Small Group Leader Training for mission in Transylvania

The community of Hungarian Adventists from Transylvania had the privilege to take part in a special training for mission between January 16, 2022, and February 6, 2022. The organizer and the host of the small group training was Pastor Lóránd Balla, the leader of the Publishing and Ethnic Groups Ministries of the Romanian Union of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the team of Arthur Daniells Institute of Mission Studies (ADIMIS). At each occasion, the participants could listen to seminars given by Dr. László Szabó, pastor and teacher of missiology at the Friedensau Adventist University. Also, there were practical small group activities and small group leadership training. It was a pleasure to experience that everybody did their assigned homework and activities faithfully and carefully. Some people had the opinion that they had not taken part in such a good theoretical and practical training in the past. Others immortalized, via photos, the information from the small monitors, so that they could use them when needed. During the time of the training new friendships and small groups were formed and organized, which are ready to pray and function. It was a joy to experience the enthusiasm for God’s work from the part of the speaker, that of the organizers and participants as well.

One of the participants said: " The exercise of responsibility worked so well that we want to keep in touch, because even though we have been brothers and sisters for decades and see each other every Saturday in the church, we had not exchanged more than a few words."

Another brother said, "Last time our group decided to arrive half an hour early before each training. We prayed together for potential invitees. It was a joy to experience the enthusiasm of the presenter, the organizers and the participants for God's work."

During this training, behind more than 200 cameras there were not just individuals, but more churches and more groups as well, thus the number of the participants could reach 300. The leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church was represented by Mario Brito and Barna Magyarosi, president and secretary of the Inter-European Division respectively. And from the part of the Romanian Union Conference, Aurel Neațu, president of the Union,  who through their messages provided spiritual encouragement and motivation to the participants. We trust that this effort in preparing them will be fruitful through the work of the Holy Spirit at the planned evangelistic series to be aired by the Romanian Speranța /Reménység Television and by Facebook and the YouTube channels. We pray that God will bless the work of the gospel in Transylvania as well!

Written by Ferencz-Zorgel József, Adventist pastor in Mezőfele (Romania)