Partnership between SGA and Bread of Life began in the early 1990’s during the civil war in former Yugoslavia. That was a time of chaos, a time of terrible adversity for all the nations in the region and a time of refugees. For Serbia it was the time of sanctions, hyper-inflation and isolation from the rest of the world.
Jasmina writes.... in such a situation, when everybody asked “What do we do?” the Belgrade church simply followed instructions from the Gospel and opened its door for refugees from Bosnia and Croatia. We have been meeting people in need, providing accommodation, encouragement and orientation in a new environment. The vision that moved us forward and kept us focused in the ministry was a cry to the Lord for lost souls and a strong sense of the responsibility we had at that time for the society in which we lived.
SGA visited the region and came to the side of the conflict that barely anyone else visited - to Serbia. They visited the Baptist Church in Belgrade, almost at the beginning of our work with refugees and saw multitudes of people coming to us. They became aware of our efforts to meet physical needs, but also to give them comfort and instruction from the Word. From that time, SGA decided to take the challenge of helping Bread of Life to carry the burden of serving the people in need as they came to our churches for help. Together, we have endured three main influxes of refugees and displaced people in Serbia – 1991/92 (the beginning of the war in Bosnia and Croatia); 1995 (expulsion of 250,000 Serbs from Croatia); 1999 (Kosovo and NATO bombardment and 200,.000 displaced from Kosovo). SGA faithfully supported us throughout twelve years of our relief work, during which time we helped around 40,000 refugees and displaced families who were seeking for material aid and spiritual support.
Through the time of relief work we, as evangelical church believers, understood our purpose and vision in the society in which we lived. What an eye opening experience! We have seen people who put their faith in Jesus and whose lives were changed. What an encouragement! It became very clear to us that we must not go back to our small churches and close the door that was opened to us. Does a farmer go away and leave the field that is ploughed |
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up and with the seed sown? We have prayed: “Lord Jesus Christ, what would you do, and where would you go?” We found the answer by just observing the life and work of Jesus Christ when He was on earth. He met and had fellowship with people who were neglected and despised by others. He was going to people who needed a physician.
We saw the need among the elderly. These people have suffered through the Second World War and the recent civil war. The best time of their lives they lived as atheists. Now, most of them have very little or no support from their society and even from their immediate families. Their doors are widely opened for us. We became very close to them. We help them with their house work, take them to see the doctor, advocate for their rights, and have fellowship with them. This generation has an equal right to hear the Gospel message. God is the One Who performs miracles and causes the seed to grow.
We saw the need of children who come from very poor families. Big percentages of these children are Roma(gypsy). Small numbers of them are able to finish elementary school. We help these children to be prepared for school and help them with after school work. With God’s help and effort of us all, we want to help them to finish elementary school and become equal members of our society.
There is a spiritual awakening in Eastern Europe among the Roma population. That is true in Serbia too. The biggest evangelical church in Serbia today is a Roma church with 1,000 people attending the service. In the Roma community where Bread of Life works, the first Roma Church in Belgrade was planted. Because of our work in this community, the Roma Church and its pastor have great respect and trust among the people. Almost half of the children from the pre-school and tutoring classes attend Sunday school at the Church. The Roma people trust Bread of Life and are recognising that we have true and genuine motives. The road that leads to God is shown to them.
We would not have been able to go this way alone. The presence of SGA in our lives and work is the proof of God’s care and comfort. May God pour out His mercy on our nations. This is the purpose of our lives – to fulfil His Great Commission. |
