 6th academic year. With a total of over 600 students it is already the largest Baptist or Evangelical school in all of Europe. Recently four teams of students were sent from the school to do evangelism and church planting in Siberia. One team went to the Ukraine and Moldova. Another team did evangelistic work in some of the remote villages of the Danube Delta. These are a few of the school's mission fields currently being reached.

Dr. Paul Negrut serves as President of Emmanuel Seminary which operates under the auspices of the Second Baptist Church in Oradea. Emmanuel has a board of trustees which include outstanding scholars and church leaders from Romania and the USA. The Chairman of the Board is Dr. Josef Tson, President of the Romanian Mission Society and professor at the school.

Classes are currently held in the educational wing of the newly-constructed building of the church, and a little less than half of the students are housed in a very expensive and inadequate hotel outside Oradea, Construction on campus was started in 1991, and the project includes a university, a seminary, and a high school. Rampant inflation has made it necessary to focus on the buildings needed most: two dormitories with 174 rooms, a cafeteria, and an academic building with classrooms and office space. The building will also house the library that contains over 22,000 volumes at present. It is estimated that construction on the two dormitories will be completed by the end of 1996, however an additional $3 million is needed to accomplish this goal.

With the unbelievable opportunities present and the need so great , Communicator Ministries, [Dr. Fred Powell, President and founder] has been commissioned by the school to be the USA Director of Financial Development. Communicator Ministries Inc, is a volunteer, tax exempt organization. It is our desire to reach God's people here in the USA with the overwhelming opportunity for blessing by investing in this very unique mission. I will make myself and my associates available in any city or church to present this worthy mission story. We wish to host lunches or dinners inviting business and church leaders to view a prepared video and hear [with no obligation] how they may be involved.

To arrange a personal visit to one or more individuals or to a church, please write, call, or fax CMI; P.O. Box 723; Richmond, MO 64085. Phone 816-776-7619 or 816-470-5408, fax 816-470-2002.

All funds received by Communicator Ministries Inc. will be channeled to the school's construction project by way of the SBC Foreign Mission Board.