A Fledgling in the Arena of Theological Education
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Established Schools Seek Cooperation
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Maranatha Bible College
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A Brief History
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Securing Resources
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Conclusions and Observations

A Fledgling in the Arena of Theological Education
Several years ago Maranatha Bible College of Campina, Romania was but a fledgling in the arena of theological education. However, through the labors of committed Christians and the challenge of translating the lectures of the professors sent by International Theological Education Ministries and/or the Kirk of the Hills, St. Louis, the work began to grow.

Established Schools Seek Cooperation
Following our philosophy of ministry summarized in the Great Commission, ITEM is always attentive and receptive to pleas for help in establishing institutions of theological training and assisting with resources and professors. For this reason Christ for Romania ministry field has been established a while back to render assistance to one theological school. And now there has been another school added to the ministry’s roster.

Maranatha Bible College (Campina)
Maranatha Bible College (MBC) was founded by Rev. Ion Vasile, pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church, Campina, Romania. MBC is located in the most populous region of Romania and least penetrated by the gospel. Its purpose is to train pastors, church planters and lay leaders for evangelism and church planting. In fact, Rev. Ion and two of the students of the Bible College have started three mission churches. They are viable and growing. Rev. Ion desires to make MBC the major theological training institution for that area, as he himself is finishing a Masters program in Vienna for course work.

His entire family is involved in the operation and administration of the college. Andre, the eldest son, does the work of translation, transportation of professors, reviews business documents, and other administrative work. Andre is completing his Bachelor's degree in English and Business with a desire to begin a business translating theological materials and books. Daniel is completing his final year of college and helps with transportation, caring for the professors’ needs, and other necessary details. Ioana is in her first year of college and serves as the secretary and administrator, bookkeeper, office manager and correspondence secretary.

While the academic level of the student body is probably comparable to a first year Bible College level, they are very attentive, receptive and involved with the material being presented. The college is not yet distinctively Reformed in its theological position, but the students were very receptive to the issues of Reformed Theology being presented. They are drawn from many churches in the Campina area. Some of them travel up to 25 kilometers to attend class. Local transportation costs are provided by the college for the students living outside Campina.

The attendance at MBC averages approximately 23 students during each night of the session. They range in age from late teens to middle 60’s. Some of the students are pastors and elders of churches. Some attend classes just for the training. Others desire the qualifications to be pastors and teachers. The student body is evenly divided between male and female students. All of the students either attend school or work in addition to their studies at MBC. This indicates a high level of commitment on their part and a strong desire for further training. Two of the newest students are somewhat resistant to the doctrines of Reformed Theology, while virtually all those who have been in the program for a year or more see its Biblical bases and are very receptive and have an obvious grasp of the material they have been taught. The students review each day’s material and are prepared to answer questions from the previous lessons. While they are not dialogically conversant with covenant theological teaching or specific terminology, they are covenantally based and only require specific instruction so that they may be able to defend their faith.

The professors are housed in the Ions home. It is a comfortable three-story house on the edge of Campina. It is in a very quiet and picturesque area. Pastor Ion’s wife is a very gracious and caring hostess. She makes you feel part of the family and not a guest. The professors have a private bedroom and bath on the main level of the house adjacent to the office/study. Computer access enables the professors to have e-mail availability. Vasile’s wife provides three meals daily and professors eat with the family members. Since classes meet in the evenings, the days are free for the professors to study, read, prepare lectures, tour the area, or work with the family. The entire family is very gracious and accommodating, and they are grateful for the sacrifices the professors make to teach at MBC.

The school is tailored to meet the schedule of working students and lay leaders. For this reason it meets in the evening from 4:00 to 7:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The college meets in the facilities of Maranatha Bible Church. The pews are movable benches which are rearranged to accommodate tables set up for desk areas.

This arrangement makes it impossible for the church to be used for other activities during the days the college meets. Rev. Ion has a plan for expanding an existing garage area to accommodate the college classes and also to provide additional meeting space for the church. The cost of the project is estimated at about $2000. The churches in the area can raise about $500 of this amount with the rest needing to come from outside sources. This expansion will be done by simply extending the end wall of the building by 3 to 4 meters. This will provide classroom with an area suitable for up to 50 students. Costs continue to remain low for the 2-week term and are “a big bang for the buck!!”

A Brief History
In the Fall of 1998, pastor Vasile Ion on ministering in Campina, Romania, said, “the work is not ours, it is God's!” Indeed, both the school and the college stand today as a work of God. In the midst of overcoming the vicissitudes and obstacles placed in its path by those forces, powers and principalities would slow the work of those who teach the biblical doctrines of Reformed theology. And in some places they have not yet even been heard or presented. Yet pastor Ion has seen first-hand the power of God to accomplish His work. It was the work of the Holy Spirit, which gave him the opportunity to receive a seminary education in the first place. In 1987 during the days before the 1989 revolution that swept the oppressive Ceausescu regime from power, only three students per year were allowed to enroll in the Baptist Institute in Bucharest. This was then the country's only accredited seminary, established in the pre-Communist times. That in itself was a demonstration of God's power but it added to the suffering for his faith to which pastor Ion had become accustomed. As a result of his decision to prepare for the ministry he lost his government provided apartment and was forced with his wife and four children (now six) to move into his in-laws' two room flat.

It was in this context that pastor Ion dared to dream about a church planting and leadership-training program in this gospel starved southern part of Romania. He was at the time the only seminary trained pastor in Campina, the city of some 40,000 and the hub of the most populous agricultural and industrial region in the country. From a human point of view, the work indeed can seem overwhelming. The south-central region of Romania stretching from Brasov, just north of the Carpathian Mountains, southward of the capital city of Bucharest, is predominantly Russian Orthodox, and has very few evangelical churches. Work where Vasile ministers and lives stands in contrast to the northern part of the country where Hungarian Reformed Church and certain evangelical groups are well established and thriving.

Enrollment in the Baptist Institute in Bucharest, which is attached to the university there is open, but the cost has prohibited students from pursuing studies there for three years; and, in doing so, it removes a man from serving in the active ministry and meeting the needs of the local church. Under pastor Ion’'s ministry several churches have been planted and the Bible College established to serve the region. Under the plan adopted, the Maranatha Bible College operates a four year basic Bible curriculum offering two programs of study: one is a general Certificate program that will offer basic Bible training for lay people who lead in the church and work at various jobs in society; the second program is Pastoral Certificate program that will include additional courses: preaching, pastoral theology, etc. The goal being to develop the college into a degree granting institution as the Lord wills and directs in the future. The first courses were held in September of 1999.

The curriculum at Maranatha is as Bible specific and rigorous as that of solid Bible colleges in America and its students are committed to the learning of the Word and the acquisition and the ability to pass this Gift of God to the congregations for generations to come.

Again and again and again pastor Ion acknowledges that this work is the Lord's. We want to extend it for His glory. And to this work we can only say, “Amen.” His “Amen” accompanied by the commitment by the Campina area that helps support the cost of the church is truly a commitment. In the country here the average monthly salary is less than $200 pastor Ion's $100 per month and the income tax rated at 40 per cent reflects a substantial commitment both in time and effort expended.

Securing Resources
ITEM's Christ for Romania ministry requests your prayers during final phases of the next four years of the school and that you pray for the recruiting of professors and for fund raising. Pastors interested in the challenging and enriching two-week refreshing trip are asked to contact ITEM. The costs are approximately $2,000 plus round trip airfare.

Conclusions and Observations
MBC is a worthy beginning of worthy work. It is well thought through and has responded to the education presented substantively and not structurally only. This is to say the content of the instruction has been taken in and in many cases provided the theological underpinning for some extant Bible knowledge (or the lack thereof) – in either case, the foundation is being laid by ITEM. Reformed Theology goes forth there through various activities including street evangelism and church planting, summer camps, daycare, Sunday School curriculum (adult and children), etc.

Both the school and the area in general are in need of Reformed Theological literature and plead for the same in English or Romanian. The plan of fiscal administration regarding funds advanced to each new school is progressing smoothly and seems to be of little burden to the school.

In conjunction with the partnership between ITEM and the school it is acknowledged that in obedience to the Great Commission this union exists to serve the churches and people of the former Soviet Union and Central Europe and their effort between biblically sound pastors and church leaders. To this end ITEM and MBC work to secure prayers, labor, resources, finances to establish seminaries and other pastoral training centers, assemble theological libraries and translate and publish solid biblical literature. Growth of the Maranatha Bible College the Reformed Theological Institute will be a direct result of your prayers and your assistance. It is a work worthy of commendation as illustrated by the following anecdote:

When Rev. Jonathan Taylor, missions pastor of the Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian Church (PCA), St. Louis, MO, went on his first trip to Campina Romania, he challenged high school youth to become translators so that they could translate for the professors sent by ITEM to teach at Maranatha Bible College. Three years later when the classes started they were prepared, having met the commitment with self sacrifice of time and other opportunities. They were prepared to participate in the bringing forth of the glory of God in one small spot, but all to His glory!

It is an adventure of a unique kind in the community and country where obstacles have been truly obstacles with the hope and prayers of God's people that they prevail. It is a beautiful place to serve and the opportunities to feed open minds and hearts for the glory of God. Amen!