During the month of May, MLI organized its spring Church Based Leadership Development intensive training for men. Between May 11th—14th, and 18th – 21st approximately 50 men from five different areas of Romania: Câmpina & Giurgiu – south Romania; Fetes ti – south east Romania; Sibiu, Medias & Fagaras – center; Carpinis & Anina, west Romania; from the Western Mountains, and also from Serbia, came at Alpinis for training. The theme of the Conference was: “Reflections on a 43 years pastoral ministry – a personal journey”. The speaker this spring was my dear brother and long time friend pastor Philip Campion from Biggleswade Church, England. Philip is one of the very few pastors fr
om the western countries who visited us in Romania during communism. He spoke about many practical lessons he learned during the 43 years of pastoral ministry , emphasizing the importance of connect-ing with God and connecting with people. Once again the time spent together at Alpinis was special; it was a time of sweet fellowship, building relationship, growing in the knowledge of the Lord, spiritual and p
hysical renewal. Thank you Philip for sharing from your rich experience as pastor and servant of God. We appreciate the sacrifice you made to come and serve others in our country. May the Lord abundantly bless you, your family and your church. We also are thankful to Biggleswade Church for their generosity and prayers. Please take a few minutes to read the impressions of some of the participants.
I am thankful to God for the fellowship we had with brothers from other areas. I appreciate the way He taught me and reminded me about being obedient to Him, who I am, what I have, what I have been given, and what I can do, are all from Him. Thank you, brother Philip for your encourage-ment, your passion and optimism with which you shared from God’s Word.
Tica Stroia – Missionary – Anina
I am grateful to our Father in heaven and to the ones connected with MLI who made this retreat possible at Alpinis. I under-stood once again how important my rela-tionship with God is and how significant it is to have healthy relationships with one an-other. An important theme that stood out for me is: blessing. God has blessed us through Jesus Christ with all sorts of bless-ings so that we could bless the ones around us. In a world where relationships are more and more superficial, we have to show love. Pastor Florin Botar – Ponorel
One thing that I learned about this week is that I have to reevaluate my relationships and my involvement in God’s ministry. I am happy to know I have a place and purpose in God’s plan. Brother Phil in his different roles as a pastor, brother, gran
dfather, friend and servant of the Lord showed us how our foun-dation in God’s Word should be. May God’s grace and peace be upon you! Viorel Dumitrascu – Fagaras
I had the privilege to learn how to share the Gospel to the unchurched or doubtful. I was taught that I have to be patient, to have good arguments, and per-severe. I was reminded that loving my neighbor should always be a priority for me. I am honored to have participated.
Ioan Cotet – Abrud
I am fascinated with the example of faith, love, and joy in the Lord I have seen in brother Philip. It was a great time of encouragement, building faith and the desire to be permanently connected to the source of our strength, thus having a bigger passion to serve God. Ghita Vasile – Missionary – Lenauheim
I was blessed to participate at this conference. There are a few things that stuck in my mind and I pray I can apply them in my life. Firstly, that people are important, not programs. Being connected to God is vital for my life. The key to being connected is obedience. I learned how to take “God’s house
” to the people and not expect people to come to the “House of God”. And lastly, I learned to be fascinated by the Creator and not just by the creation. Traian Nemes – Alba-Iulia
The days spent here were such a blessing for me; first of all, through the way brother Philip shared his message passionately, with joy, and conviction. God touched my heart through the truth that a leader’s role in church is to stay connected to God, to listen to His voice and to obediently do His ministry. Another idea that in-spired me is that the church’s role is to be there for the people and to listen to them and not primarily talk. Most of the stories about Jesus’ life are not about the Temple or the synagogue, but about His work among the people. Pastor Nicu Chindea – Racovita & Ficatari
It was such a useful conference for me. I learned about how to make connec-tions in ministry with the ones around me, how I should listen to the ones with whom I talk and how to solve their spiritual needs by first blessing and praying for them. May the Lord bless brother Phil for sharing his experience and love for God with us! Gheorghe Malasanciuc – Fetesti
Thank you s
o much for your continue support for God’s work in Romania. Investing in people is the best investment we can make, it has everlasting results. Your prayers, love and generosity means so much for us; it encourages us and give us strength to continue. Your partnership with us is vital, without your very important support we could not do what we do. You all are in our hearts and we pray for you! May the Lord bless you!
Pastor Eugen Groza – Your Partner in Romania