Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.                                     1 Corinthians 12:4-6

Studying the book of 1 Corinthians

We believe that one of the characteristics that describe a healthy church is a church whose members know their spiritual gifts and serve one another with the gifts God has entrusted to them. This is why we believe it is vital for every church member to know all that God’s Word has to say about spiritual gifts.

October 22-24, we organized a training conference with “Spiritual Gifts” as the subject. We studied the Precept’s “Spiritual Gifts” study book written by Kay Arthur, with Bill Grubbs from Gainesville, GA and Neal Walls from Memphis, TN as speakers. The main Bible text we studied was the Apostle Paul’s First Epistle to Corinthians. Before we got to chapters 12, 13 and 14, we did an overview on the whole book to set the context these chapters.

Brothers and Sisters from different cities

As soon as the conference was announced, people from different cities from all over Moldova began to enlist. We had dozens of churches and cities represented at the Conference. Everybody got so excited studying about Spiritual Gifts! The most common request we received was to have a two-week study, not just 3 days! As we were studying chapter by chapter, God continued to speak into the hearts of participants, and as result, a young couple understood they were not using their gifts and decided to go into full-time mission ministry. Another young man decided to get involved in the Radio ministry and preach the Gospel through radio programs.

Another nice thing was that everyone received a work book that will continue the study for four months after the conference. Here is what some participants have said after the conference:

-          This conference was another opportunity to stop on the way and see the importance of using my spiritual gifts to the maximum and the importance of helping others discover their spiritual gifts. -Vasile

- During the study of First Corinthians, I understood how important it is for everyone in the church to accomplish his role, serving with his gift that the Holy Spirit gave him. My prayer is that every believer in our church will understand how we are depending on one another in one body of believers. -Nadejda

- It was like reading First Corinthians for the first time in my life! I decided to fill in the study book till the end after the conference. -Yurii

-          I was deeply impressed by the truths I learned at the conference! I have learned that there are many different gifts. The Holy Spirit distributes them and we cannot earn them. -Paul

-          I want this study to be taught in my church. It is very important. -Tatiana

-          It is such an encouragement to see how our brothers and sisters are applying the truths they just learned in respect to others around them! -Olga

-          The work of Spiritual gifts provides functionality of the church. It will provide a healthy growth for the church. It will save the church from many divisions and misunderstanding. Through the ministry with your gifts you are proving love for God and for brothers and sisters. When you are serving with your gifts it will bring joy, peace, and rest in the body of Christ. -Dmitriy

We thank God for the time we spent in studying His Word, and we thank Him for moving in the hearts of brothers and sisters who are hungry for the Word of God and ready to sacrifice their time and work for spiritual things and for strengthening their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!

Ruslan at the church service in Cupcini

Ruslan, a 17-years-old young man, was saved at the Franklin Graham Festival that we partnered in organizing in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, in 2006. Since then, Ruslan has joined our church in Cupcini and brought his mother and grandmother to the Lord.

We could not imagine how the Lord was going to use this young man for His glory! Now he sings on our worship team, and his whole family is very active in church ministries.

Every summer Ruslan joins Moldova for Christ English Camp as a team leader. This gave him the opportunity to share Christ not only with the kids who come to the camp but also after the camp when he wears the English Camp t-shirt with Acts 16:31 printed on the back.

At school, his teacher had Ruslan sit in the front desk, so the whole class could read the Bible verse on his back. The scripture says, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved – you and your household. Several students approached Ruslan and asked him what those words meant. It was an answer to Ruslan’s prayer for the opportunity to share the Gospel with his classmates! Ruslan shared the Word of God with his classmates, and many were amazed by his answers. Even teachers asked how he knew the Bible so well.

Ruslan continued to pray for his classmates and for another opportunity to present the Word of God. Every day, he took his Bible and Precept study book waiting to see how the Lord would answer his prayer and ready to give an account of his faith at any time.

God heard his prayer – a teacher let someone from the class lead a lesson. Ruslan was the first to take this offer. He said, “This is my time and opportunity!” And for 45 minutes, he preached the Gospel and presented the Bible Study book to the whole class and answered their questions about God!

Last week during the history lesson, the teacher gave Ruslan an interesting assignment – to present a lesson on the Ten Commandments from the Old Testament. As he was preparing this presentation, his concern was how to present the Ten Commandments and present the Gospel by explaining how to be saved.

The books of Romans and Galatians were used to lay a foundation for regarding the Ten Commandments from a New Testament point of view. Ruslan had enough materials and Bible verses to speak for more than 40 minutes in from of the whole class! The teacher was very pleased, and when some of the students were not paying attention, the teacher called everyone to listen to the lecture since it was a very valuable lesson for life.

This generated dozens of questions from his classmates. As a result, Ruslan began a Bible study for his classmates to come once a week to his home and study “Having real relationship with God,” a Bible study course by Kay Arthur.

We praise God for the power of the Gospel to save people and to equip them for ministry, as we have observed it at work again and again all over Moldova!

As we are planting churches and teaching Bible courses to different congregations, we have found studying one book of the Bible at a time, verse by verse, to be very insightful. This approach gives you a good context of the book you are studying and reveals the whole counsel of God from a certain book of the Bible.

The Lord gave us a vision of teaching the whole Bible in our churches, book by book. We developed a plan of Bible study for our churches: the midweek meetings are dedicated to the study of an Old Testament book, on Sunday morning we study a New Testament book, and on Sunday evening we cover a topical course or do a character study. For curriculum, we use Precept Bible Study materials.

In Edinet Grace Church we just finished studying the book of Deuteronomy, verse by verse and chapter by chapter. It took us one year to do the study. The church does not have a permanent place to worship; many times the church services and Bible studies were held under a tree in the central part of the city. When it rained, we were not able to have church services. But everybody was so eager to learn God’s truth, even in the middle of city noise by reading Bible texts aloud, taking notes and participating in discussion. Nicolai, who recently had a difficult surgery on his back and cannot sit down, does not want to miss a Bible study lesson and attends every meeting and stands the whole time.

Edinet Grace Church Bible Study

It is such a joy to study the Word with these precious children of God who love Him and His Word so much! Here are some thoughts from our brothers and sisters after we finished the study of Deuteronomy:

-          Through the study of Deuteronomy, God is preparing us to enter the heavenly land, teaching us every single detail in following Him (Irina)

-          When Israel was so close to the Promise Land, God was not in a hurry. He gave the whole Law again, showing the importance of God’s Word and His guidance (Alina)

-          In preparation of the people of Israel to enter the Promise Land, God gives them teaching and warning about both the blessings and the curses (Andrei)

-          Once again, we see the holiness of the Lord and perfection of His laws (Alex)

-          All of Israel was very well organized, each person was put in the list of his family and tribe and everyone knew his place in Israel (Efrosinia)

-          Moses is a great example to us of obedience, even at his death, when God told him to go up to the mountain to die, and later in the last chapter, we see how Moses fulfills the Word of the Lord exactly (Alexei)

-          Moses loved this nation, in spite of their condition (Elena)

-          Today we have the same options from the Lord: to choose life or death (Nicolai)

-          Moses was brave in telling the Word of God to the people of Israel, not being afraid of people (Tatiana)

-          – In the book of Deuteronomy we can see God’s character very clearly in different circumstances. He is the Great I Am, Faithful, The One who keeps His Word in spite of what people say or do. Israel did not listen to the Lord, but He remains Holy, ready to bless you in every step if you will obey His Word (Natalia)

-          God is preparing His people for all possible situations of life – when there is peace in the land, when there is war, when you are on the field, when you are at home. (Silvia)

-          God was preparing Israel for something much better then what they had in Egypt or wilderness. (Rodica)

-           The Lord always wanted Israel to be a Holy land and even blood had to be washed out. (Tonia)

-          Many times we think that if we do not do it ourselves and right now – it will never be accomplished. But Moses learned to wait on the Lord and obey Him. (Arcadie)

-          Our God is a God whose blessings go for a thousand generations and curses just to the third one. And from the very first people did not live til a thousand generations, so His blessings cover us all. (Valentina)

Please pray for us as we are starting to study the next book of the Bible – the book of Joshua — that this will be a blessed time with many insights from the Lord for everybody of Edinet Grace Church.

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.                -  Ephesians 4:11-12

From July 27 until August 7, we had our 48th Precept Training Institute in Cupcini for pastors and leaders. Seventy-five leaders from Moldova and Ukraine attended. The training was on a Precept “Lord” study titled, “Lord, give me a heart for You,” based on the Second Epistle to Corinthians. We also studied the subject of Pastoral Work, taught by Dr. Brett Howell.

Precept Training Institute classes in Cupcini

Because we do not have facilities for classes at our church in Cupcini, we rented a local public school’s gymnasium where we moved chairs and desks from several classes to accommodate the room. It made a very large classroom for study with enough light and air. New people joined the training almost every day. Since we had people from different churches, countries and nationalities, you could hear students speak in several languages – Russian, Romanian, Ukrainian and English. But this did not hinder the communication; everybody was glad to be with their brothers and sisters and to spend time in God’s Word.

Dr. Brett Howell teaching

Here are some testimonies from our students:

Prascovia: “I understood that I need to pray regularly for my pastor and to start a correspondence counseling ministry.”

Dima shared that he does not have fear of starting a Bible study group any more.

Ruslan learned how to overcome trials and difficulties in life, and what it means to be adequate for ministry.

Vasile: “During this training I learned to work as a team with everybody that stayed at our place. I learned that I need to come first to God when I need comfort.”

Ecaterina decided to start serving God through giving and teaching.

Nelly wants to spend more time with God, studying His Word and share with other the comfort God gives her.

Dmitrii: “I got experience in preparing teaching plans for the lessons and got boldness to proclaim His Word to other people”.

During Institute classes

Olga can’t wait to put into practice what she has learned and to start teaching this course in the Bible study group she is planning to start in her home!

On the last day of the training, students took an exam and had to write a paper on courses they’ve studied: Second Corinthians and Pastoral ministry. God’s Word touched the hearts of students: When they came to the training, they were leading 22 home Bible study groups with 116 people in seven localities, and after the training they decided to start 50 Bible studies and teach 163 people in 10 cities and villages. Praise the Lord!

The training lasted two weeks, but time flew by very fast as we learned God’s eternal truths. The last day was a sad one when everybody had to leave and go back to his city or village. But the goal of the training was for every student to take God’s Word and proclaim it in his or her locality and to organize a Precept Bible study group to teach the course that was taught at the training. For the next training, in January 2010, we expect these students to return with their disciples!

In planning for the Moldova for Christ Summer English Camp 2009, we prayed, set the dates, and as time approached, began working toward making this ministry possible. As it was expected, many details had to be decided and we trusted the Lord to guide us in every step in the direction he wanted us to go.

The Lord put on our heart to choose the study of the book of James, titled “Boy, have I got problems!” by Precept Ministries International as a workbook for the camp. We began studying the book with all the leaders, and everything was coming together and nothing looked unusual. Little did we know the surprises we were about to encounter. Here is how the Lord changed our direction and how He turned what some wanted to be evil to be a blessing for His glory.

We signed the contract for renting a former communist indoctrination camp for children for our Moldova for Christ English Camp. It is a nice place in the woods nearby Edinet city in Northern Moldova and can hold up to 300 participants with fields for playing soccer, volleyball and basketball. However, the camp belongs to the Government.

When we started enlisting participants from all over Moldova, Satan began opposing our work by using the Minister of Education who is member of Communist Party. We were told that we could use the place for the camp but with the condition that no Christian work would be done at the camp, and they would have to approve the program for the camp.

As we negotiated again and again, it became obvious that we will not be able to have our camp at this location. We were frustrated and disappointed; more than 150 participants were already enlisted from many cities and villages. After much prayer the decision was made. We would have the camp in the building of our church in Cupcini that is still in the construction stage with no facilities to hold the camp at all.

The number of participants dropped and we were praying for direction from the Lord. The camp started with about 75 participants, and another 20 were added in the first days. Of great help in conducting this camp was the Sanibel Community Church, Florida team of 12 that helped lead studies in English, songs, drama and sports.

Since the camp was smaller than we planned, half of our team was free to do another ministry – Vacation Bible Schools in villages. They went into nine villages and more than 500 children and adults heard the Gospel. Many prayed and trusted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  We were also able to show the Jesus Film in four villages where nearly 300 people heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ! As result, the Word of God was proclaimed to far more people than we were planning for.  What the Communists meant for evil, the Lord turned into a blessing and a far greater proclamation of the Gospel!

At the English camp at the church we had a blessed time as well! In just a couple of hours the balcony became our restaurant for the camp and people from our churches cooked food for the camp around the clock at our home. Many people from Cupcini First Christian Church opened their homes and hearts to host every camp participant for 10 days. The Word of God touched everybody and dozens of teenagers were saved! Everybody enjoyed the Bible study in groups with two leaders in each- one from USA and one native. Drama time in the evenings engraved the truths studied during the day in the hearts of the boys and girls. A baseball match at the end of the week was a spectacular presentation to the whole camp. Relationships were built that strengthened the body of Christ all across the country. We also praise the Lord for the ones who were saved at camp that have already been baptized, joined the church, attended Training Institute for leaders in Cupcini and are actively ministering in local churches!

Precept Ministries International Campus

With great joy we received an invitation to attend the Training Institute for Leaders at Precept Ministries International in Chattanooga, TN. It is always a refreshing time for us and an opportunity to charge our spiritual batteries. From March 4-14, we studied the book of Numbers taught by our trainers and Eurasian Directors for Precept Ministries, Mia and Costel Oglice.

We studied about Israel’s passage through the wilderness, Moses’ endurance and leadership, God’s protection and provision, and how these truths are to be applied to our lives and ministries. It is always a great encouragement to get to spend time with our friends and co-workers from other countries, like Russia, Poland, Romania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Syria, Egypt and others. Everyone has a personal story of how God is using Precept in their lives and ministry. Over the years of partnering in the Gospel, strong relationships were built around the Word of God and the training we received strengthened our unity and support for each other in prayer.

A special blessing for us was to attend Kay Arthur’s lectures on Tuesday mornings when she records TV programs at the auditorium. About 500 men and women drive to Precept Ministries’ campus to attend this weekly event and to be fed spiritually from the Word of God. Some drive several hundreds of miles every week to attend the study of the Word.

Also, we were one by one invited to cut a video program with the testimonies about the work in the Eurasia department of Precept Ministries. In this part of the world, the Word of God many times is proclaimed in difficult circumstances, but nothing can stop the preaching of the Gospel, like we read in Paul’s second letter to his disciple, Timothy, chapter two, verse nine:  “God’s word is not chained.”

Once again, we heard incredible stories of how our brothers and sisters were able to stay strong in the face of persecution and threats and boldly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ because they know their God and His promises.

Every evening of our stay at Precept Ministries’ headquarters we met with different Precept friends and staff who surrounded us with love and care. We were touched by some ladies who drove considerable distances in order to help us with anything needed during the training. Other people prepared meals for us and brought breakfast, lunch and dinner. We saw God’s love in action, flowing from the hearts of these precious children of God who love His Word and love us, his people.

Every single time we attend the Precept Training Institute, we leave with a stronger desire to study the Word of God and to share it with others as God opens the door. And we can’t wait to teach the book of Numbers in our churches and Bible study groups!

From January 2-11, we had two Precept Leadership Training Institute sessions in Cupcini. God blessed us with 34 students from seven cities across the country. Young and older, men and women, Russian and Romanian speaking – all of these were united by a passion for the Word of God and the desire to tell everyone.

Lessons started early in the morning and went until late afternoon. They studied in class, and everybody was studying at home till late at night. The next morning everybody was in class, joyful and ready to start another day’s journey through the Bible in order to know his or her Savior in a more personal way.

We taught two different courses. The Russian speaking group studied the Gospel of John, Part Two, that covered chapters 12-21, and they also learned how to study a difficult subject in the Bible. The Romanian speaking group studied the book of James and Homiletics, and each student learned how to study a passage, prepare a sermon and then deliver a message. Two trainers taught in different groups: Pastor Vasile Sanduleac from Balti taught the Romanian speaking group and Pastor Vasile Rusnac from Chisinau taught the Russian speaking group.

Because our church building is not finished, we had to rent two classrooms at a local high school. We thank God for not just opening the door for classrooms for us but also for opening the school leaders’ hearts toward helping us in the ministry of training God’s people and establishing them in God’s Word so that they will know Him and will know how to live accordingly.

Since we do not have a dormitory facility, each student who was not from Cupcini stayed with local families, and we are so thankful to God for every family that received a student or two or even three for the period of training, giving them a place to stay, providing food for them and many times helping the students with their homework every evening. It is truly a blessing to see the unity of Christ’s body working toward the goal of knowing Him and getting the Gospel into every village and home in Moldova.

At the end of the training during the midweek church service in Cupcini, every student shared with the body of believers his or her personal testimony on how God was at work in his or her heart during the Training Institute. The church was filled with church members and guests eager to hear of God’s work in our days. It was a great time of building the faith and encouragement for the ones who had opened their home to students from other cities of Moldova.

Every Precept Training Institute involves a practical assignment when students go door-to-door and teach at least one lesson that they have studied in class. It helps them to catch the vision to do the same in their own cities and villages and to start home Bible studies when they will teach the whole course they studied at Training. As a result, many went home and started more than one study group, and people were saved and wanting to join our churches or form a church if there was none in their city, which was often the case. After this training, God put on the hearts of the students from both groups to start new Bible study groups in their cities where local people will come to study God’s Word right in their own neighborhoods.

Please pray that God will move in a powerful way through our students as they boldly proclaim the Gospel and start new home Precept Bible Studies, and pray that people will be saved and join the church.

John 8:31-32.  So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

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From the very beginning of our work with students in Chisinau, and later with adults and youth in Cupcini, the Lord laid on our hearts to begin home Bible studies that would offer daily homework to participants.  We know the benefits of personal inductive study of the Word of God.  The Lord changed our hearts and opened many truths when we began studying the Bible using Precept Ministries’ inductive study materials from the “Precept upon Precept” series.  These study books are tools that spiritually nurture everyone, in the Word of God, who participates.  The series also help us in forming Biblical views and make The Scriptures truly personal.  It is wonderful to listen to sermons, read good Christian books, watch Christian TV channels, and listen to Christian radio stations, but these are personal experiences and insights from people that are presenting what they have personally learned and know.  At the same time, each of us are called to meet personally with the Lord and get to know Him as the great God and Author of the Scriptures.  When you realize the Lord is personally speaking to you through His Word, you begin to grasp a beautiful view of His divine truths.  The Bible no longer is just an informative book, but it is an extraordinary book with extraordinary power!

We personally experienced the power of the “One on One With God Bible Study” and the Lord showed us that nothing is more powerful, more inspiring or more effective than His Word by itself.  So, when we started our first church services in Cupcini, with the first group of people that were interested in hearing God’s Word, we immediately began home Bible study groups.  The beauty of these study books is that the answers to your questions are not given directly to you, but rather you are directed to the Word of God to find answers for yourself – where you meet with God in prayer and He gives you His answers to your questions.

The Precept upon Precept Series are built in such a way, that each student does his homework, and once a week the group meets for one hour of sharing with the group.  A leader who helps build a full picture of the truths students personally studied at home leads the discussions.  Optionally, a video with the same lesson can be viewed in the group after discussion.  As result of this approach, confidence is built and each student is strengthened spiritually.  These students are no longer “tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine”, but become strong in the face of any teaching and practice that is not according to the Word of God.  They are able to spot the lie and guard themselves against it, because it can eventually destroy anyone embracing it.

The homework requirement is very important in these study books.  They help a new convert build a discipline of systematic and perpetual Bible Study and assist you in becoming more responsible to God and to the group.  They also make you a more organized person.  As result, you grow in your knowledge of Christ, and the better you know Christ, the more you are able to live your life in such a manner that will bring glory to God and blessing to you, your family, your church and society.

To personally study the Bible, using this inductive study method, and to cement your insights through group discussion, this personal study allows you to discover the truth for yourself, and to abide in the Word of God that sets you free.  As said in 2 Timothy 3:16-17.  “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

In partnership with Little Rock Church, AR evangelistic outreach was organized in the Northern Moldova. It is always a great joy to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with people that come to the programs we organize and receive the Word of God with the whole their hearts and stay strong even in the face of persecution.

September 25-28, we formed 2 teams that for 4 days in the evenings, went to 2 villages and conducted crusade type evangelistic meetings. Whole villages were invited and we had adults and children at our programs. Every evening we presented Precept Study materials we are using for home Bible studies and for other events. Many people approached us afterwards and asked more questions about the study materials on how they can start a bible study in their homes.

At last evening a young lady with the name of Felicia that we were working with for several years telling her about God, finally decided to give her heart to Jesus and was saved. Aster that she began attending Bible study in her village, Fetesti. Also, she traveled all the way to Cupcini to attend our church service. This village is considered the capital of Jehovah’s Witnesses of Moldova, since majority of this big village belongs to this organization and they have 2 huge kingdom halls – Jehovah’s witnesses churches.

In the second village, the village of Gordinesti, was a lady, called Galina, that had to fight with her husband every evening for the right to attend the Crusade. One evening her husband decided to call us and tell us that she is not coming. But during this discussion, in the background we could hear Galina’s voice, screaming: Brothers, I will not deny Jesus! He has even beaten hear but she still came to the Crusade every evening with a big smile on her face.

The culture Hall we rented for the programs was filled with many adults and children. Everybody enjoyed singing our songs with the worship team and children had motions for every song we sang.