B u c h a r e s t – Tony Peck (Prague), General-Secretary of the European Baptist Federation (EBF), has lauded the missionary and charity efforts of Bucharest, Rumania’s 7.000 Baptists. He stated: “I am tremendously encouraged by all that God is doing through the Baptists of Bucharest.” Peck paid the city a four-day visit in early June in order to help commemorate the 150^th anniversary of Baptist work in Rumania. Johann-Gerhard Oncken (1800-1884), the planter of many European congregations, had initially sent the baptised carpenter Karl Scharschmidt, who then established a mission work in Bucharest in 1856. In 1863 he founded the first Rumanian Baptist congregation. Today, Rumania’s 110,000 Baptists gathered in more than 2,000 congregations form Europe’s third-largest Baptist union. In anniversary celebrations at Bucharest’s historic Golgotha Baptist Church, Peck commended the Romanian Baptists for their faithfulness during the period of communist dictatorship. They had then served as “living stones”, something which they should continue to do in the present and future.

Peck was impressed by Baptist efforts at Bucharest’s state university, where Dean Dr. Otniel Bunaciu leads Europe’s sole Baptist theological faculty. Peck invited him to address the EBF Council in Lyon, France this autumn on the subject of present and future trends in theological education among European Baptists. Peck thanked the university for making this unique form of cooperation possible. Bucharest also features a Baptist theological seminary with 200 students at present.

Peck assured Dr. Daniel Maris, President of the Bucharest Baptist Association, EBF support for the planting of new congregations. In July, the EBF will begin under the auspices of its IMP (Indigenous Missionary Project) to support, among other things, a Rumanian church planter. A second IMP-worker may also be supported in another part of the country. Two such missionaries are already active among Rumania’s Hungarian-speaking Baptist congregations.

One matter of frequent discussion for Peck was Rumania’s planned membership in the European Union beginning in 2007. Rumanian Baptists intend – along with other Baptist unions - to use this event as a call for increased prayer for Europe and for the furthering of mission work in Europe. The EBF intends to support this effort.

Peck visited the Baptist “Project Ruth” outreach programme working among Bucharest’s Roma children. It includes a school for five- to 14-year-olds scheduled to be officially opened in October 2006. Roma children are usually excluded from Romanian society. This programme is financially supported above all by Baptists from Britain and the USA.

Peck expressed concern regarding the fact that this Baptist union has in recent years had no close official involvement with the EBF. He hopes that his visit will contribute to closer ties, and that the Rumanian leadership will now seek a closer relationship with the EBF.