MSI Missions : Hungary
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Mustard Seed International has formed a strategic partnership with Sonflower Ministries to facilitate their outreach and church planting efforts in the former Communist country of Hungary and across Central and Eastern Europe. It is our hope that MSI can be a strong help and support mechanism to Sunflower as they labor in fields which are white unto harvest.
The following is an overview of Sonflower’s mission:
Turning Hearts and Minds to the Son!
"For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:40 (NIV)
Why Sonflower Ministries?
The Hungarian countryside is covered with huge, beautiful fields of sunflowers that are used to feed animals and to produce cooking oil. The Hungarian name for sunflower means, "turning to face the sun." We chose the name "Sonflower" as it reminds us of the beauty of this flower and it's daily seeking after the sun's life-giving properties. Sonflower also reflects the main goal of our ministry - to see people of every tribe and nation turn their faces to seek the Son of God, in order to see His beauty and to know His life-giving power.
The Work in Hungary:
Currently Sonflower’s ministry in Hungary is focused on supporting the church planting activities of Hungarian churches. Hungarians have suffered greatly in two world wars and under Soviet rule. During the Second World War, Nazi Germany deported hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews and Roma (gypsies) to extermination camps. The Russian army occupied Hungary after 1945, bringing with it a Soviet-style communist rule that lasted until 1989. During this time Christians suffered extreme discrimination and intimidation. By the late 1990s, the small churches that survived the Nazi and Soviet eras began re-evangelizing this nation, with an area just larger than South Carolina and a population of 10 million. Many communities have no evangelizing church presence, and thus no living witness of the risen Christ.
Our Mission:
The long-term mission of Sonflower Ministries is to support the year-round ministries of churches throughout Central and Eastern Europe, with a focus on church planting and church revitalization. The work is carried out through short-term mission trips within long-term partnerships between US and overseas churches. Our operational approach emphasizes the establishment and expansion of networks of in-country resources, promoting cooperation, collaboration, and the efficient use of resources. Team-building in the US is designed to help participants better understand their calling to Christian service and mission. Where possible, family participation is encouraged so that lessons learned while "on mission" can be reinforced around the dinner table for years to come, adding a new dimension to their sense of family identity.
Website: www.sonflower.org