Hungary

In Hungary GFC has encouraged the Christian Gypsies in the north east by sharing with them in evangelism and meeting needs for clothing and food on every visit. Grants have been made towards the church building in Verpelet and to enable members to attend conferences and teaching seminars. Valuable links have been forged and the annual visits of the GFC team are eagerly anticipated.

Successful children's AWANA clubs are run by some churches in Hungary and one of these is being pioneered in Recsk to integrate Gypsy and Hungarian children. The teaching given is Bible based and the Christian outlook provides positive, disciplined learning experiences for the youngsters. GFC makes a valuable contribution by providing grants for equipment, uniforms and running expenses. In addition, ways to establish AWANA clubs in Slovakia are being considered.

Ministry Update

Gypsies for Christ has been involved with the churches in north east Hungary since 1997 and it has given us great pleasure to see the work grow and prosper in the hands of the very able pastor there. When the organisation first visited there were three lively, growing Gypsy churches in the villages of Verpelet, Kerescend and Szjaila near the town of Eger.

On our last visit in 2008 there were eleven churches and these continue to grow as the Good News spreads abroard. Gypsies for Christ has helped this work by giving financial aid where needed to enable the churches purchase their own buildings and provided encouragement by distributing clothing, shoes, food etc whenever they have visited. A close and friendly relationship exists between the Hungarian Gypsy Christians and the English workers who have always been included in family celebrations and church functions.