Witnessing the Evolution of Missions in Slovakia

If there is anything that missionaries hope to witness in the country in which they are serving, is that the people will first experience the love and forgiveness of Christ. After that, they want them to catch the vision of missions and begin to pour their lives into the their own people who are without Christ. It is exactly this which John and Daralena Bean, AGWM personnel in Slovakia are experiencing.

John relates, “Recently, Daralena, our daughter Dessa, and I were distributing clothes and other essentials to a very poor Roma village where the inhabitants have only known the Lord for a short time. In our few minutes of visiting, they were sharing with us the great joy they were experiencing by going once or twice a week to a neighboring village to share the love of Christ with their own people. It is exciting to know it was in this very village that we had to cancel one of our teams from going there a year ago because there was intense fighting among the people. Thankfully, we are hearing this same testimony coming from a number of other Roma villages.”

Learning who Jesus is in Slovakia

"This is what we want the thousands of Roma people in Slovakia to know" saysWendell McClung, AGWM personnel in Slovakia. "We as a team want to introduce Jesus to this people group. As they come to our events, our prayer is that they will experience Jesus and choose to let Him be the Lord of their lives."

Such an event took place in June in Sobrance! Over 800 people were introduced to Jesus and over 300 accepted Jesus as their Savior. Upon arrival to the Convoy of Hope event, the guests were given hot food. The kids went to a tent where they were ministered to by a team from Wisconsin. The adults went to another tent where they heard praise and worship music, testimonies and preaching, all in the Roma language.

The team held four services that day and believe that all present were given an understanding of who Jesus is. When each group left, they were sent home with a Bible and a bag of non-perishable food items. Now these new converts need prayer.

The next day a traditional style "church service" was held with a separate kids ministry area. There were an estimated 200 adults and 70 kids in attendance. As of this writing, they have had four services and will continue to meet weekly. The McClungs are so thankful to all who worked, ministered, prayed and gave so this "church" could be planted. Their desire is to make disciples of these new Roma converts. The follow-up ministry in Sobrance is key to keeping this harvest. There are trained kids ministry workers and pastoral leadership in place to see that this church plant becomes a vibrant place where others can get to know "who Jesus is".

"This is what we want the thousands of Roma people in Slovakia to know" says Wendell McClung, AGWM personnel in Slovakia. "We as a team want to introduce Jesus to this people group. As they come to our events, our prayer is that they will experience Jesus and choose to let Him be the Lord of their lives."

Such an event took place in June in Sobrance! Over 800 people were introduced to Jesus and over 300 accepted Jesus as their Savior. Upon arrival to the Convoy of Hope event, the guests were given hot food. The kids went to a tent where they were ministered to by a team from Wisconsin.The adults went to another tent where they heard praise and worship music, testimonies and preaching, all in the Roma language.

The team held four services that day and believe that all present were given an understanding of who Jesus is. When each group left, they were sent home with a Bible and a bag of non-perishable food items. Now these new converts need prayer.

The next day a traditional style "church service" was held with a separate kids ministry area. There were an estimated 200 adults and 70 kids in attendance. As of this writing, they have had four services and will continue to meet weekly. The McClungs are so thankful to all who worked, ministered, prayed and gave so this "church" could be planted. Their desire is to make disciples of these new Roma converts. The follow-up ministry in Sobrance is key to keeping this harvest. There are trained kids ministry workers and pastoral leadership in place to see that this church plant becomes a vibrant place where others can get to know "who Jesus is".

Roma Ministering to Roma in Slovakia

AGWM personnel in Slovakia, John and Daralena Bean, hosted a team of 39 Roma (Gypsy) from New Jersey who came to minister to their own people in Slovakia. They were able to go into 4 new villages and share the Gospel. The Roma were so eager to hear the gospel. In the village of Kamena Polruba, the mayor of the city came with several others and dedicated their lives to Christ. But there is an interesting back story with this Roma team! About 25 years ago, there was a young Roma couple in New Jersey who wanted to get married. They went to the Orthodox Church and asked the pastor if he would marry them and he refused to do so. It happened that one of the family members of this couple knew of an Assemblies of God pastor, so they went to him and asked if he would marry them. He consented to do so under some stipulations. 1. He wanted the couple who was getting married to bring their entire family to the marriage counseling sessions. 2. After they were married, they had to agree to bring their entire Roma family to one Sunday morning service at the Assemblies of God church. They agreed to the stipulations and sometime later after they were married, there were 80 Roma who came to that Pastor’s A/G church as they promised. The pastor preached and all 80 of them gave their lives to Christ.

Out of that group God called several of these Roma to be preachers and pastors. When the Beans were home on Furlough in 2013, they were contacted by this Roma Pastor who had heard of their work with the Roma in Slovakia. They have earnestly been trying to find out where their people originated and where some of their people may live in Europe. So the Beans went to New Jersey and preached for them and found out very quickly that they had many traditions and cultural similarities as those who live in Slovakia. God brought them back to minister to their own people!

AGWM personnel in Slovakia, John and Daralena Bean, hosted a team of 39 Roma (Gypsy) from New Jersey who came to minister to their own people in Slovakia. They were able to go into 4 new villages and share the Gospel. The Roma were so eager to hear the gospel. In the village of Kamena Polruba, the mayor of the city came with several others and dedicated their lives to Christ. But there is an interesting back story with this Roma team!

About 25 years ago, there was a young Roma couple in New Jersey who wanted to get married. They went to the Orthodox Church and asked the pastor if he would marry them and he refused to do so. It happened that one of the family members of this couple knew of an Assemblies of God pastor, so they went to him and asked if he would marry them. He consented to do so under some stipulations. 1. He wanted the couple who was getting married to bring their entire family to the marriage counseling sessions. 2. After they were married, they had to agree to bring their entire Roma family to one Sunday morning service at the Assemblies of God church. They agreed to the stipulations and sometime later after they were married, there were 80 Roma who came to that Pastor’s A/G church as they promised. The pastor preached and all 80 of them gave their lives to Christ.

Out of that group God called several of these Roma to be preachers and pastors. When the Beans were home on Furlough in 2013, they were contacted by this Roma Pastor who had heard of their work with the Roma in Slovakia. They have earnestly been trying to find out where their people originated and where some of their people may live in Europe. So the Beans went to New Jersey and preached for them and found out very quickly that they had many traditions and cultural similarities as those who live in Slovakia. God brought them back to minister to their own people!

Revival Continues Among the Roma of Slovakia

Twenty two new believers were baptized recently from the church in Sol’. AGWM Personnel, John Bean, preached the baptismal service in the Roma church. Although some predicted that the Roma revival would be short-lived and would not have much effect, a mighty move of God is still apparent among this marginalized people group with a fervent hunger to know God at a deeper level. Sadly, there are hundreds of villages yet to be reached and not enough labors to reach them. The Slovak Mayor in the city of Sol' came to the Beans Bible/English class which they teach for the Roma children. The mayor came to meet and thank them for working with the Roma children of his city. God at work is evident amongst the Roma.

The Beans visited the village of Jakubovany for the first time. This village has 3,000 Roma! In the past, it has been a very violent village. Also, it has some of the worst living conditions the Beans have witnessed yet among the Roma. There are approximately 40 people in the village who are believers. They are planning to start an outreach and discipleship ministry in the Fall.

Twenty two new believers were baptized recently from the church in Sol’. AGWM Personnel, John Bean, preached the baptismal service in the Roma church. Although some predicted that the Roma revival would be short-lived and would not have much effect, a mighty move of God is still apparent among this marginalized people group with a fervent hunger to know God at a deeper level. Sadly, there are hundreds of villages yet to be reached and not enough labors to reach them.

The Slovak Mayor in the city of Sol' came to the Beans Bible/English class which they teach for the Roma children. The mayor came to meet and thank them for working with the Roma children of his city. God at work is evident amongst the Roma.

The Beans visited the village of Jakubovany for the first time. This village has 3,000 Roma! In the past, it has been a very violent village. Also, it has some of the worst living conditions the Beans have witnessed yet among the Roma. There are approximately 40 people in the village who are believers. They are planning to start an outreach and discipleship ministry in the Fall.