An update from our Fellowship missionary, Amanda Snyder
Evangelicals in Slovenia
Slovenia is a beautiful country that up until now has been off the radar of most tourists. It is nestled between Austria, Italy, Croatia, and Hungary and enjoys both the Alps and the Adriatic Sea. It is about the size of New Jersey and has roughly two million people, but only 1,200 to 1,800 (.06%) are evangelical Christians. There are a total of forty evangelical churches in Slovenia ranging in size from about 20 to a high of slightly over 100 members in the capital of Ljubljana, with the average size of the congregation being about 30 to 50 people.
Increased Responsibility for Amanda Snyder
Amanda Snyder first fell in love with Slovenia while participating in a mission trip through Fellowship several years ago. For the past six and a half years Amanda has been serving as a missionary based in Celje (pronounced sell-yay), Slovenia with Josiah Venture (JV), a ministry that serves the local church in sixteen different cities in post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe. Amanda is excited by how the Holy Spirit is stretching her with her recent shift in responsibilities with JV to leadership and strategic planning in Ministry Support. This new position will utilize her skills in project management as she leads the JV team of 24 to build synergies across the team to best utilize each person’s unique giftings. She will also analyze the needs of the six small churches Josiah Venture partners with and then determine the best way the ministry can support these churches through JV’s strengths in music, English language training, putting together and leading camps, youth ministry, outreach, etc. For example, a church may need a youth ministry, but may be too small to field it. That’s where Amanda and Josiah Venture will step in to try to plug in some important gaps.
Ministry Focus on the Youth
A major focus of JV is on reaching the youth of Slovenia. By reaching the youth, they hope that they will become adults who will make an impact within Slovenia wherever God places them. A major prayer request is that the faith of these youth would have roots that would go down deep. Most who accept Christ, will have no one else in their family, school, or sometimes even their village or town who believes. They may face a great deal of pressure and hardship because of their faith.
Challenges in Reaching Slovenes with the Gospel
The Slovenes pose several challenges in their acceptance of the gospel. Most are Catholic by tradition and have relied on external rituals as an expression of their faith while others, are unaffiliated. Both groups are united in their self-reliance and their perception that they don’t need a Savior. Being ruled and occupied for many years by various countries and empires has made it a very slow process to build trust in relationships with Slovenes. In addition, the Slovenes are highly intelligent and well-educated, so after trust is built, they often seek rational explanations in their faith and a clear, simple explanation of the gospel. While other parts of the world provide immediate gratification for an evangelist because people very quickly come to faith, Central Europe requires great faith and endurance as it may take years to see any fruit.
Additional Challenges in Ministry
Two challenges are pragmatic in nature. Although a major focus is on reaching the youth of Slovenia, most of the leadership team of JV Slovenia is around 40 years old. Also, with the war in Ukraine, Europe is feeling increased inflation and some shortages in critical goods like fuel and grain. This means that ministry dollars don’t go as far as they’d like.
Amanda, like all missionaries, misses her family and friends in the U.S. While she has friends in Slovenia, serving as a missionary brings moments of great loneliness. She is quick to add, however, to respond with 2 Corinthians 4:17 – “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”
Greatest Joy in Ministry
Besides seeing unbelievers come to faith, Amanda particularly enjoys seeing Slovene leaders using their gifts for the glory of God.
Praying for Amanda and the Team in Celje
- Clarity on how each team member should best use his or her giftings for the Kingdom in Slovenia
- Addition of younger team members
- For Amanda’s improved fluency in Slovene
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