John & Estera Vatrans
John and Estera Vatran are natives of Romania. Their parents fled communism and immigrated to the United States in the early ‘70s. Considering the freedom the Christians and churches were experiencing in Eastern Europe after the collapse of communism, and very much aware of their need for help, John and Estera along with their two children, Daniela and Jonathan, returned to their native land in May 1994 after over 20 years in the States. With fluency in the language and familiarity with the culture they were able to come alongside national believers and get involved in the ministry shortly after arriving.
EQUIPPING NATIONALS – LEADERSHIP TRAINING
Training and equipping national church leaders, “equipping the saints for the work of the ministry” Ephesians 4:12, was then, and still is today, the greatest need in Romania, as well as throughout Eastern Europe. To help meet this need, in 1994, John started teaching at the Baptist theological seminary and the university of Bucharest. Since then till present, John has taught classes, counseled, and mentored hundreds of students, many of whom, now serve the Lord in Churches and different ministries, throughout Romania and across the European Union. By teaching in a theological seminary and through leadership training seminars and conferences, they’ve been able to invest in the minds and souls of the young generation of pastors and church leaders. The Vatrans did not settle in a classroom ministry alone, they developed a hands-on approach to leadership training. With many new churches being planted, the lack of pastors and church leaders was evident. This has opened the door for John to serve as interim pastor in various churches, some with memberships of over 500. In each of these churches, John worked with pastoral interns, helped develop a vision, build a team, a then moved on to another church. Presently John serves as interim pastor in two churches.
WINNING SOULS FOR CHRIST – EVANGELISM MINISTRY
God blessed Romania with opened doors and amazing opportunities to share Christ. Traditionally most evangelical churches organize evangelistic meetings and rallies throughout the year. Every year John has been scheduled to preach at these evangelistic events, sometimes in more than 20 locations. They travel across the country and presented the good news in many villages, towns and cities. With a thankful heart they humbly rejoice for the Lord has given them wonderful experiences and privileged to see hundreds of Romanians, young and old, responding to the gospel and receiving Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
INVESTING IN THE YOUNG GENERATION – YOUTH MINISTRY
Since they arrived on the field it was very evident to the Vatrans that the demographic group, most open and easiest to reach with the gospel of Christ, was the young generation; those born and raised after the collapse of the Iron Curtain. Their minds were not infected with the Marxist-Leninist and the atheistic philosophy of life. They are the first generations “born free”, open, transparent, willing to think and receptive to new ideas. Aware of these facts, since 1994 their ministry focus was reaching out to the young generation, and today they continue to do that, through bible studies, evangelistic meetings, youth summer and winter camps, youth concerts…. etc. The Vatrans are thankful for the Lord has given them the privilege to see many young Romanians come to Christ. Throughout the Vatrans’ ministry in Romania, the presence of the Holy Spirit and the blessings of God were evident in the lives of pastors, church leaders trained, and hundreds of new believers who were baptized and joined the local churches.
