Serbia has paid a heavy price for decisions made by its political leaders over recent decades. Still held responsible by many for much of the bloodshed resulting from the Yugoslav wars, it continues to struggle to overcome the problems resulting from the NATO bombing, international sanctions, and a terrible refugee crisis.
Membership of the Serbian Orthodox Church is regarded as essential to Serbian identity, so believers are viewed with suspicion, as propagators of Western cults. Alongside this opposition, some Serbian believers are acutely aware of another problem facing pastors and church members – the lack of good Christian literature.
SGA has invested heavily in the provision of literature, in partnership with Pastor Dane Vidovic who has been involved in various translation projects with the Mission. Several books have been published including Knowing God by J. I. Packer. This book proved to be an excellent textbook for theological students, and due to a high demand a second edition was printed.
However, two firsts for Serbia were ‘According to Plan’ by Graham Goldsworthy as the first Serbian Biblical Theology publication, and ‘Know the Truth’ by Bruce Milne, the first Systematic Theology in Serbian.
With true pastoral concern, Dane regards such publications as essential in the training and preparation of future generations of Serbian believers. He goes on to point out that:
“the need for these books is great if evangelical Christians in Serbia want to educate their pastors, theological students and others, in faithful biblical truths. Pray that these titles will have a strong impact on all Christians in Serbia and that God’s Kingdom will grow.”