Following Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, Moldovan Baptists invited North Carolina Baptists to send teams to minister to the hundreds of refugees who were sheltering at the Baltata Ministry Center near the capital of Chisinau. For the past two summers, sixteen teams and more than a hundred thirty volunteers from across North Carolina have grown in their love and appreciation not only for the refugees, but for the Moldovan Baptists who have opened their hearts, their churches, and their homes to them. Baptists on Mission will continue to work with the Moldova Baptist Union in feilding teams for needs such as this, as well as other projects. This could include children's ministry, leadership training, sports camps, etc.
MOLDOVA VISION TRIP - May 15-22 Click for a flyer with more information, and contact Mark Abernathy (mabernathy@ncbaptist.org or 919-291-36570) if you are a pastor or church staff member interested in participating in this trip on behalf of your church.
SUPPORT FOR MOLDOVAN CHILDREN: One of the ministries of the Moldovan Baptist Union is that of caring for orphans. A generous individual gave funds for over sixty children's homes to be built across the country. Most of these homes are operated by local Baptist churches under the overall supervision of the Moldova Baptist Union. As one can imagine, the financial challenges of running these homes and caring for these children are substantial. Click Here to see how individuals, families, Sunday School classes, mission groups, etc. can help provide support for these children.
PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY FOR NORTH CAROLINA BAPTISTS: Moldovan Baptists have invited North Carolina Baptists to partner with them in the coming years. Recent events have served as a reminder of how fleeting the opportunity to serve in this area may be. The time to strategically assist our Moldovan brothers and sisters in Christ in strengthening an evangelical presence - is now.
A CHURCH PLANTING EMPHASIS: The primary focus of the Partnership between Moldovan Baptists and North Carolina Baptists will be that of supporting a church planting missionary through growing, visionary Moldovan “mother churches”. This is the expressed desire of the Baptist Union of Moldova. These “mother churches” are led by strong, visionary pastors. They are gospel-focused and mission-hearted. Currently there are over 750 villages in Moldova with no evangelical presence. The great desire of these churches is to see that every village in their region has an evangelical church.
PARTNERSHIP ROLES:
1. The Moldovan “Mother Church”, with the guidance and encouragement of the Moldovan Baptist Union, will identify areas of need, develop the planting strategy, identify a qualified church planter or planting couple (“missionaries”), send that planter out as part of their church ministry, and provide regular supervision and mentoring, as well as support through church member participation in the planting effort when needed.
2. The Baptist Union of Moldova will serve as a supporting organization for the Mother Churches. Because of legal requirements, the church planting missionaries will be considered employees of the Baptist Union and will go through their screening and background check process. The Union will also provide periodic training sessions for all church planters. The Union will receive and distribute (through the Mother church) the support funds for each missionary/missionary couple. They will also collect, translate, and send quarterly reports.
3. The North Carolina Partner Church will commit to provide ongoing prayer support, encouragement through regular and creative communication, as well as monthly funding for the church planter as described below. In addition, partners may develop mutually agreed-upon projects – such as Vacation Bible School, outreach ministry, sports camps, etc., that mission teams can participate in. Teams and individuals traveling to Moldova will register with the Baptists on Mission office who will coordinate logistics including travel, insurance, and background checks.
4. Baptists on Mission (BOM) of the Baptist State Convention of NC will serve as the supporting organization for North Carolina Churches partnering in Moldova. They will maintain partnership strategy with the Baptist Union. BOM will receive church planting support funds from the NC Partner Churches and then forward them quarterly to the Baptist Union for distribution. BOM will also receive the translated ministry reports from the Baptist Union and distribute them to the NC Partner Churches. BOM will arrange airline, insurance and other support for partnership teams and individuals traveling to Moldova. BOM will maintain relationship with the Moldova Baptist Union for purposes of strategic planning and evaluation of the partnership.
FUNDING DETAILS: Each NC Partner Church will commit to provide $430 per month for five years (60 months). Moldovan Baptists will contribute an additional $100 per month for the same period, for a total of $530 per month in support for a church planter. Some notes:
- It could be that two or more congregations, or even individuals, come together to support one Moldovan church planter. If this is the case, funding will be sent to the Baptist on Mission office through one central partner church, and not individually.
- The monthly amount given will remain consistent throughout the course of the agreement. Because of legal requirements, the church planter (called “missionary”) will be an employee of the Baptist Union of Moldova. Because of this, it is required by labor laws that their support remain consistent, and not decrease, for the five year period.
- Both Moldovan and North Carolina churches will agree that the set monetary amounts for planter support will not be increased or supplemented in any way independent of mutual agreement between the Moldovan Baptist Union and the Baptist on Mission organization. This is to keep everything fair and balanced in each ministry situation.
- Funds for support will come to the Baptists on Mission office in North Carolina and then be wired to the Moldovan Baptist Union for distribution to the “mother” churches on a quarterly basis. The NC Partner Church may choose to send $430 to the Baptists on Mission office monthly, $1290 at the beginning of each quarter, or even $5160 in one lump yearly sum.
- Quarterly reports of each planter’s work, celebrations of what God is doing, and challenges/points of prayer will be sent by the planter/mother church to the Moldovan Baptist Union for translation, and then forwarded to the Baptists on Mission office, for distribution to the NC partnering churches.