Not alone: a new vision for Macedonia
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Acts 16:9–10 (ESV).
During the Cold War, the church in Macedonia (then part of Yugoslavia) declined under communist rule. When Macedonia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, the door opened for the struggling Protestant church to move forward. Today, only 0.2% of the population are evangelical Christians. Much of Macedonia’s two million people live in areas that are not yet served by an evangelical church. There is a great need here for the gospel.
2018 is expected to be a year of great expansion for the Macedonian church. The Evangelical Church in Macedonia currently has 26 officially registered churches, 15 smaller home-based gatherings, and a total of 13 ordained pastors. The ministry of the Evangelical Church in Macedonia is overseen by Mirco Andreev, who has served as General Superintendent since 1996. He says, ‘our vision is to see at least 100 new churches being planted in Macedonia, which is a really big step for our mission here.’
The Evangelical Church in Macedonia wants to raise up new leaders from within, and see them equipped to work in communities which have never been served by an evangelical church. This is a wonderful opportunity for pioneering mission amongst people who have never heard the gospel, under the structure of an established evangelical church.
Sarang Church – Union’s gospel partner in South Korea – has taken up the call to help realise this vision. Union and Sarang are partnering to help Evangelical Church in Macedonia to establish new churches in 14 communities which are not yet served by an evangelical church. This partnership will also enable pastors and churches to organize evangelical and outreach events, establish infrastructure for worship services, and provide bibles and literature for the people in each of these 14 communities.
Mircho says, ‘it is our pleasure to say that we as an Evangelical Church in The Republic of Macedonia are partnering with Union. I am so glad that we could find a partner and understanding with the brothers and sisters at Union. I believe in the possibility that some of our young people can continue their education with Union. We are very happy about our cooperation with Union and with Sarang Church, which is a big encouragement and a motivation for us for spreading the gospel in Macedonia, because we know that we are not alone in this work.’
Discover how we resource church planting projects here.