Thanksgiving and praise flooded the Expo Center of Arad, Romania, as members of Harvest Metanoia gathered in November to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the first international Harvest Bible Chapel.
With prayer and music, members worshiped and gave glory to God for building His church. Some six hours later—having remembered God’s faithfulness and goodness, along with enjoying food and fellowship—the church brought the service to a close.
Metanoia is the Romanian word for “repentance.” Indeed, God is powerfully using His bride in Arad to help bring people to repentance and change their lives for eternity, according to Kirk Van Maanen, Harvest Bible Fellowship’s Director of Missions & International Church Planting.
“Small groups are flourishing, worship is alive and gaining new ground in experiencing freedom in Christ, and biblical counseling has begun to address real issues and needs in the believers’ lives,” says Kirk, who attended the anniversary celebration and has been involved with the church since its inception.
Cristian Barbosu, Senior Pastor of Harvest Metanoia Arad, is a dynamic force in contending for the gospel and has spearheaded the planting of a second church, Harvest Braila. He also heads Metanoia Radio, a ministry that broadcasts the Word of God across Romania.
Harvest Metanoia “seeks the transformation of every believer into the image of Christ,” says Pastor Cristian. “Our goal is to love Jesus, to serve Jesus, to walk with Jesus and to feel like Jesus.”
The fruitfulness of the church’s first five years points toward strong advancement of that goal in the future. Under Pastor Cristian’s leadership, Harvest Metanoia has developed several core groups with the potential of becoming additional church plants.
“As we look forward over the next five years, we see that God will reproduce many churches committed to the four pillars,” says Kirk. “Many people are being set free from addictions…and finding hope in worshiping, walking and working for Christ Jesus.”
For more information on Global Missions at Harvest, contact missions@harvestbiblechapel.org.