Back in the early nineties was the first time that I met Albert Durko. He had come to one of the training programmes that I ran for emerging leaders. It is only recently that I have had the privilege to reconnect with him again and to be introduced to the Hungarian Gypsy Mission that he oversees. What an incredible organisation! What an incredible vision!
Hungarian Gypsy Missions International was founded in 1996 as a missions branch within the Hungarian Pentecostal Church. Today they have more than 1000 employees and hundreds of volunteers, and there are over 30 people on their full-time missions staff.
They serve the underprivileged, especially ethnic Gypsies, in Hungary and surrounding countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Taking Jesus as their example, they place great emphasis on the balance of ministering to spirit, soul and body of the individual.
In recent years they have seen a tremendous increase in opportunities to preach the Gospel, teach the people and feed the hungry. They are deeply convinced that Gypsies, like everybody else, can only be transformed by God’s life-changing power.
A Social Services Centre was established in 2008 to provide an administrative framework for the services that were provided in the social arena. Their dynamic growth surpassed all expectations: now having more than 1000 social nurses.
The primary activity in this field is to provide home assistance to the elderly. Skilled social nurses visit their patients on a regular basis and help them in their homes and other things like shopping, visiting the doctor and the like.
Added to this they also provide social catering, a daycare for children and a daycare for the elderly, a nursery and psychosocial rehabilitation for psychiatric patients. They constantly seek ways to extend and improve their services for their clients. They serve meals into 10,000 a week. An incredible opportunity to bring the ‘Kingdom’ into a domestic environment.
All that this organisation is achieving is quite staggering and the opportunities for influence continue to grow. The small profits from their social enterprise they have established 120 churches in the past 8 years. With many more planned. Their vision is to see 325,000 Roma come to Jesus in Hungary – then Europe!!
I have been asked to come alongside Albert to bring personal mentoring and look at their organisational structure to help them to be more effective in their reach into the community and how what they do can bring more long lasting Kingdom influence.
This is such an awesome privilege and in many ways taking me back to where I started my investment into Eastern Europe back in the early 1990’s.
If you would like more information about this great mission check out their website – www.gypsymissions.org
We will have more to say on this amazing group of people as the years roll forward.
Have a great week. Ian
Albert Durko