A Picture of Progress: Ghioroc, Romania
As a child, Marcel Opris
was taught by example to love the Word of God.
Both of his grandfathers were pastors, and he
saw in them an authentic love and passion for God and His people. Though living as a “repenter” was not
easy under communism, Marcel surrendered his heart to the Lord as a youth.
Marcel
remembers, “I knew that there had to more to this life in Christ then just
going to church and being persecuted for that.
I knew in my heart that what God required from us was much greater than
religiosity. He wanted my whole life, and
I committed to worshiping and serving Him with everything.”
This commitment led Marcel
to study at the Theological Baptist Institute, to marry his wife Neliana, and to raise a family
that lives for the Lord. Today daughters Ligia and Larisa, 18 and 14, are growing in their relationships with Christ and actively involved in the church.
Marcel and his
family have been very involved in leadership at Harvest Metanoia Arad. They live in a village outside of Arad
called Ghioroc. It has been their desire
to see God raise up a worshiping body in Ghioroc that would be bold in
proclaiming the Word of God and giving testimony to the Lord Jesus. Through their faithful and enduring commitment
to this village and a small group of believers, God has blessed this body with growth and vitality.
Marcel served
as a youth leader, Sunday school teacher, pastor assistant and
missionary while
professionally he worked as an engineer. In May 2010, he left his professional career and accepted the invitation to be full-time
in vocational ministry as Senior Pastor of Harvest Metanoia Ghioroc.
Marcel says, “As
we served at Harvest Metanoia Arad we saw the values, the context, the vision
and passion which motivated me to start to a new work in Ghioroc. My family and I have decided to donate part
of our home and land to the Lord with the help of Harvest Bible Chapel Indy West. We believe that the vision, the pillars and values of Harvest Bible Chapel will help us to be a relevant church
for this generation.”
The desire of
Harvest Metanoia Ghioroc is: "To be a
testimony of Jesus Christ in the community. To preach the
Gospel of Jesus Christ so that many people would be saved.
To be a church
that seeks to know Christ and make Him known.
To live our
lives in a way that brings glory to God."
Pray with us for this new work, that as they seek first the kingdom of God and delight themselves in Him, these desires would be fulfilled in abundance...
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