August 8th-13th 2005, God sent the team that has helped me with my “Strategy” more than any other team. God knew that I needed them in the worst way. We had recently moved from the country of Moldova and had really been frustrated with some of the strategies some of the teams had been using there. During this same time on January 1st 2005, I was placed as the Team Leader for all of South East Romania. This included five counties, 35 major cities, 874 villages with 2.3 million people! These people are less then 1% evangelized… “My simple job description”….bring hope to every heart!
After four months, I had not yet connected that well, well lets just say NOT AT ALL with the local Baptist churches in Galati and at the time I wasn’t really making any progress in my overall strategy. To complicate matters we had just returned from the states and didn’t have any time to set up for this Bob Houchins Team that was coming in two weeks... “at my request.”
They were coming to teach servant evangelism, Share Jesus Without Fear, (a method of evangelism that I had used many times in the states but had quit using here in Europe), and Prayer Walking. I am looking at my notes back then, “very nervous” “no schedule yet” “no homes for them to stay in yet” “One week to go and no churches have committed to this yet” “God help me!”
Well, I was stressed to say the least. I tried to have everything set up and really just couldn’t get the help I needed here in Galati. But God was really in this one….Bob brought a group of committed young college students that came to teach. They were prepared, confident, young, and fired up! I really wasn’t ready for them but they were ready for the task that God had put on their hearts. Every day they would teach and then demonstrate these principles and methods. Bob, Scott, Nathan, Jamie, Matt, Melissa and Jennifer would literally pour their hearts and enthusiasm into the people they were training.
The end result turned out to be different then what I had originally expected. This method that I had long quit using in Europe became STEP TWO in what is now known as the “Galati Strategy.” Two weeks after this team left we led several people in the Valley to Christ using this method. The first converts were two sisters that ultimately would begin attending Bible Study and prayer meetings at the King of Thieves house. It was when we were leading these two to Christ that we met the King of Thieves. (Danuti)
The Galati strategy is simply this….1) Find one person 2) Ask one question 3) Teach one Lesson and 4) Form one group. This is by prayer walking, using SJWF, the National Bible Reading Campaign and Cell Church foundational materials. So they brought a big part of our strategy. They thought they were coming to train the nationals and so did I! But God had far different plans for this group of young people from Missouri led by Bob Houchins .
Every American team that has been to Galati and works with me KNOWS that this SJWF method is the one that we use! They just didn’t know how God used this team to bring it here in the first place. God also had other plans that were in the wind at the time ….it seems that Jennifer is now Mrs. Scott Bryant!
