Location: Romania is in Eastern Europe. The Danube River forms its southern borders with Bulgaria and Serbia. Hungary is to the west (left), and Ukraine to the north (above). Romania is about the size of our state of Oregon.
The Land: The Carpathian Mountains run from the north to the southeast. In the center of the country, the mountains turn and run west through Transylvania. In the lower hills and plains, people grow fruit trees, grains, and other crops and raise animals.
Weather: Romania has long, cold winters with lots of snow. There are only about three hours of sunlight during the winter days. Thunderstorms often rumble in the spring and summer, and it is dry in the late summer and fall.
The Name: In Jesus’ time, this land became part of the Roman Empire. The people began to follow Roman customs and to speak Rome’s language, Latin. Their land became known as Romania—“Land of the Romans”—and the people as Romanians.
Assemblies of God Facts: Fifteen U.S. Assemblies of God missionaries work in Romania with the Romanian Pentecostal Union and the Romanian Assemblies of God. Some 650,000 people worship in 2,600 churches. More than 4,550 pastors and workers lead these churches and reach out to their people. More than 500 more students attend the two Bible schools and 11 training programs in the country.
Capital City: Bucharest (2.2 million) Population: About 22.3 million
Main Languages: Romanian (official). Minority groups speak Croatian, German, Hungarian, Romany, Turkish, and other languages.
Main People Groups: Romanian (90%), Hungarian (7%), Roma (Gypsy—2%), small communities of other Europeans.
Religions: Eastern Orthodox (85%), Roman Catholic (5%), Protestant (5%), some Muslims and Jews.
Romania
One day in Romania in the early 1900s, George Bradin read a leaflet sent by a friend in America. It told of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. George and his wife prayed and began to speak in other tongues. God also healed Mrs. Bradin. They told their friends, and on September 10, 1922, they started a Pentecostal church in their house.
Most Romanians belong to the Eastern Orthodox church. They used to believe the Pentecostals were a cult, with wrong beliefs. The Pentecostals had to meet secretly. The government said it would not allow any Pentecostal churches, but still more people joined them. Finally, in 1950, they got permission to meet openly. They organized the Romanian Pentecostal Union—with 36,000 members!
Some U.S. Assembly of God missionaries visited the churches during the hard years of Communist rule. In 1992 the first missionaries came to stay. Today 15 missionaries work with the churches to reach Romania, from the youngest to the oldest.
Every year thousands of unmarried young girls have babies. Many leave their babies in the hospital. At a place called Touched Romania, missionaries and a local team care for them and find homes for them. They also have a home for young mothers and teach them how to care for their babies. Coins For Kids and BGMC have provided lots of money for equipment and supplies to help these girls and their babies.
Another ministry, Kidz Romania, helps kids all over Romania. The missionaries travel to poor villages to tell children about God through outreaches, VBS, school assemblies, and summer camps. They also train children’s workers in hundreds of Romanian churches. They use puppets, clowns, music, and dramas to draw crowds of kids—and their mothers and grandmothers.
BGMC is helping to reach the kids in Romania by providing our missionaries with children’s ministry equipment and supplies, Sunday School materials, children’s church materials, and Bibles.
Some churches, often with the help of missionaries, have preschools and kindergartens to help children learn about God and prepare for school. Many of
these churches reach out to Gypsy people. It is hard for Gypsy children to go to school. As churches help kids with schooling and teach them about Jesus, their parents want to hear too. Many Gypsies have found Jesus! BGMC is helping to reach the Gypsies by providing money for their churches, and by giving them Christian education materials, videos, and Bibles.
Pentecostal churches are full of young people who want to live for Jesus. They study the Bible in youth groups, camps, and conferences called Peniel. Some answer God’s call to become leaders and go to the Bible schools.
Is 2,600 churches enough? Romanian believers don’t think so, and they keep starting new ones! In one village, a family moved their seven kids into one bedroom and enlarged another room to make a house church.
Romanians are very good at starting new churches. But there are still hundreds of villages with no churches. Magazines, radio and TV programs, and Web sites help tell people about Jesus. But many more need to hear.
BGMC is a big help all over Romania, including the Romanian Bible schools. BGMC funds are used to buy whatever is needed to spread the gospel message in Romania, including books, Bibles, TV programs, teaching supplies, and lots more. Thank you for giving to BGMC to help reach the people of Romania.
