80% of the world’s evangelical Christians live in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Over the last 50 years, God’s church has grown exponentially in these areas.

These regions have tremendous mission sending potential to help bring the gospel to unreached peoples, but they currently send only 20% of the world’s cross-cultural missionaries!

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Total Number of Evangelicals

Cultural Bridges to UPGs

Regional Access to UPGs

Religious Freedom

Prosperity

Current Sending Abroad

Mobilization Potential

Custom Mobilization Potential

Number of Evangelicals

Cultural Bridges

Strategic Access

Religious Freedoms

Current Sending

This infographic provides a visual score for seven data points ranked on a 0 to 100 scale. Faded icons show scores for other countries on the mobilization index. See below for actual scores and country-specific insights.

ADDITION

FINANCIAL DEPENDENCY

INACCESSIBLE

LIMITED MISSION FORCE

DISTANT AND FOREIGN MISSION FIELD

THE WORLD IS THE MISSION FIELD

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An Eastern Orthodox stronghold with growing population of evangelicals.

Few Evangelicals By Percentage

Out of Romania's 19 million Christians, a little more than 1 million of those believers are evangelical protestants. In a predominantly Eastern Orthodox nation, protestant Christians are in the minority with under 6% of the population.&nbsp;
Originating from an influence of Christian missionaries in the late 1800s, many religious groups were formed, disbanded, and accused of spreading communist ideals, before a group of Christian evangelicals officially formed and were recognized in the early 1930s.&nbsp; Now home to approximately 18,000 churches, Romania has a little over one thousand evangelical churches and 1.2 million evangelical believers.

With an average Median Cultural Distance of 15.5, Romania shares cultural similarities with several of the 30 UPG nations on our list. [[1]] As a collectivistic society, Romanis value the benefits of the group above individual preference. Loyalty is a cultural pillar, and one that beautifully mirrors the body of Christ. Romanian evangelicals exist in a society that values how the individual contributes to the benefit of the whole body and relies on the unity between one another to uphold values. What a perfect microcosm of the body of Christ. Because of this, Romanian evangelicals are well poised to explain and portray the body of Christ to UPG nations that also have a strong value for community.&nbsp;
Romania's three closest cultural neighbors are: Kuwait (3.5), Iraq (5), and Turkey (6.5). Interestingly, two out of these three countries are primarily Muslim and in the Middle East. There are over 90 million Muslims living in just these three countries alone. Romanian evangelicals are well set up to take the gospel to the millions of unreached Muslims in the Arab world! Ask the Lord to prepare the hearts of the Romanian church to recognize and capitalize upon their cultural similarities with these predominantly Islamic nations.

Divinely Placed with Millions to Reach

Romanian evangelicals are divinely and strategically placed in a region with millions of people who do not know the name of the Lord. Though Romanian evangelicals have access to 71,000 unreached in-country, they have access to more than 20 million unreached people regionally! [[2]] With considerably more access than its other Eastern Europe/Eurasian countries, Romania offers great opportunity for indigenous missions take place. Romania houses 33 different people groups and nearly 30 different languages, offering tremendous potential for easy connection and convenient access to the millions of unreached nearby.&nbsp;
Romanian evangelicals have access to thousands of unreached within their borders but have dramatically expanded opportunity if they visit neighboring countries, such as Ukraine and Russia.&nbsp; Pray that Romanian evangelicals feel burdened to take the gospel to the 17 million Muslims living in Russia, as well as other people groups such as Jews and Ruska Roma. Though Russian nationalism and racism against minorities is increasing, tightening the tensions between people groups, Romanians will have easier and more readily available access, both geographically and linguistically, than most other countries. [[3]] Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers in the rich fields that surround Romania, giving them strength to endure any hardships and persecution that might accompany the sharing of God's word.

Moderate Restrictions and Political Tensions

According to Pew Research, Romania has an moderate level of religious restrictions and social hostilities with a score of 4.5. [[4]] The Romanian constitution prohibits restrictions on freedom of belief and conscious, as well as forcing an individual to espoused beliefs contrary to their convictions; however, the Romanian government recognizes the ""important role"" and influence of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Though the government does not require individuals to identify their religious association when asked, they do recognize 18 religious organizations as ""religious denominations."" A few of these are the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Christian Evangelical Church, Federation of Jewish Communities, and Jehovah's Witnesses. [[5]]
Throughout 2020, a year of virus riddled politics, the Eastern Orthodox Church was at odds with the now-defeated government of the Orban Liberal party. These clashes centred around disagreements on social issues, political issues, and the application of coronavirus safety measures. As the Eastern Orthodox Church falls on the far right of politics, many Romanians have come out of 2020 associating religion and religious tensions with politics even more than before. This has spurred a number of social hostilities between differing political parties, which are also differing religious opinions. Minority religious groups, specifically Jewish and small ethnic religions, continue to report harassment of their congregations by Eastern Orthodox Churches. [[]]
 Ask the Lord to raise up an outlook of peace between varying religious groups, and to spur the evangelical church to capitalize on low religious restrictions and take the gospel to the unreached!

Higher Prosperity and a Consistent Rank

With a ranking of 47 on the Legatum Prosperity Index, &nbsp;Romania scores on the high side of moderate when compared to other Mobilization Index countries. With its lowest score in Social Capital and its highest score, almost 100 ranks above, in Safety and Security, Romania has an overall consistent and impressive prosperous economy. Most of Romania's scores in every category have only fluctuated by a few ranks over the past ten years, a track record that speaks to the stability and consistency of the country and its various infrastructures. [[6]]
Much of Romania's prosperity potential rests in its great access to natural resources. Romania is home to many natural resources such as copper, coal, natural gas, and petroleum. [[7]] Opportunities to work in these fields could be great incentives both for unreached to come to Romania, as well as missionaries and mobilizers to launch to Romania.&nbsp;
Though Romania does not have record breaking scores in any one category, the country's ability to maintain its economy and infrastructure at such a stable level, could be great news for those considering launching to or from Romania. The Romanian evangelical church can have peace of mind knowing that with such a stable economy, the church's ability to support and send missionaries will not drastically fluctuate or be inhibited by inconsistent economic stability.

Need for Increased Giving, for an Increased Sending

Romania sends approximately 80 missionaries abroad and 80 missionaries in-country. One prayer goal of the Mobilization Index is to see 0.1%, or 1 in a 1,000, of a nation&rsquo;s evangelical church mobilized for missions. That means that with around 80 missionaries, only 0.0067% of the Romanian evangelical church has been mobilized. If 0.1% of the Romanian church were sent to the unreached, there would be an increase of around 1,200 people sent out!&nbsp;
Romania's generosity score is also very low, ranking at 14%, as the 10th lowest on the mobilization index. [136]] This could play a major role in the challenges for mobilization and mission within the Romanian evangelical church. While many evangelicals may have a desire to go to the unreached, finances and support for sending may pose a large barrier. Growth towards an understanding of the ministry of giving and biblical sending would be an incredible paradigm shift for the Romanian church. Pray that the Lord puts the unreached on the hearts of those able to support and send.

Moderate Potential, yet Great Opportunity

Despite cultural access to the unreached and great religious freedoms, Romania's mobilization potential is ranked as Moderate, due to their small number of evangelicals and small sending numbers. Furthermore, only 16% of the population is under the age of 15. This could pose as a hindrance in raising up and mobilizing the next generation to have eyes and hearts for the unreached.&nbsp;
Romania is divinely set up in many ways to be used powerfully for missions to the unreached! Pray that the Lord would raise up senders and goers that recognize their strategic access to the millions of unreached in their region.

Obstacles:
<ul>
<li>A Low generosity score and small percentage of people under the age of 15 could pose a barrier to mobilizing Romania.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Though the constitution states that the country is religiously free, there are still social hostilities and persecution between varying religious groups.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Opportunities:
<ul>
<li>Romania is centered in the middle of 20 million unreached Muslims, granting opportunity to the evangelical church to share the gospel with the Islamic world.</li>
<li>The Romanian evangelical church has great opportunity to plant churches and mobilize within the border, as they have constitutional freedom to practice all religions. While this could be met with social hostilities, it will not be met with governmental persecution, like it would be in many other countries.</li>
</ul>

Pray:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Pray that the Romanian church would be burdened for the unreached both in and surrounding their borders.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Ask that the Lord would raise up a generation of senders, making Romania a place of biblical generosity and support!</li>
</ul>
Praises:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Praise God for a constitution that allows the Romanian church to worship openly!</li>
<li>Praise the Lord for such a strategic placing of the Romanian church, within reach of millions of peoples who have yet to hear the name of Jesus!</li>
</ul>

PEW religious restriction numbers Myanmar

Official Country Name:Romania

Population:19,365,000

Region:Eastern Europe and Eurasia

Government:Semi-Presidential Representative Democratic Republic

Official Languages:Romanian

Religious Demographics:Christian ±97%, (Evangelical ±5%) Non-Religious ±3%

Romania