My name is Vitali Turlac. Since 2004 I have been the national coordinator of Entrust-Moldova. I grew up with a wonderful example of a family of strong believers in difficult circumstances. My great-grandfather, a pastor of an evangelical church in rural Ukraine, was sent to Siberia; my parents were deprived of the right to higher education and ridiculed at work because of their faith.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and freedom to spread the Word became a reality, many evangelists came to Moldova. I accepted Christ at one of the large crusades held across the country. After graduating from a Christian college in Lithuania, I was responsible for encouraging and nurturing youth ministry in all of our Baptist churches in Moldova. In 2004 I met the national director for Entrust-Moldova, Harvey Newton, and it didn’t take long to decide that I wanted to be a part of this work.

Moldova faces many challenges. It is the poorest country in Europe. Our economy depends on those who live abroad (over a million people) and send funds to their relatives. Since 1989 the number of evangelical Baptist churches in Moldova has grown from 100 to 600 churches and mission stations. Many pastors receive little or no financial support from their congregations since offerings barely cover utility costs, so they must spend a lot of time trying to support their families. Our government openly aligns itself with the Russian Orthodox Church, which regards all other denominations as sects. Evangelicals are not allowed to rent public buildings for religious purposes. A few years ago, a law was passed stating that for a religious organization to function legally it needs at least 100 members, rendering some churches illegal as well as making it difficult for new ones to register.

Theological education is something precious that we cherish in my country. During seven decades of atheism and persecution, evangelical Christians had no opportunity for training. Not surprisingly, quite a few of the theological views that our untrained pastors taught and our congregations embraced were not accurate. After 1991, many Christians were able to get biblical training. Many students have mentioned that going through the Entrust program has laid a foundation that has helped them excel in exploring and interpreting the Bible. There has been significant improvement in the quality of the sermons of trained pastors and some now lead training groups in their churches. Best of all, we have seen positive spiritual transformation in them, in their congregations, and in their communities.