John (ion) Popescu

When you look at his home, you see walls where daylight clearly shines through large cracks. There is only one room, and sometimes you can even see large rats on the window sills inside the house. 

They Know It Isn't Safe

John and his wife, Ioana, live in this home with their three children. They know it isn't safe, but their eyes are focused on God and His call for them to build a church in the village of Gogosu. The story could have been very different, but John followed the Lord instead of the world.

When John received his call to ministry, he was offered a post where he would live in luxury, with a comfortable salary, a handsome church building, and a home without rats.

He Prayed to Build a Church

But John fasted and prayed for three months and heard God calling him to Gogosu. And that was where he went. In a place where there was no church, John invited spiritually hungry people to meet Jesus Christ in his small, one-room home. And he prayed. He prayed to build a church.

A Ceiling That Was Literally Falling Down

There was no building committee or finance committee in John's church plant, so he began to build the church on his own land with donations of goods and services from the congregation and the community.

What couldn't be donated was purchased out of John's meager pocket. And they continued to live in their unsafe home, where they battled a kitchen flooded by rainwater and a ceiling that was literally falling down. But they praised the Lord for victory!

A Troubled Birth

When John's wife gave birth to their third child, problems with the birth led to a hospital bill that John cannot pay. The new church waits to be finished, and John is still praying. His wife rocks the baby with one hand and with the other she cooks meals for the 10 - 15 precious volunteers who are working on the church. Both John and Ioana have battled with fear and despair, but God always gives them the strength to move forward.

Moved With Compassion

On one side of the yard is the small, ramshackle home that will not make it through another winter. On the other side of the yard is a beautiful church chapel built on prayer for hungry believers to worship.

When we met John and heard this story, our hearts were moved with compassion. We want to help God to answer John's prayer by removing the mountain of hospital debt and providing the funds to finish the church.

When it is finished, the church will include a living apartment, so John and his family can live in a safe place, away from the rats and the flooding.

Unfinished Work

In John's own words: "The Lord gave me a vision and a passion for His work from Gogosu and villages around. God sent me people to support this vision. Praises to God! The Lord gave me vision, purpose, strategy, edifying and expanding, and I am glad to see how these are starting to be realized step by step."

We are so blessed to share that we just received a generous gift for half of what it will cost to finish John's church, pay off the hospital debt, and provide the instruments and furniture for this new church. An additional $25,000 will fully fund the church that John has been faithfully praying for. This is a big amount, but we serve a big God. Can you come alongside John to help fulfill this God-given vision? Are you willing to help build a church?