Twenty Years of the Bible School in Serbia…

This is a year of celebration in Serbia as the Bible School heads towards its twentieth year…

Bible School beginnings in 1996

It was autumn 1996 that the first group of students arrived to begin their studies in the village of Backi Petrovac in the north of Serbia.

With the wars that had marked the early part of that decade only just coming to an end, a number of those first students had come to know Jesus through the humanitarian work that we had been involved with since 1991. Time after time we had arrived in “Yugoslavia” with coaches and trucks loaded with supplies that had been lovingly prepared by friends across the UK. Every time that we shared these gifts in refugee camps or in sport stadiums we carefully shared the Message of a God who loves us and has come to us in the person of Jesus to rescue broken humanity through His death and resurrection…

Some of you reading this bulletin were involved right back in those earliest days as you prayed, prepared aid and even travelled with us.

Image below: arriving at a refugee centre with an Oak Hall coach. 

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A Year of Study through the whole Bible

igorThrough that first year of studies, we explored through the whole Bible with around thirty different Bible teachers who gave their time to serve with us. Each week, the students headed to the refugee camps to continue to share the message of Jesus with those there… our lives were shared together as we lived in community.

Graduates Serving across the Region

As those students graduated, many of them headed to new locations to plant churches and launch other initiatives that brought a great and positive impact to the country and shared the Message of Jesus Christ still further. It was clear that it was right to run a second year of the Bible School and so the new year was launched…

As well as visiting refugee camps, we also travelled across the region to stand with – serve alongside – those students who had studied through the first year… and so the work gathered momentum year after year.

Image below: a children's camp organised by graduates Dragan and Danijela. 

Children's Camp...

A New Centre for the Bible School in Belgrade

It was soon clear that although the welcoming, small northern village of Backi Petrovac was a perfect cradle for the beginning of the Bible School that, ideally, we should seek a base in the capital of the country. After years of prayer, research and preparation, God wonderfully provided the amazing building on the edge of Belgrade that is now our centre.

In 2003, after a summer of repairs and renovations carried out by graduates and team of the Bible School, the ninth generation of students began their studies in the “new” building Belgrade. This has proved to be an ideal base for the work as it grows year on year and now the twentieth generation of students approach their graduation.

Image below: students outside the Belgrade Bible School Building. 

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The work continue to grow in this Twentieth Year

With former students serving in Bosnia and Hercegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia and Serbia, it is amazing to see how God is building His Church across the region as we reach this twentieth year.

We will continue to send stories of the graduates as this year of celebration continues…

Thank you so much for your prayerful partnership!

Conference for Youth Leaders

Last weekend we organized a conference for youth leaders from Serbia. About 40 young people came, and we spent a blessed time together through teachings and fellowship. The topic was 1 John 2:6, the verse which addresses all believers to walk in the same way as Jesus did.

For me personally, it was awesome to spend time with young2 people who are called by God to serve in Serbia, and I am thankful for the privilege that I could share some things with them during the conference, that I could challenge them to examine if Christ is truly the ‘model’ for their ministry.
It was  great blessing and encouragement to hear the feedback of some people.

A young man came up to me and said that  he’d  had no expectations before he came for this conference, and he thought that it would be just another series of teachings , good, but nothing special.
When the conference was over, he told me these words:” This was a very good conference, You made me think deeply about my Christian life and the things I ‘m doing for God……

I was encouraged greatly when a couple of guys came up to me and asked me if I would be their mentor. It’s great to see that people see my life as a good example.

God works!!!

We had an English camp in Backa Topola in July. About 26 teens came from Backa Topola and Pacir and had a great time while learning English, playing games and hanging out with each other.

We had prayed for opportunities to share the Gospel and the love of God, and we were blessed to see that the kids were open, very honest and felt free to ask questions. I will never forget the words of a teenager guy who claimed himself  to be an atheist, that even if he didn’t believe in God, he still enjoyed very much to listen to the conversations about Him. A girl said she wanted to start coming to the church, because “Christians at the camp were so loving”. Seven of them said that they came to faith during this camp.

We really grew close to these kids, and continue hanging out with them at the church. So far we have had 2 “follow-up programs” , the first one was a barbecue, and we organized a disco-party for them last Friday. Please pray that God would continue working in their hearts.             THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT!

Two new births in Ruma!

 

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Ruma

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We would like to take this opportunity to share two very important events that have occurred during the past month.

As mentioned in the title, I would like to share the news about the two births – one in our family and one in our church.

Every birth is a very important and positive thing. New life brings joy, blessings and prosperity. So it is in this case!

 

                                                           Luka has been born!

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          As a family we are so glad that we got another child. Luke came as the sixth member of our family. All about Jaroslava’s pregnancy and delivery went well. Now we enjoy the wonderful gift that the Lord has given us.

 

                                                               Marko’s birth!

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Last month has been rich with the new beginnings.

I would like to tell you a little bit more about Marko. Marko is from Ruma and he is 34 years old. Last month he has been born also! Let me explain. Marko had actually been born 34 years ago, but last month Marko has experienced the new birth. He met and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. It was an honor and a privilege to baptize Marko. Marko’s baptism confirmed his faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I had a chance to talk to several Marko’s friends and they told me they were amazed by the change he underwent in such a short time. We rejoice and praise God, as Marko became part of our great Christian family.

As a church and as a family we would like to thank you for your continuous support for the work to which our Lord Jesus Christ has called us.

Drago and Jaroslava

Banja Luka Church visiting Kosovo

Sinisa and the team from Banja Luka, Bosnia write…

Visiting Kosovo“VISITING KOSOVO In April a number of us visited Kosovo. It was an amazing experience, because that is the place where in 1389 the battle of Kosovo happened and where Christians were fighting against the Ottoman Empire (Turks).

“Nowadays Kosovo is still not safe as Serbs and Albanians (Muslim) fight over the country. The bombing of Serbia in 1999 was over Kosovo. Kosovo although claiming independence from Serbia, is not recognized by some countries and Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of them.

“It wasn’t a pleasant feeling to go there and we were feeling a little bit uncomfortable but when we got there God changed our feelings completely. The best thing was that our brothers from Albania who become Christians took us to the place where the battle of Kosovo happened and in that group there were Serbs, Muslim, Albanian’s, Croat and Finns, but as Christians we prayed for Kosovo, for Muslims, for Serbs and for reconciliation in this region.

“Only God could put us together and give us His love for each other. God is good.”

There is much more news from Sinisa and the team click this link to read on – Christian Fellowship Newsletter May 2013

News from Drago and Jaroslava

 
We would like to share news from our family and church in Ruma.
We are truly blessed with our brothers and sisters in the church.It is wonderful to have such a lovely family around.
We thank the Lord that we can grow and build as the body of Christ.
Psalm 133:1‚‚ How good and pleasant it is  when God’s people live together in unity!‚‚
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Holy Communion is a new thing that we started in the church in Ruma.
So far we have received Holy Communion in the church in Sremska Mitrovica.

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An interesting statistic is that in the church we have 17 people and 15 children. There is a saying: “Children are our future”. We can freely say that children are our present! We are really grateful for all the childrenin our church.
The new project that we are planning to start, as a church is to help drug addicts. We believe that God could heal these people and we are praying for God’s guidance for this new ministry. I will write more about this project in our next newsletter.
Jaroslava and I have special news that we would like to share with you. We are expecting fourth child! Jaroslava is seven months pregnant. With great pleasure we expect our sixth member of the family! Please pray for us in this exciting moment in our lives.
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Please pray for our church and believers in Ruma. And also please pray for the other people to get to know real truth and life, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank you for  your support.
 
Kind regards from Chruch in Ruma
 
                    Drago and Jaroslava

Two Great Pieces of News – Stojce in Pacir


Stojce writes, “I am really excited to share with you what God has done in the past couple of months in Pacir.
“This is a ministry that has literally grown out of nothing, and looking back now, I see how  God put everything together and opened up doors to new blessings  in a miraculous way step by step.
“When the ministry in Pacir started, the group of young people serving there didn’t have a church building and served under really tough circumstances. We used a room that was empty, only with a couple of chairs and without heating in the winter. Then, weeks later we couldn’t go there anymore, so we gathered in  the homes of people attending the Bible studies.
“Soon we found a house we could rent, but it was in horrible state and at the end of the village. During these months we have been praying for a house of our own,something that was more appropriate to be used as a church building and closer to the centre of the village.
“Last year God finally answered our prayers, and with the help of brothers and sisters from Canada, we could buy a house, which was on a great location and big enough, but in very bad state. We were happy for God’s blessings, but also knew that we had no money to renovate the building,which  really had serious problems. The façade looked horrible, the paint was chipped everywhere, the walls cracked and broken.
“However, God proved His faithfulness once again-when we least expected it, we received a sum of money from England that helped us fix some of the biggest problems. We repainted the façade, the rooms, fixed the bathroom completely, bought chairs, pillows,tables etc.The building still has many shortcomings, but we see a miracle when we look at the pictures of what it looked like before, and what it is today.”



On the 2nd March we had the opening celebration of the church in Pacir.We had a beautiful programme with worship,a short message and history of the church,and my ordination for  pastor.This is a great privilege,but also a great responsibility for me.Please pray for me for wisdom,humility and love for the people who are already coming to the church and are at the beginning of their walk with God,and for wisdom and persistence in  trying to reach other people in the village.

Looking back,the team who has been serving in Pacir can truly see God’s guidance and mighty hand in blessing us with finances,prayer support,workers,converts and an awesome building that is hopefully a small source of God’s light in this little village.We are thankful to God beyond words,and thank you for your prayers and encouragement.

Christmas concert in Ruma

koncertOn this occasion, wish you a happy Christmas and New Year holidays.

As you know, in Serbia Christmas is celebrated on January 7. As an introduction to the Christmas atmosphere, we organized a Christmas concert in Ruma. The concert will be held today at 5 pm at the Cultural center in Ruma. Will Perform Baptist Church Choir from Sid and songwriter Mirko Mravik.

The most important thing tonight will be a brief message about Jesus and the importance of His birth for us.

Please pray for this event. For people to come and be touched by message about Jesus.

Thank you for support!

Drago and Jaroslava Pejic

bozicni koncert ruma 25 kom

 

Internet cafe open in Ruma!

Internet cafe in Ruma

After many weeks of hard work we resorated part of our church building in Ruma in order to open an internet cafe. As mentioned in our previous letters, church is situated near the three high schools, and we decided to start Internet cafe project in order to reach out to the youth in our city. This project gives us opportunity to testify to the young people about Jesus Christ and as a young, recently established church, we see evangelisation as one of our highest priorities.

 

 

 

The opening of the Internet cafe gave us a great opportunity to offer to the young people a lot more than a cup of coffee and use of computers. Currently, two married couples from our church work in the cafe. Hopefully, as Christians, we will be an example of Chirst love to the highschoolers.
In a pleasant atmosphere where many kind of coffe, tea, hot chocolate and different non alcoholic drinks are served, we will hold presentations and lectures to high school students about the different education possibilities after the high school but also lectures about Christianity.
This is pioneering work in our contry and we are both encouraged by the way our God is leading us and at the same time challenged by the newness of the project.
We would appreciate your prayers for God’s guidance on how to approach to the young people, to bring more young people, and provide all we need for a work of this cafe. Our prayer is that in the future ther will be many who will testify that they heard the good news of Jesus in our cafe.
 
   We wish you every blessing
        Best Regards
                                              
                                  Drago and Jaroslava Pejic