CEE Story From The Mission Field
A Church in Every Town
February 28, 2008
“It is difficult to meet people in a big city,” said Lara Magalhaes, church planter in Lithuania. “However, God continues to amaze us with unique situations in which we can share the Gospel.”
From the hairdresser to the bank teller, Lara, her husband Milton and their two children Preston and Peyton are finding ways to bridge the gap to unbelievers living around them. One woman, who works as a supermarket cashier, has even begun sharing prayer requests with Lara. Preston has been able to witness to teachers and classmates, both individually and during class time, and Lara has given Bibles to all the third graders. Last year at Christmas, Preston and Peyton gave Bibles to all the teachers and workers at their school.
“We didn't know how they would be received but they were all so excited,” Lara said. “We found that most of them had never owned a Bible. One woman even said she had always dreamed of having one of her very own. Another woman was overwhelmed by the gesture because in her 15 years of employment at the school, this was the first time she ever received a Christmas gift from one of the students.”
It’s this type of eagerness to share Christ that has led Lara and Milton to plant two churches as well as a drug and alcohol rehab center since coming to Lithuania 12 years ago.
“The Lord has greatly used them to open doors to people's hearts,” said Sean Barron, an independent missionary who works with the Magalhaes. “Their vision is to see a church start in every town and city in Lithuania.”
Planting Again
Planting Again
In that vein, Milton and Lara have begun a third church, this one in their home city of Vilnius. It was begun after a citywide evangelistic crusade this past summer. A Global Impact Mission team was on hand to help—theybrought an orchestra and a soloist and performed daily open-air concerts. Volunteers and local believers distributed tracts, information about the church and invitations to the crusade while the music played. During the crusade, hundreds of people heard the Gospel and ten of those accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord. The last night of the crusade, Emanuelis, a long time faithful church member, was ordained as the pastor the Good News Evangelical Baptist Church in Klaipeda. One of the new converts was baptized the following Monday.
Following the crusade, theCapitol City Evangelical Baptist Church met and was well attended. One special gift from the crusade was a man named Arunas. He came to the crusade every night and has remained faithful to the church, even taking on preaching responsibilities with Milton.
“He has been a Christian for about 15 years, has been to Bible school and is a gifted preacher,” Lara said. “Now he is praying about becoming the new pastor of Capital City Church.”
Though the new church is small, it is self-supporting and eager to grow. Mindaugas, another faithful church member, hosts a bible study in his home every Wednesday night. Monthly game nights have brought unchurched families to visit worship services on Sunday mornings. During Christmas the church prepared boxes for needy families, enabling them to give adult bibles, children’s bibles and tracts along with the food.
“They received the Bibles with a lot of joy and invited us back to visit and share with them more,” Lara said.
A History of Blessing
A History of Blessing
The Magalhaes family is excited about all that God is doing around them and through them in Vilnius. Through their former church plants they know that God is faithful to bless their witness.
The first church was started in Silute and it continues to grow and bring others to the Lord through bible study and evangelism. It has faithful members who give and serve with joy. Last month, an entire family gave their lives to Christ. Rimas is the leader of the church and is mentoring others for ministry. This Spring they will have a crusade which will feature drama, music and “anything else to reach the people!”
“We plan to have nightly services and go into schools, childrens homes, and the rehab center,” Sean said. “All the churches will be together with teams from the States—it should be an awesome event. We hope to reach many for Christ!”
Klaipeda is the home of the second church plant. This church is growing through bible studies and is very active in community ministry. Through a rehab center, homeless shelter, narcotics center, prison and ministry at the city dump, the body of believers in Klaipeda is giving hope to the hopeless.
“I have seen people come to know Christ, and change their lives through this ministry,” Sean said. “Pastor Emanuelis and I talk together about the needs of the people, how we need to pray, ways to help the church grow, and how to start new works through establishing bible studies.”
Hope for the Future
Hope for the Future
These new lives are bright lights in a country often filled with darkness. Lithuanians are overwhelmingly secular and filled with hopelessness, a fact that is supported by their unusually high suicide rate. But Milton and Lara have planted their lives in this corner of the world and are bringing hope through the Gospel. To find out how you can pray or even come to Lithuania as a volunteer, visit their blog or webpage.
The Magalhaus are using every outlet God gives to share the Gospel among the lost of Lithuania. Join them in praying for a rich harvest.