[1]BALS, Romania (BP)??Of 850 decisions to follow Jesus Christ registered during a recent crusade of Southern Baptists in Romania, none was more dramatic than one in Bals, often referred to as the country’s “capital of witchcraft.” During an invitation at a public meeting one evening, a “teacher” witch came to the altar, fell on her knees and denounced her life in witchcraft. She went on to accept Jesus as her Savior, then helped close the service by joining in the song, “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.” “This was an incredible witness to the town of Bals,” said Joe Savage, pastor of North Cary Baptist Church, Cary, N.C. “They told me the city has been under Satanic influence for generations.”
Throughout the world, witchcraft is more than a religion. It’s a way of life and an occupation. Many people in Bals pay witches to remove and place curses, tell their fortunes, read their palms and fix things in their life, Savage said.”God had been working on her heart before she came,” Savage added. She had come to the local pastor, seeking a medical doctor who helped in a clinic sponsored by the church. The pastor shared the gospel with her face?to?face.
Then she came to a crusade service one evening. The next day several team members fasted and prayed all day for her salvation.
Savage, working through the Southern Baptist International Board, led the team of 14 volunteers from North and South Carolina in the evangelistic effort to Romania. Team members distributed 5,000 New Testaments and 12,000 gospel tracts, worked in two orphanages and conducted preaching crusades in villages and churches nightly for 12 days.
In Craiova, opposition from Orthodox Church leaders boosted the team’s work. Fearing Orthodox backlash, police intervened to stop Savage and other team members from preaching on the street. But more and more people were drawn to the ruckus.
Savage talked to police and then continued to preach, despite angry Orthodox protesters around him. At the end, about 25 people in the crowd responded to an invitation to accept Jesus Christ.