The quake left gaping holes in many roofs and some collapsed completely

Broken glass, ceramic tiles and rubble litter the streets of Kraljevo, Serbia after a 5.4 magnitude earthquake shook the city last week. Over 500 homes have been declared unsafe and 60 buildings, including apartment buildings that house multiple families, have been condemned because they are now unstable.  A total of 4000 houses were damaged.

Karl and Julie Bannert, IMB workers partnering in Serbia with World Net, an international educational organization, and living 40 miles from Kraljevo, have been spending their days helping with repairs and praying with frightened residents.

“We saw first-hand, people sleeping in their cars and going door-to-door asking for a place to stay,” Julie said. “I talked and prayed with many people, hugged the women and encouraged them that God is in control.”

Karl and a local home missionary, Jovica, are heading up a team of national volunteers who are experts in masonry. They are helping to rebuild chimneys and replace roof tiles.  Local homes have wood stoves for cooking, necessitating the need for chimneys to vent, and roofs made of loosely laid clay tiles. The earthquake shook the tiles loose and now many homes have huge holes. The government has made tiles available to residents but they must find workers to help. Although the weather has been nice over the last few days, rain is predicted for this week along with cooler temperatures.

“There is an urgency,” Julie said. “And it is mostly the poor and elderly that are in desperate need.”

Josh and Kristen Hepner are World Net partners living in Kraljevo, but they were in the States when the earthquake hit. They have been in contact with friends there and are encouraging others to intercede for the community.

“Josh and I are there in our hearts and minds, and not sure why God did not allow us to be there physically, but we know He is in control,” Kristen said. “Please pray for our city and our people.”

One of the Hepner’s friends, Janko, has been sleeping with his family in their car for several nights.

“They are the lucky ones who do have a two-room flat they will be able to stay in,” Kristen said. “But the predicted date that the government has given them to fix their home is three-and-a-half years.”

Aftershocks have also rocked the city, causing people to live in fear. The biggest was last Thursday, a 4.4 magnitude on the Richter scale, but Kristen talked with locals on Monday who said that aftershocks are still occurring.

“The tremors keep coming,” Kristen said. “The scientists say it is normal–the earth settling–but it is most unsettling for the people. There have been over a dozen now.”

Julie agreed that the people are very scared, wondering if another big quake is coming soon.

The majority of people in Kraljevo are part of the Orthodox church but are not believers, so they have no foundation for peace in a time of crisis. Josh and Kristen have begun a home Bible study and there are a few house groups, but only one evangelical church has been established in this city of 70,000 people. The Baptist Union in the North of Serbia has made an appeal for all churches to go to Kraljevo and help during the disaster.

“They are there prepared to offer help and ready to share their faith,” Julie said.

“Jovica, the church planter that has come to work with us, is using this opportunity to pull brothers and sisters together from all over Serbia to help,” Kristen said. “He will use this to share the love and hope found in Jesus”

In addition to damaged homes and psyches, two people were killed and over 50 injured. A hospital was also affected, forcing them to close down a whole wing and send the patients home.

To stay updated about relief work and to get involved in ministry in Serbia, go to Pray for Serbs.

In October, the Bible institute in Novi Sad, Serbia will open its doors again after three years of silence. Serbian Baptist Union (UBC) director, Ondrej Franka, is excited about this new chapter in the seminary’s 55-year history.

“It is one of the few, if any, schools of this type in Serbia and will serve not only the UBC but an even wider evangelical community,” Franka said.

Local pastors began the school in Zagreb, Croatia in 1955. Though it thrived for a time, enrollment and effectiveness declined in the ‘90s due to many issues including theological liberalism; eventually its doors closed.

Today, Franka has a vision for a school that will produce pastors and church planters who will be spiritually mature, genuine servants of Christ. He currently is working two strategies through the UBC: “Berea” to help existing churches, and “Antioch” to stimulate new church planting. The school is an essential component of both of these strategies.

Franka wants his graduates to know Scripture and how to teach it as well as have a passion for church planting. He feels strongly that the school needs a strong connection with local churches.

“It is our persuasion that every future ministry in this country must start from our existing churches, which now need a lot of help,” he said. “There is felt need to train laborers for the harvest: pastors, church planters and many other Christian workers, who will minister to various groups of people within Serbia.”

As the school regains the trust of the churches and offers a consistent, valuable training program, the potential for impact is huge.

IMB personnel in Serbia currently work with church planters with whom Franka connected them. He has been a valuable ministry partner with IMB over the years. Kyle Kirkpatrick, an IMB strategy leader in South Europe, is looking forward to joining Franka in this next step.

“I am excited about the reopening in October because it is symbolic of both our past contributions to Baptist work in Serbia and our current investment in the future of Serbian churches,” he said.

Franka has been working for the last 2 years to prepare the institute’s facilities for their eventual opening. Last summer alone, five teams of volunteers come from the States to help renovate the existing campus. The seminary has a 4-story building in Novi Sad with space for dormitories and extra land. It is well situated and Franka thinks that at least twenty students will be enrolled this Fall.

He is looking to IMB to help with organization, faculty and content. The school’s first course offer, October 22-23, will be Hermeneutics, which is basic interpretation of Scripture. It will be a modular course offered to those already actively involved in ministry.

“A modular program approach provides a way to train a relatively large number of people quickly while keeping them immersed in local ministry.  It is strategic in that it takes the skills and knowledge needed for ministry and puts them firmly in the hands of local believers and leaders,” Kirkpatrick said.

Preston Pearce, Theological Education Consultant for Europe, will be the visiting professor in October. He sees the strategic timing of the institute’s opening.

“I believe we should put everything we can into helping this institute,” he said. “Given its location, it could stimulate church planting all over Serbia and into other countries of South Europe. The time seems right to be part of this vision.”

If you would like to be personally involved in helping the Bible institute in Serbia, contact Preston Pearce for more information.

Jack Gilliland, a long-term volunteer, meets a few Russian women who attended his spiritual gifts seminar in Izhevsk, Russia. Jack is from Arkansas and serves as a virtual strategy coordinator to the Republic of Udmurtia.

Baptists in Texas are hosting the Engage Europe Summit Oct. 11-13 at First Baptist Church (FBC) of Forney, Texas. The Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention are joining the International Mission Board (IMB) and FBC Forney for the event.

IMB workers from more than 15 Eastern European nations will travel from their ministry locations to interact with conference attendees and share their visions for planting churches among Europeans. They represent missionary work in Albania, Armenia, Bosnia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, southern Europe and Ukraine.

IMB worker Russell Kyzar, who helps lead the efforts of reaching out to Europeans across the globe, said he looks forward to the opportunity to connect with volunteers.

“This summit is like an NFL draft—missionaries come eager to find new team members, and church leaders come ready to sign up,” he said. “The enthusiasm is really contagious. It’s an exciting time for everyone.”

The event will start Sunday night with two missions encounters at FBC Forney and Lakeside Baptist Church in Canton—churches of the Kauf Van Baptist Association of Texas—with testimonies from the field. The following two days will include opportunities to meet one-on-one with IMB workers and discuss partnering with them to reach their respective people groups. Attendees will also hear a challenge from IMB President Dr. Jerry Rankin and “best practice” testimonies from churches aggressively involved in international missions.

Missionaries are looking for volunteers to pray and lead others to pray. They’re also looking for those interested in visiting a ministry location to prayerwalk; help with children’s and youth camps, concerts, student ministry and evangelism projects; conduct English as a Second Language courses; and build relationships with businesspeople, teachers and others for evangelism and discipleship—to name a few opportunities.

“In most places in Eastern Europe a church can’t be started ‘from scratch’ in a week or even in a few months,” Russell said, “but long-term partners can greatly reduce the time that is required and give an encouraging boost to our field personnel.”

Churches looking for long-term partnership opportunities with an unreached city or people group are urged to attend to discover how they can be strategic partners in Eastern Europe.

Register for the summit online at fbcforney.org/EngageEurope.

“Football and winning drove me for most of my life, but now pleasing my God is my number one motivation.”

This attitude sums up Josh Hepner’s ministry in Serbia—coaching football for the Kraljevo Royal Crowns and sharing Christ with young athletes. He and his wife, Kristen, have lived in Kraljevo for a year and love the life God has given them.

Getting There

Twenty-seven-year-old Josh is a former NCAA football player from North Greenville University. Though he could have pursued football as a career in America, he chose to put his family first and use his coaching skills in ministry.

This decision led them to Serbia, where nationals are surprised Josh and Kristen would choose to leave America for their country.

“I have heard quite a few responses when I tell folks I actually moved here and will be living here for the next few years,” Josh said. “My favorite was ‘Welcome to hell, everyone is trying to get outta here and you could go anywhere in the world and you came here.’”

This incredulity in itself opens doors to ministry as people are curious about why Josh would choose to call their city home. Ironically, Josh loves Serbia–the hospitality of the people, delicious food, incredible landscapes and slower pace of life. Most importantly, Josh and Kristen know God has clearly called them to Serbia and given them a love for the country.

“I love waking up each morning and seeing what the day has in store,” Josh said.

Royal Crowns

Josh is one of the first Americans to play and coach a Serbian football team. He is the linemen coach and one of two defensive coordinators. During this first year of play, the team won the North and South division in Serbia, and ended the season 7-1.

“I was really pleased with our defense,” Josh said. “It was a force to be reckoned with, and we took pride in shutting a team out.”

But Josh’s desire to win on the field is overshadowed by his desire to impact the lives of his players.

“I want to make my players better men off the field,” he said. “I want to teach them that skills they learn in football will take them much farther off the field—being a team player, taking responsibility when you screw up, giving 100 percent in everything you do, and never making excuses.”

Josh also wants to introduce them to Christ. Coaching Serbs—who love sports and are good athletes–and giving them new skills opens the doors to their hearts. Josh has become an area star, even being featured on a local TV show. During an interview he was asked what he would tell people who wanted to be Josh Hepner.

“Why in the world would you want to be someone else?” Josh asked. “God made you the way you are and he wants to use you in a mighty way.”

To keep up with the Hepners and know how to pray specifically for them, follow their blog. To find out about more ministry opportunities in Serbia, visit the Web site pray4serbs.org

Slavko was a self-proclaimed atheist. He’d heard about all the different religions and come to a decision that none of them were genuine. But after a little time with Julie, he wanted to know what, exactly, Baptists believed. He was skeptical but open to discussion. Not surprisingly, Slavko did not get his visa, and he was the only student that attended all five weeks of class. At end of five weeks he said, “Julie, I do believe there is a God, and I want to know more about Him.” Since this time, he has formed a strong friendship with another IMB worker, Chris, and this month he began to attend a small group Bible study. In faith, the Bannerts are believing that salvation is at hand for Slavko.

Slavko is typical of the many searching people in Southern Serbia. Julie and Karl Bannert moved to this region of Serbia two years ago despite everyone telling them that the area was too hardened to the Gospel to reap a harvest. “Even national believers would call and say, ‘Why are you going THERE? It’s too hard. Even we won’t go there!’ ” said Julie. Now all that’s changed. “We’ve had so many people wanting to come and help, we’ve actually had to turn away a few groups.”

The phenomenal interest in Serbia is a natural product of God’s obvious movement there. But why now—what’s changed? “It’s just God’s timing,” said Julie. “When we moved, we had to wait on the Lord and pray, and pray, and pray.” Those prayers have opened the hearts of the Serbians as well as those called to minister among them.

“Now we get up in the morning and say ‘what’s going to happen today?’” said Karl. “We don’t have to direct it—it is being directed for us.”

Another example is a lady named Sofija. She is a recipient of the Bannert’s unique ministry of splitting logs for people with a gas powered log splitter from the States. Sofija had heard about the Bannerts and came looking for some help since her husband had recently died. Her husband had been a believer, and the peace and joy with which he left his earth made a powerful impact on her. Adding to that was the way his church reached out to her after he died. Now she’s open to talking and wanting to find out more about Christianity. While Karl split logs at her house Julie was able to meet many neighbors and hopes that Sofija may host a Bible study in her home.

Serbia has had a tragic past, but there is hope for a glorious future through Jesus Christ. Please pray for Serbia and for the Bannerts as they minister there.