Partnership spirit grows with MBC, Romania
By Allen Palmeri
Staff Writer
March 10, 2005
JEFFERSON CITY – Mac McCully, pastor, First Baptist Church, La Plata, is an example of the type of pastor that the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) is looking for as it continues to strengthen its ties with Romanian Baptists.
McCully has signed a partnership agreement with Florin Vasiliu, pastor, First Baptist Church, Iasi. They first met last May, when McCully traveled to Romania for the first time as part of an MBC mission trip. Vasiliu came to Missouri in February and signed the partnership agreement Feb. 13 at First La Plata. Both churches are in the northeast quadrant of their respective lands.
McCully is preparing to return in May as the leader of another MBC team focusing on conducting a medical clinic as well as evangelism.
There are about 48 of these church-to-church partnerships now between Missouri Baptist congregations and Romanian Baptist congregations, according to the MBC Partnership Missions Department.
“I’m seeing a lot of our Missouri Baptist churches going to these mission areas and taking partners with them,” said MBC Partnership Missions Specialist Norm Howell. “I spend more of my time now in the training, teaching and encouraging aspects of the partnership, whereas the others are actually leading the teams now. They’re going out and they’re doing it, and it’s going real well.”
An MBC team conducting training seminars in churches throughout Romania returned March 3 after spending two weeks overseas. Team leader Jerry Field, MBC church planting director, was joined by Bruce Morrison, MBC Sunday School/Discipleship Team leadership specialist, Mike Dennis, MBC Cooperative Program specialist, and Spencer Hutson, MBC stewardship specialist on a tour of several Romanian cities.
Another MBC team led by David Groves, pastor, Living Word Baptist Church, Poplar Bluff, will go on mission to Romania April 11-20. This group, which includes several pastors from the “Bootheel,” will focus on the Timisoara and Oradea Baptist Associations as well as the Hungarian Baptist Convention. Howell plans to catch up with the team in Romania and return to Missouri with them.
Two teams will represent the convention May 9-18 in Romania – McCully’s team and another group led by Dennis Cagle, pastor, Rockwood Baptist Church, Wildwood. Cagle’s team will focus on the Craiova Association and other churches in southern Romania as well as Hungarian Baptist Convention churches in the Brasov area.
An orientation for the May trip will be held at 10 a.m. March 29 in the Baptist Building. Pastors are still needed for this trip, Howell said. To inquire about partici-pating, call (800) 736-6227, ext. 621.
Pastors are still needed for the April trip as well. Inquire by mail to David Groves, 404 Township Line Road, Poplar Bluff, Mo., 63901 or phone (573) 686-6119.