WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT?

Our missionary itinerary through the cities with the missionary project “The Mission Torch” aims to reach the following objectives to:

1. Challenge the Baptist churches in Romania to search sincerely for the “light” of God’s Face (Psalm 4: 6; Psalm 89: 15). Without this irresistible light of God there is no real repentance and without repentance there is no mission. When the “light” of God’s Face “shines” above us, then repentance and mission are connected in a wonderful way.

2. Give a passion for mission to the churches in Romania through prayer, fellowship and mutual motivation with the aim of getting involved in internal and external missionary work, according to the plan established by Lord Jesus, which is found in the missionary strategies of His churches throughout the generations to our day.

3. Share the missionary vision with the churches that desire to become “torches” of the divine mission in our generation (see missionary projects).

4. Identify some “pillars” of mission, people ignited by God for mission, on whom we shall build in the future concrete projects of missionary approaches for areas in Romania or for other areas on the globe.

5. Identify the persons who desire to become torches of God’s mission in other countries around the globe, where the spiritual needs are much greater than ours. We ask God to become a missionary country, together with all the other countries that God is using powerfully today.

WHAT ARE THE MOTIVATIONS FOR THIS PROJECT?

– The church exists for mission. Mission is not an option of the local churches but an order given by the Lord Jesus to His Church in any generation (Matthew 28: 19-20).

– God wants us to have an open heart to love the whole world. The churches are called by Lord Jesus to bring the Gospel where it has not been proclaimed yet: to any ethnic group in Romania, the countries near Romania and “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 13:47).

– We have been blessed by God in order to be a blessing for others (Genesis 12: 2). Romania is a country blessed by God with many local churches and many devoted servants (compared to other countries in Eastern Europe).

– The flame of mission can ignite any “smoldering wick” (Matthew 12:20). We believe that every local church in Romania can get over its spiritual lethargy if it allows the Spirit of God to ignite it for an active involvement in internal and external missionary work.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

– Pray. Lord Jesus told us that “the harvest” is plentiful and the “workers” are few, “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field” (Matthew 9: 37-38). Place a map of the world in a visible place in your church. On this map, circle our country and your city. Pray each Sunday (especially when the torch will arrive in your city or your area) that God will raise missionaries from your church and from other Baptist churches in Romania, to take the Good News in the places from our country or from other countries on the globe where the Gospel hasn’t been proclaimed yet. Follow the itinerary of the “Mission Torch” during the year 2005 and pray with our brothers and sisters from those places.

– Be available. Participate at the special church services that will be organized when the “torch” arrives in your area (or send representatives who can testify about the way in which God challenges our churches for mission). Be ready to get involved in a short-term mission in another area of our country or in another country of the world (ask for details). Encourage those who are called by the Lord to be missionaries.

– Get involved in a missionary project. If there are places without any Baptist church in the area where you live, start a missionary activity there. Spend your holiday in a place in Romania that is more remote from the area where you live and where there is no Baptist church. Bring your testimony about your faith in Lord Jesus in that place. After praying with your church, choose one of the international mission projects (presented here) and be ready to get involved in a concrete ministry.

– Adopt a missionary. If your church does not have a missionary who serves in another place or ethnic group from the country or from abroad, then adopt a missionary from another church. Enter into a partnership of missionary support with other Baptist churches from Romania who have believers who work as missionaries in the country or abroad. Pray for this missionary, encourage him through letters or other means and keep him in your hearts, anytime, just like a spiritual parent.
– Give. Open a special account for mission at your church and encourage the believers to support mission financially. Lord Jesus told us that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Create an environment in which the members of your church could experience this joy. Do not forget that the financial resources are not ours but God’s, so He will provide enough resources for the churches which desire to become ducts through which blessings flows to others. Do not transfer the money in other churches’ account or in the account of other missionary organizations, adopt a missionary and contribute directly at his support (ask for details).