Report concerning the Lord’s Move and the Church Life in Croatia and Serbia — Fall 2016
Split, Croatia
Split is the second largest city in Croatia. It is located in the southern part of the country on the Adriatic Sea. Currently, approximately 20 to 30 saints are meeting regularly in the way of the church life in Split.
The saints in Split meet together three times a week for the prayer meeting, the ministry-reading meeting, and the enjoyment and overflow meeting on the Lord’s Day.
It is now the regular practice among the saints to translate and use the European (LME) prayer list in the prayer meeting. They share the translated list also with the saints in Zagreb, Osijek, and Hvar, Croatia, and in Novi Sad, Serbia. In this way the saints are entering into and praying for the burdens which are in the Body.
During the ministry-reading meeting the saints are now in the book The All-inclusive Christ. They very much enjoy what they read, and there is some good and fitting sharing after they read the chapter for that particular day.
The meeting on the Lord’s Day is in two parts, each approximately one hour. The first part is the time for enjoyment with singing and praising, and the second part is for overflow and sharing. During the week the saints are divided into two or three groups of approximately ten saints in each home meeting, but on the Lord’s Day all the saints meet together. All the saints are encouraged to share from their enjoyment from the previous week. The Lord also opened a new home for meetings on Saturdays.
There are two more meetings in Split now—the brothers’ meeting and the sisters’ meeting.
Previously, four or five local brothers were meeting together for coordination, prayer, and fellowship. Recently, the rest of the brothers in Split joined the smaller group of brothers, so the joy when they meet is even greater and the fellowship is fuller.
On another day the sisters come together for prayer, fellowship and enjoyment.
The saints in Split are always encouraged and are very much open to blend with others — to travel to the One-week Trainings at Bower House, to the Young People’s Conference in Poland, and to blending conferences in other localities. Through such blending they leave the realm of their small town or region in the Balkans and experience the genuine oneness of the one Body of Christ.
Recently, a burden has arisen among the brothers in Split to take the ground there and start the breaking of bread. If the Lord leads, they would like to start to break bread at the beginning of 2017.
Most of the initial saints in Split came to the church life through the literature and their contact with the saints. In addition, the first conference in Split in March 2014 was a crucial event for some of the saints. At that time all the saints were still scattered in many groups and denominations, but the rich word of God caught some. Mainly because of this fact, there is a long term burden among some of the brothers from Split to organize a blending conference in Zagreb, the capital and largest city. For now no date has been set, but the brothers are considering the first quarter of 2017.
Hvar, Croatia
This is a little town on an island of the same name. A group of seven saints are meeting in Hvar two times a week to pray and enjoy the Lord together. Whenever possible these saints blend with the 2 saints in Split for various meetings, especially during the meeting on Lord’s Day. We are hoping that the Lord will add to this group of saints.
Zagreb, Croatia
A month ago a couple moved from the church in Berlin to Zagreb to join one couple of local saints and a young local sister. Initially, in Zagreb there was only one brother (still a student at that time). Eventually, this brother attended the One-week Training in London a few times, as well as the international conference in Bratislava. Now seven saints are meeting in Zagreb, and one more sister will join them soon. The church life is in an initial stage, and the saints are full of joy and expectation when they meet together.
Osiiek. Croatia
Osijek is another among the biggest cities in Croatia. Three saints in Osijek are meeting during the week to read the ministry in Croatian, and they are expecting the Lord to raise up others to begin to meet with them.
Pula, Croatia
In Pula six saints are reading the ministry and are open for contact and fellowship. They no longer desire to meet with denominations, nor do they desire to become a free group.
Novi Sad, Serbia
The saints in Novi Sad came into contact with the ministry and the saints approximately three years ago. Initially, about 15 believers from the same denomination were open for fellowship. This caused unhappiness in the denomination, and eventually five saints left the denomination and started to meet in Novi Sad. They continue to enjoy the ministry in fellowship with other saints in the Body.
These saints are meeting two or three times a week to enjoy the Lord and to read the ministry. They are blending especially with the saints in Croatia, and they also attend conferences outside Serbia. Their desire is to be the Lord’s testimony in their locality. Recently, a couple from the United States and a young brother moved to Novi Sad for several months to strengthen the situation there.
Please pray:
• For the Lord to add to the number of saints in each locality
• For the Lord to raise up a golden lampstand in all these cities
• For the Lord to spread the ministry and the church life in the two countries and in all the Balkan countries
