Community building in the heart of Moldova's capital

The leaders of the Covenant of Grace church in Moldova longed to see God move in their community – but had no clear vision or direction.

Moldova is the one of the poorest countries in Europe. Political instability, poverty, human trafficking, and corruption make life very hard. The country is crying out for hope. But the church is small, and many of its leaders are inexperienced.

Thanks to support like yours, however, a new Moldovan training hub was set up last year – and leaders from Covenant of Grace church were able to sign up for Innovista’s Tempo course. They knew that Tempo’s practical tools and teaching would make them much more effective. But no one could have guessed just how much. After prayer, they agreed to make young people their focus, and helping them live for Jesus their central aim. Then they made a plan.The leaders counted up the young people in the church – 15 in total – and spoke with them about their friends outside it. Together, they started praying through their names.

Unlocking young people’s potential is at the heart of all Innovista does. Inspired, the team began to identify their young people’s strengths, and to nurture and release them as new worship leaders, drama leaders, dance leaders, and youth leaders. The energy this created kickstarted a series of big meetings, to which church youth invited their non-Christian friends.

40 to 50 young people were coming regularly after just a few months. The time was now right to invite them to an Alpha Course, which the church youth helped lead. 45 young people signed up at the start. By the end of the course, numbers had risen to 50.

Marius invited his friend Daniel. ‘It was all very simple,’ he explains, ‘I called him, he came. And the Holy Spirit worked in his heart and gave him the desire to know God more. He started to smile longer, has the desire to help those around him and become better. I feel motivated to tell others about God, because God has plans for each one.’

Amazingly, almost all of those who came have since made decisions to become Christians – and every one is now coming along to church.

Please pray for these young people to flourish in their newfound faith, and to share the treasure they have found.

Your generosity could equip more churches like Covenant of Grace to share the hope of Jesus with a hungry generation – can you make a gift today?

“Innovista’s training stands out because we clearly see that it helps our leaders grow. As a result, we’re more effective in our mission.” Eugen Ciumac, Operation Mobilisation Moldova’s Field Leader