An Interview with Roma Minister, Pastor Ruslan
This is Pastor Ruslan and his family. To read more about the Roma Pastors that CIM partners with, click here.
Ahead of this month’s CIM Ministries Roma Info Session on November 27, we have interviewed Pastor Ruslan, one of the Roma pastors that we support in the Ukraine. It is always encouraging to hear the testimonies of our fellow servants in the Lord.
Please tell us, how did you become Christian?
Pastor Ruslan: It was in 1999. I was married to my wife for 10 years and our life was very tough in 90th. And some Christian people came to our Roma settlement and they were simply giving out food and some clothes to our people. My family was very poor at that time. And one evening when I was about to go to bed, my neighbors came to my door, they knocked and said: Christian people came! At that time, we already knew that if Christian people came to our village, it meant they brought some help. And since we had needs, and my kids were often hungry, I told my wife that I will go and see, maybe I will also get some help for my family. But I lived in the end of the village and when I came to the place where they gathered, it was almost the end of the meeting. I saw our Roma people and these Christians gathered in the small room and when I came in I saw many of my neighbors standing on their knees and praying and asking for forgiveness. It was weird for me; I couldn’t understand how the Roma people could stand on their knees and ask someone for forgiveness. I knew my people as very proud people who would never bow down before someone. And even though we believed that God exists, we were far from Him. That’s why I was impressed. In the end before they left, Christian people told us that they sent one of their men to serve in our village. They said that he will come to our village regularly and tell us about God and pray with us and if we want to hear more about God or pray together, we can come to these meetings.
After a while I decided to come to one of such meetings and hear what this man will share. Even though I was a very bad man at that time and lived a sinful life, something in me wanted to find out more about God. At that time, I didn’t know that it was God already working in my heart and calling me to search for Him. And when I came to the meeting, I heard God’s word from the preacher and I heard God’s voice in my heart telling me: “Ruslan, you need to come to Me, repent and start a new life. I want to be with you and bless you”. I couldn’t understand what it meant but I listened to this voice and came forward and prayed. And since that day till now I live with God.
I had many problems and trials in my life but I always trusted God in those moments and God always helped me and blessed me. I could always see that He was leading me and my family and He was always with us. And praise the Lord, that today He can use me in His work on this earth.
How did you become a pastor?
Pastor Ruslan: I never thought, nor expected that I will be a pastor one day. I didn’t know what it means to be a pastor. When I started following Jesus and serving Him, I started to read God’s word. And God opened me to who I really was and that I have to change my life. God showed me my sins and what I have to change. Roma people have different beliefs. And as Roma I was very superstitious. I believed in many things that were not connected to God and were lies, and I prayed that God would set me free from those lies. And in a few years, I started feeling that God wants me to serve Him in a special way. And I remember when I heard God’s calling to be a pastor. I read a story from the Bible about Abraham, how God called him to a new land and Abraham believed what God said and followed Him. And God promised that He will give Abraham inheritance - He promised to give him many kids - as stars upon the sky. And I remember that day God told me to go out of my house and just walk through the Roma settlement where I lived. And God told me: this is your inheritance; this is the place where I want you to serve. And that day I saw my settlement in a new way. Even though I knew that place by heart and I knew every stone in my settlement, that day it became a new place for me - a place where God wants me to be His servant. And since that day I started to learn God’s word more to be a better servant. And after a while I was chosen to be deacon in the settlement first and later a pastor.
How many Roma people live in your settlement?
Pastor Ruslan: Around 350 people. First, I was only serving in my native settlement - Perechin. But later God opened new doors for me to serve and today I am responsible for the ministry in a few other Roma settlements in our region - Uzhgorod settlement, Ratovci, Serednye, Esen, Rooski Komarovci Roma settlements. I am a senior pastor over those settlements.
How many people in total live in those settlements you just mentioned?
Pastor Ruslan: In total, the Uzhgorod Region if you count Roma people who speak our dialect - it is about 10 000 people. Those are the settlements where we serve.
What are the struggles or worries you have in your ministry now?
Pastor Ruslan: Ministry is never easy especially when you are a pastor because you work with people. And all the people are different and I have to be a leader for them - in my church and in other churches I am responsible for. And of course, my biggest worry and prayers are for those people I serve, that God would work in their lives and bring them closer to Him and change their hearts. I pray that they would grow spiritually and grow in God’s Word.
Another worry is all the Roma pastors and leaders. Because as we read in the Bible, God always raises leaders, apostles, pastors to bring people to Him and lead the church. But if a pastor or a leader has to worry more about how to feed his family (and this is the right thing because God teaches us to care for our family), then he has less time to serve, to learn God’s word, to grow spiritually and to prepare for the ministry. And often churches suffer because their leaders are busy with work and have no support as the church cannot grow if it does not have a strong spiritual leader. That’s why I see that all the Roma pastor needs support, both spiritual from other pastors and churches and financial as well. So that they can have more time for the ministry and feel their responsibility for the church. If the pastor knows that his family's needs are fulfilled then he can take much better care of the church. But we must remember that the Bible teaches us “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added”.
There are many worries and struggles in the ministry so please pray for the leaders and for the people who will be ready to serve Roma people. I am very grateful for all the people who are coming, like CIM, to serve among the Roma people and help us financially. And I am very grateful for the House of Mercy who are doing this job. So may God help us all to serve Him and spread His Kingdom on this earth among all the nations and all the people.
October Financials
1. General Fund - for general and administrative purposes, such as staff salaries
2. Designated Fund - for specific ministries in different field locations as designated (cannot be transferred between funds)
*All financial figures are in Canadian dollars and rounded to the nearest dollar
Pray With Us:
Pray for the planning of the Roma Info Session scheduled for Nov. 27.
Pray for the planning of an upcoming virtual training session with the Roma pastors.
Pray for CIM USA and Christine Pi as she has retired as Executive Director. CIM USA is currently recruiting for an Executive Director successor, as well as a Director of Ministry.
Pray for the salvation of the Roma settlements which Pastor Ruslan shared about.
ROMA MINISTRY INFO. SESSION
As all our STM trips are still on hold, we would like to virtually introduce you to our mission fields. The next info session will be held on
November 27
12 pm PST/1 pm MST/3 pm EST.
Save the date! We will be sharing updates from the House of Mercy, prayer requests and future opportunities to serve the Roma community in Ukraine.
It is a free event and if you are interested in attending please register here and we will send you a Zoom link.