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| Welcome to Church - Vision Without Borders |
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Starting in 1991, the country of Yugoslavia disintegrated, and as the years have passed six new countries have come into existence: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. On Sunday 17th February 2008, Kosovo, a province of Serbia, declared independence and has been recognised as a nation by 19 countries to date, including the UK.
The story probably doesn't end there. Bosnia is partitioned between Bosnia/Herzegovina and the Republic of Srbska, with the Serbs in Srbska wanting independence. Vojvodina, another province of Serbia, also talks of independence. In Macedonia, a group of Albanian separatists in an area around the town of Tetovo caused civil war in the 1990's, and continue to cause unrest within the country.
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In a region where borders and nations shift like sand, and where ethnic hatred seems part of the DNA, what is needed is men and women who proclaim a gospel of peace and reconciliation, who love their neighbour and who see themselves as citizens of heaven.
Mirco Andreev is such a man (pictured below). Mirco is the leader of the Evangelical Church in Skopje and has a vision to proclaim the gospel to all, by word and deed, regardless of ethnic background. As a result the church in Skopje provides practical help to Macedonians, Albanians, Serbs, Gypsies, and supports churches in many parts of the region that was once Yugoslavia.
In 1999, when thousands of refugees from Kosovo flooded into neighbouring Macedonia, Mirco leapt at the offer of help from Eurovangelism and we were able to support him in caring for the deluge of homeless and bewildered people. As Eurovangelism made national news headlines because it was the first to arrive on the scene with a truck full of aid, a new relationship was born.
Almost ten years later, our partnership with Mirco and the church is still growing as Mirco continues to introduce us to other churches and church planters in need of help.
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In February, I visited Macedonia to see some of the projects we support, including three of the churches. At least, we thought it was three... during my visit I was privileged to see the ministries in several towns, and when I got to the town of Veles I discovered the work there had grown into much more than one church ministry.
Dragan Manev (pictured left) leads the church in Veles. Since my last meeting with him in 2006, he has married Biljana and they are expecting their first child. Dragan took me into the hills of Veles to visit one of the gypsy communities where he is ministering. I was proudly shown the new meeting room for the church (see top-right photo), costing about 20 euros a month in rent; the first official meeting was due to take place the day after I left the country - Saturday 23 February.
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Dragan told me about a man, Isa, from a nearby town, who has been helping to lead these meetings every Saturday. Isa is a gypsy too, so he is well received by the people he works with. He wants to move to Veles so he can be available to pastor the community I visited, as well as one on another hill nearby where the church meets in a house. Money is the only problem, as a part time job (cleaning the streets) would not support Isa and his family. All it will take to have a man living in the heart of these communities, sharing and living out the Good News of Jesus, is £70 per month.
Whilst visiting the new church, I was able to chat with a young man who had come out to see what the commotion was about (we arrived with 260 kgs of clothes to distribute!); he was a Roma Muslim who spoke good English. I explained about the Christian church and pointed out the new building. By the time we left, he was looking forward to going along on Saturday to find out more.
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The aid we were able to distribute was from 'Agape', the social care arm of the Skopje Church, also led by Mirco. This aid goes to any and every ethnic group across the country: if somebody is in need, Mirco and his small team will help. In my few hours at the church building in Skopje, I witnessed what seemed like a never-ending trail of people - homeless, gypsies, mums with disabled children - desperate for food, clothing, or help getting to the hospital. People in Skopje know that this church loves and serves its community.
The vision does not stop at preaching, pastoring, and social care in Skopje and a growing number of other towns in Macedonia. Mirco is also keen to see God's work being done across the Balkans, of which Macedonia is placed at the heart. He has a good relationship with Jovica Bacvanski in Montenegro, as well as Artur Krasniqi, leader of the Fellowship of the Lordís People - the largest church in Kosovo. In fact, Artur was another person who arrived at the church in Skopje during my recent visit, to join in a day of prayer for the nations and for the church leadership.
In a region of disintegration and disillusionment, Mirco, with his dependence on God, is proclaiming the gospel of reconciliation and hope. Working with churches regardless of which nation they are in, helping people regardless of where they come from or their ethnicity, Mirco sees beyond the boundaries that divide us and, like the Good Samaritan, he loves his neighbour.
Sally Macpherson |
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| How you can help |
The Evangelical Church in Skopje is known by many in Macedonia to be a church that puts its love into action. It also supports other churches as they reach their communities for Jesus.
In a nation with extremely high unemployment levels, a lack of finance makes all this work even more difficult.
If you would like to help further the work in Macedonia please click on the link below and mark your gift
ìMacedoniaî.
For further prayer requests please see the April/May Prayer Diary online.
You can also visit our Prayer Blog for immediate requests. Click Here. |
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