How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him whom they have not heard? How will they hear without a preacher?
– Romans 10:14
This week in Pirot, many children and adults have heard the gospel of Jesus. In English class, the children learned English words and songs, played games, and heard stories from the Bible. They received treasured diplomas for their hard work this past week.
In Multiply discipleship class, we took it a step further. The participants in these classes were already believers. As Linking Partners does in every area where we work, we were teaching not only scriptural truth, but also demonstrating how to teach others. In Pirot, there is a new, growing group of believers. They are “multiplying” so quickly they need more than just Ivan to teach and lead home groups. So the Multiply classes were a model for how to walk new believers through the foundations of the faith.
Linking Partners makes it a priority to supply resources for leaders, so they can study Bible resources translated into Serbian. A significant portion of our donations go toward translations and resource development. One way we support leaders in Serbia, is providing tablets loaded with books and Bible studies. This trip, we presented Bojan with a new tablet.
After lunch, we had a break while the room was prepared for the evangelization. We stopped at a favorite ice cream shop for a sweet treat, then found a shaded area to sit and drink coffee and sodas while we waited. We had already checked out of our hotel, so we were at loose ends.
As the sun set in Pirot, it was time for the evangelization. We helped set up chairs, listened to the praise team practice, and watched as children and adults began to arrive. In Pirot, our team has been very impressed with the joy and excitement these new believers show. The leaders who are rising up from their Bible studies and home churches are taking their responsibility seriously — but with an inner joy that is infectious. It has been a blessing to serve alongside them this week.
The pictures do not accurately portray the evangelization as it was. The building is small, divided halfway with a wall that blocks the view of half of those standing in the “second room.” In that room, that could comfortably seat 40-50 (if there were that many chairs – but their were only 20 chairs), there were over 100 people. Did I mention it was around 100 degrees yesterday in Pirot? It didn’t matter! We were crammed in, the praise music (Roma style) was pouring out the doors and windows, drawing the curious. Outside, gathered at open windows and the front door, were about 50 more people, unable to get in, but wanting to hear, to sing, to be a part.
At the end, there were four decisions for Christ that we are sure of, with another four that the leadership in Pirot need to talk to and be sure they understand the decision they were making. It was a wonderful, blessed evening, and we are sure there is more ahead.
Ahead for us? We took a bus ride to Prokuplje, arriving around 11:00 pm. Here we will spend our time visiting home churches in villages, and enjoying fellowship and conversation about the work our dear friends, the church planters of Prokuplje, are doing.
