News

Partnership and support are the means by which SGA can maintain active involvement in such a wide spectrum of ministry across a vast mission field. The ‘Leadership Support’, aspect of our programme is therefore a vital component in our missionary operations.

On a dry December Sunday morning, the village of Bazna, nestled in the picturesque rolling hills of Sibiu County, Romania, became a focal point for hope and renewal. Historically known for its fortified church and mineral springs, Bazna is home to around 6,000 inhabitants. On this particular Sunday the air was filled with a palpable sense of thanksgiving as the community gathered for the reopening of the Baptist Evangelical Church.

‘From the cradle to the Cross’… ‘From Bethlehem to Golgotha’… These phrases resonate with the believer because they encapsulate the marvellous story of the grace of God in the Gospel of Jesus. He has provided a way back to Himself from the place of spiritual death and condemnation which is ours because of our sinfulness and rebellion.

The Good News Foundation (GNF), founded by Charles and Agnes Ficsor in 1990, has roots in decades of caring for the poor and sharing the Gospel. Their son Donat and his wife Barbara now lead and expand this work, with a strong focus on children and young people. Among their many ministries, several stand out.

“One of the most effective missionary strategies of our time.” That is how one national church leader recently described the support and partnership given to local missionaries and church planters as they seek to reach their own people with the Gospel. It is certainly not the only approach to mission, but in SGA’s regions of ministry, we have witnessed God’s blessing on it in remarkable ways.

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ.” The absolute necessity of knowing God as He has revealed Himself to us in His Word cannot be overstated. Having the Gospel available in our mother tongue is essential if the truth about Jesus is to be fully understood and planted deeply in the hearts of those who read it.

In the 1930s, thousands of Christians and political prisoners were sent to forced labour camps (the Gulag) in the remotest parts of Russia. Among them was a young mother, Yevstaliya Feodorovna whose only ‘crime’ was being married to a preacher of the Gospel. Her husband was killed, her three young children were put in an orphanage, and she was sent to a camp in Ola (Kolyma region).

The training and equipping of national believers have long been central to SGA’s work, which is why four Mission Schools are currently being run in Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, and Poland. Each school provides rigorous theological training as it seeks to prepare new church leaders to faithfully handle God’s Word, for it is by its Spirit-empowered proclamation that the church of Jesus Christ grows.

For more than three decades, SGA has been privileged to serve alongside faithful believers in Moldova – men and women who know their people, their culture, and their language, and who have a deep burden to reach their own nation for Christ. Throughout this time, a simple truth has been confirmed: when believers are equipped and encouraged to minister within their own communities, the cause of the Gospel can advance in surprising ways.

Partnership has been crucial to the development and expansion of Gospel work throughout SGA’s ministry, particularly in the Central Asian region. Through fellowship with Trans World Radio, SGA has been able to extend its outreach into areas that were previously almost unevangelised, bringing the Gospel directly into homes and hearts where there is no access to a local church or the usual means of hearing God’s Word. The distribution of small radios – often described as our ‘little missionaries’ – has proved to be an effective way of overcoming many of the barriers faced by those who long to hear and be changed by the Gospel. But why is this project needed, and why is it so valuable in a region where opposition to Christian truth is often the norm?

One of the greatest highlights of SGA’s 75th anniversary year was the opportunity to reflect on those partnerships which have defined the Mission’s ministry over the last seven and a half decades. Just as the Apostle Paul poured out his heart in gratitude for the Philippians (Phil. 1:3-5), we too treasure the preciousness of Gospel partnership with those we are privileged to serve alongside. Yet, as Paul expresses his sincere thankfulness for those with whom he partners in ministry, the over-arching theme of his letter to the Philippians is that this partnership is totally centred on the Gospel. It is the Gospel that both generates partnership and drives it to missionary enterprise.