letter from Romania
‘I never thought I would have to counsel a young man going to war’
John-Edward Funnell
I have had the pleasure of working with Biserica Crestina Emanuel in Galati since 2017. Galati is my paternal homeland and Romania has a special place in my heart.
Over the years I have made friends with the most beautiful devout Christians who stood firm under the brutality of the Ceaușescu regime and in more recent history have kept the church growing despite the mass exodus west of 30% of all their 18–30-year-olds since Romania joined the European Union in 2007.
Is purity back in fashion?
Each summer, I have the opportunity to serve the next generation of leaders, missionaries and committed church members at youth camps in Wales and Romania. What I have observed recently is a growth in an almost puritanical movement within our youth.
As I teach the Bible and engage with Gen Z and Gen Alpha*, I am encouraged by their deep commitment to Jesus and their desire to live authentic holy lives. They have all grown up in a post-Christian secular society, saturated with sexual ideology and they are seeking refuge. I see a counter-culture that is being refined by secularism, calling a new generation back to holy living.