The Strategic Impact of Moldovan Missionaries
Jim Capaldo
District Executive Minister, Converge Heartland
- Missions
- //
- Ukraine
Fourth on the list of poorest European countries, Moldova has shown herself to be abundantly rich with compassion in response to the war in Ukraine.
With a population of only 2.6 million, Moldova has received over 107,000 Ukrainian refugees and sent countless teams and trucks with aid and supplies across its border with Ukraine. At the core of this compassion are Moldovan believers and ministry leaders committed to the Great Commission. They see that God has globally positioned them for such a time as this. Among these serving saints are Converge missionaries Roman and Emily Citac, and their children, who serve in the picturesque city of Orhei, which is just north of the Chisinau (key-she-now), Moldova’s capitol city.
During my 2022 trip to the Odesa region of Ukraine, I was blessed to spend some quality time with the Citac family. They have been engaged in church planting work for well over a decade, radiate faith in Christ, and joyfully serve with strong relational and language capacities. Roman is from Moldova and did his undergrad studies at the University of Divine Grace, a bible college in Chisinau, whereas Emily grew up in a Converge (BGC) church in Clinton, Iowa. Roman and Emily met while he was spending time in the United States, and the rest is history. It is hard to imagine the Citacs having a dull day, especially considering their delightfully curious children, Henry and Josette, not to mention their entertaining and endearingly named cat, Metrofonchik (metro-fawn-chick). Watch this recent video, created for families with children, of the Citac family and their ministry.
Moldovan Christians and the city of Chisinau are strategic to missionary work for many reasons. As the war continues in Ukraine, the Chisinau airport, which is only a three-hour drive from the city of Odesa, Ukraine, provides vital support for people and supplies coming in and out of Ukraine. Moldovans speak Russian and/or Romanian and an increasing number of Moldovans are gaining fluency in English. Because of this, many Moldovan Christians are willing to serve as English interpreters for English-speaking ministry teams serving with local ministries or on trips into Russian-speaking regions such as Ukraine and Central Asia. Beyond their own church planting work, the Citacs are well-networked with church leaders, seminary professors, missionaries, and interpreters across the Moldovan Baptist Union. They are a strong and strategic Moldovan ministry family worthy of your partnership.
Click HERE to donate to the Citac's ministry today.
Jim Capaldo, District Executive Minister, Converge Heartland
A graduate of Baptist Bible College, Western Seminary, Novosibirsk State University and the University of South Dakota, Jim served 11 years establishing a church planting movement among the formerly unreached Tuvan tribe of Siberian Russia. Besides church planting, he has pastored at ChangePoint Church in Anchorage, Alaska, and at Central Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, facilitates StratOp retreats, serves on various ministry boards and regularly instructs for the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course.
Additional articles by Jim Capaldo