PC(USA) - Mission Connections - Letter

Mission Connections

PC (USA) Seal


	A letter from Steve and Michelle Kurtz in Croatia

	April 23, 2003 Easter greetings from Croatia! A lot of young people came to the Easter service in the new Reformed Church in the Center, which is under the leadership of Boris and Lidija Gunjevic. Many of these first got interested through the "spray-art" events that we have had throughout the year. Others came in via the English classes we offer. As trust is built and as relationships become personal, they feel comfortable around Boris, Lidija, and Paul, the ministry team in the Center. This is part of the strategy to find the people who have spiritual questions and are open to hearing the gospel.

	Post-modern Easter drama.				The big attraction this Easter was a drama that the young people performed, enacting the Easter story in a new, post-modern style. The kids loved participating in it, they brought their friends to see them perform, and of course their parents came to see them too. It is important to us not just to have a youth club but to reach out to adults as well.

	The irregular shape of the Osijek Center church makes it hard to get a picture of everything at once, but I think you can get a feel for the size, shape, and atmosphere. This is meant to be a bridge place, for bridge events, to bring the gospel to people who feel alienated from traditional "churchy" venues and styles. Nevertheless, the message is the same: Jesus Christ is risen! A good sign of the fact that the strategy is working is that people don't want to leave after the program finishes. They stay around and talk, over juice and cookies, for hours.

	Boris and Lidija started in the Center ministry one year ago—in fact on Easter Sunday. The church is still small, but some significant building blocks have been laid. As we meet together every Tuesday for prayer and planning, we are very much aware of the nature of the quest we are on: the work is in God's hands; it is His Church, and we are his workers.		Inside the new "bridge" church in Osijek center.

	We are also very aware that this ministry is possible because many of you have taken us into your hearts and have supported the work faithfully. Thank you! May you be blessed as you have been a blessing. New work like this is exciting, but please remember to keep the whole Reformed Church in your prayers. We have just recently had another women's conference and another conference for our elders. Both were very well attended and highly appreciated by our people. It is exciting to do new work, like in the Center, but it is crucial that we strengthen and encourage our traditional congregations as well. Your support enables us to rent buses, provide food and help defray the costs of hosting these conferences, so again, thank you! Next weekend we will have a youth conference for our Hungarian-speaking congregations, the following weekend we will dedicate the new church building in Bjelisevac. A lot is happening. We have put out some feelers about a new program for computer training, which we believe could be quite a significant help to ministry with youth in the Hungarian villages. We are seeking institutional sponsorship for computer equipment, and even for transportation. I will keep you up to date as this develops. In the meantime, keep it in your prayers. Thank you again for all your love and help to the church in this corner of the globe. Grace and peace, Steve

Mission Speakers

Mission Workers

Letters from Young Adult Volunteers

Frequently Asked Questions

Mission Letters in RSS

Who We Are | Congregations | News and Events | Ministry and Vocations | Resources/Publications
Giving and Funding | US and World Mission | Search pcusa.org | Home