Szerbia

The church in the North of Serbia has a long history, and there are many churches there. Churches are filled with many families, but the youth are not interested in joining the church or even remaining in the country. The church in the South of Serbia is smaller, with a few churches in various cities. There is a revival work happening among the Roma people, but these churches are not connected to others. Serbian Orthodoxy remains strong in this region. The Evangelical Alliance of Serbia has been seeking to unite the churches and organisations to work together for a common vision. Throughout the country, churches are hardly sending out missions workers.

At the end of 2014, OM began to partner with a Roma church in the South, in Leskovac. They supported a local NGO financially, also helping provide literature in their own language. Since 2012, OM has been visiting churches, trying to establish a good relationship in the country to begin the process of building a long term OM team there. In September 2015, with the mass immigration of refugees into Europe, OM found various ways to enter into their great need and help in multiple ways in the Cities Horgoš, Subotica, Šid, and Belgrade. OM Serbia did this in partnership with other christian organisations. Throughout the next year, they joined in the work of humanitarian aid through providing food, shelter, sanitation, and clothing for people. A long term work has been established in Šid with the help local believers. In a camp of 1,100 refugees, they are currently providing food and sharing the love of Christ. Since the beginning of 2016 the refugee work has been completely run by a local believers.

    Ministry opportunites in Serbia:

• Partnering with the growing Roma church- providing financial support for literature projects and assistance to help them reach out to their own community.
• Refugee work- sharing God’s love and hope through meeting physical needs and building deep relationships. Facilitating this through assisting other organisations & the local government in their work with the refugees.
• Networking- building deeper connections with the local believers and laying the foundation for future ministry opportunities.

        How you can get involved:

• PRAY: 
  • As a young, small team, the hope is for long-term team members to join and form a strong vision for the way forward.
  • For the youth of the nation to desire the Lord and bring passion and zeal back to the churches.
  • For the government to remain open to caring for refugees as they journey to a long-term home.
•    GIVE:  http://www.om.org/en/give
•    GO: http://www.om.org/en/opportunities Contact info: info.rs@om.org 

 More information about Serbia 

• Population: 7,186,862
• State of economy: currently in negotiations with the EU to join, experiences one of the best economies out of  the nations that comprised the Former Republic of Yugoslavia,
• Religious make up: 84.5% Orthodox, 6% Catholic, 3% Islam, 1.1% Atheist, 1% Evangelical
• Language: Serbian
• Personality of the culture/people: Serbians are a very hospitable, generous people. Their culture is friendly, and they have been very helpful in the refugee crisis. The country is a very beautiful land- filled with mountains and rivers.