ROMANIA

Romania is a country in Southeastern Europe. Romania borders Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and Moldova to the northeast, and Bulgaria to the south. Romania has a stretch of sea coast along the Black Sea, and the eastern and southern Carpathian Mountains run through its center.

The modern state of Romania was formed by the merging of the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859.The state united with Transylvania in 1918. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, the sixth largest city in the EU. Romania joined NATO on March 29, 2004, and the European Union on January 1, 2007. Romania has the seventh largest population and the ninth largest territory in the EU.

Romania is a secular state, thus having no national religion. The dominant religious body is the Romanian Orthodox Church. Other important religions include Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Pentecostal denominations, and the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church. Romania also has a historically significant Muslim minority concentrated in Dobrogea. Based on the 2002 census data, there are also 6,179 Jews, 23,105 people who are of no religion and/or atheist, and 11,734 who refused to answer. On December 27, 2006, President Traian Basescu approved a new Law on Religion; under the new legislation, religious denominations can only receive official registration if they have at least 20,000 members, or about 0.1 percent of Romania’s total population.

Camp Bit of Heaven | www.campbitofheaven.com | abitofheaven@gmail.com
Camp Bit of Heaven was founded by Cristi Hodoraba, and reaches out to the young people of Romania, including the large Gypsy population, with the message of Christ. The camp setting provides a wonderful place to capture the attention and hearts of the children and teenagers who come to camp, offering them the Hope of Christ.

SMIRNA | jennut@bigfoot.com
Foundation Vista is a non-profit ministry caring for the lost and needy in the Romanian area of Drobeta Turnu Severin. Christ The Rock has been supporting this ministry since 1999. Along with providing skill programs for older orphans, children’s ministry, humanitarian projects and discipleship, the leaders of Foundation Vista took the steps in 2006 to launch a church plant called SMIRNA. CTR has been invited to be a part of this church plant. Read more »

Horizon of Hope | www.horizonofhope.ro | peterg@bcbfagaras.org | kyleg@bcbfagaras.org
Petry and Kyle Groza live in Fagaras Romania. Right now their ministry is divided into two parts. Leading the music ministry, and being involved in both the youth and children’s ministries of Bethany Baptist Church. A big part of their time involves working in villages with children of all ages, teaching them about God’s love.

Horizon of Hope is a ministry whose main goal is to reach the young adults of Romania and give them more opportunities. These opportunities would include teaching them both the physical and spiritual skills they need to survive. Stay up to date with Horizon of Hope on their blog at www.horizonofhope.ro/blog.