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Roma communities are often in the poorest areas of Europe and can face challenges that make the gospel inaccessible. In Hungary, OM is working with the Roma community in Tata.
The ministry began a decade ago when OM workers Marcel and Lea (Netherlands) began visiting the area of Szélkút in the small town of Tata, about an hour and a half west of Budapest. In 2019, a Finnish couple started a children’s ministry, which they led until 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult for the ministry to grow. Then Ferenc and Gyöngyi, who are themselves from a Roma background, arrived in January 2023. The team was further strengthened by the arrival of a young woman who moved to Hungary from Pakistan four years ago, and the wife of the pastor in Tata, who is a volunteer.
Ferenc and Gyöngyi both studied Baptist Theology, and Gyöngyi also graduated as a catechist — a Christian teacher — and social counsellor.
Ferenc said: “We serve the Lord as pastors and social counsellors. We served in Szabolcs County in the northeast of Hungary for 12 years, [where] we led a Roma congregation, and in the meantime, we worked for Baptist Aid. During this time, we reached nearly 150 children and learnt and developed a lot for the glory of God!”
He explained that the couple was looking for where their ministry should continue when God led them to Tata. They now volunteer with OM as well as work for the Baptist Roma Mission.
“Our goal is to make disciples and train the next generation so that they can then make disciples of others,” he said. “We want to preach the gospel, planting congregations and carry out community development for those living in extreme poverty.”
The couple works with children, their families and the wider community.
“At the moment, we work with children within Tata,” Ferenc said. “We have been holding two services a week on weekdays and Sundays. We are in contact with 35 children, and 15 to 20 of them regularly participate in our programmes.
“During the meetings, as well as sharing the gospel, the team offers the children handicraft activities, individual and team games and conversation. We have also met with the parents of the children, but we do not have regular contact with them yet.
“And we support the life of the community; for example, we teach them to sew, and we also cooperate with the social workers working here.”
Finding a permanent location has been a struggle. While the ministry was meeting twice a week in a social service centre, "the social workers don't want us to meet there because we are sharing the gospel in a communal centre," Gyöngyi explained.
After praying, Ferenc and Gyöngyi went to speak with the mayor.
“Thankfully, the mayor is a man who studied theology and did social work. He understood our situation, but we will have to reduce our meetings to once a week. We are looking for another place to meet, but it's not easy. We would appreciate your prayers for this.”
Pray that God will open wide the door of new opportunities for more Roma families to hear the gospel personally and surrender their lives to Jesus. May the Lord provide a building to meet in regularly. Ask God to send more people to teach English, sports and music to the children of Tata.
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