It was really chilly, not only for the golfers and spectators at the Irish Open from May 30 to June 3, but also for Oti Bunaciu’s first visit to Northern Ireland. With wind, rain, hail and temperatures around 70 C Oti kept looking at his phone to check the temperatures back in Bucharest- which were around 270C!! The warmth of the welcome to the European Baptist President over the weekend at Portstewart Baptist Church, and everywhere he went, was in marked contrast to the weather.

A quick introduction to Belfast with all its ‘history of the troubles’ was followed by the weekend on the beautiful North Coast close to the Giant’s Causeway. In two services on the Theme ‘Mission Matters’ Oti challenged the large congregations from Philippians 2 & 3 to journey as disciples of Jesus with humility and confidence in sharing the good news with others in our own unique contexts. Using examples from Project Ruth the Romanian economy under Communism and now since ’Freedom’ has come he reinforced the truth that we can count ... everything as loss compared to knowing Christ. Enjoy watching and listening to both services on Youtube.

It is six years since a European Baptist President has been in N Ireland. To have Oti come to a congregation with strong links to Romania and a heart for mission, under the leadership of Pastors John Lewis and David Morrell meant that there were many conversations continuing after both services and over lunch with all the church leaders and their wives.

Pastor Freddie McClaughlin, Vice President of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, shared in the morning service. He then brought a greeting to the leaders of Portstewart church, to Oti and the whole European Baptist family with the reminder that together we need to discern, in these times, what the Spirit is saying to the churches in Ireland , Romania or elsewhere in Europe, whether Baptist, Pentecostal or other!

On Monday evening, in the relaxed setting of Holywood Baptist Church Youth room, IBN hosted an evening with Oti speaking about Romania, Project Ruth and the European and Middle East Baptist family (EBF). He challenged us to remember that God is free, that we need to show to others the grace that has been shown to us and that we should be unashamed to talk to others about Jesus with conviction. As one person said at the end - “stirring stuff”.

In Dublin, at Grace Fellowship, Oti received a warm welcome from the Pastors of both the Romanian and the Irish congregations - Narcis and Pat. Oti had been asked to open up a discussion on the subject of ‘Legalism’ and he did this by speaking on how we as Baptists relate to the Bible. He challenged us from Hebrews 4:12&13 to start from the Bible, and then reminded us that our relationship with God’s word is not as simple as we think. We need a fresh confidence in God’s Holy Spirit to speak truth. We should always present Jesus and not just teach about the Bible. With the example of C H Spurgeon likening the Bible to a lion, we must set it free, be creative and remind ourselves that the Bible is “GOD’s YES” and offers His grace to our needy world. The level of discussion on some of the issues raised proved its relevance and we left reminded that we should have a new confidence in the Spirit and not the letter of God’s Word. Sounded like a timely reminder to Romanian and Irish Baptist brothers and sisters!

Thanks to the EBF for enabling this visit; which exceeded our hopes and prayers. We assure our EBF family of our love and prayers in these days, especially in the Ukrainian and Russian situation and in the continuing crisis in Syria and much of the Middle East.

Photos: IBN
1. Oti Bunaciu preaching at Portstewart Baptist Church
2. Oti addressing the informal IBN gathering in Holywood Baptist Church