Tim and Heidi, with their two kids, Luke and Emily, were born and raised in Colorado, along the Front Range, and are now living and serving as missionaries and partnering with Alfa & Omega Church in Craiova, Romania. The Olsons seek to Equip, Encourage, and Come Alongside the national church leaders to help them be more effective in the Great Commission ministry that God has given them.
The Olsons’ Call
In 2017, the Olsons felt called to visit and bless some missionary friends in Romania. They did not know why God wanted them to go, but felt that He did. While in Romania, the Olsons were struck with the overall feeling of spiritual deadness in the country. There were certainly signs of religion everywhere, with many Orthodox churches, as well as a significant presence of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons, but despite this it just felt very dead spiritually. Over the summer of that year, Tim had prepared and preached a sermon on Isaiah’s commissioning, found in Isaiah 6. As the Olsons reflected on their trip and wondered why it was that God had wanted them to visit Romania, God kept reminding them of the spiritual deadness they felt and bringing the phrase, “Here I am, send me!” from Isaiah 6:8 to mind. It felt as though God was saying, “You saw a problem, now go do
something about it.” The Olsons had never thought about doing missions as a full time job, so it took several years of preparation, through receiving training and researching where exactly they would live and what they would do. Then when they were ready to move, the global pandemic came along and stopped all international travel, delaying the Olsons move for 15 months, finally being able to move at the end of June 2021.
The Olsons’ Ministry
Although, Romania has the official religion of Orthodoxy, and about 95% of the population claimed some form of Christianity as their religion in the last census, the majority of the individuals do not have a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. For most of these people, Christianity is seen as something that you are born into, just like their national identity of being Romanian. It has been estimated, in research done by the Romanian Baptist Union, that less than 0.5% of the population in Southern Romania has a true saving relationship with Jesus. It was because of this, that the Olsons felt God call them to the Southern region of Oltenia.
In Oltenia, usually 1 person, or 1 family, is doing everything to run a church and evangelize the lost across large areas encompassing multiple villages. In addition, though 95% of the population claim Christianity, there is an overall Biblical illiteracy found among the people. Additionally, very few of these national church leaders have any sort of financial or soul care backing, either from others or an organization, which leads them to carrying a heavy load in ministry. Tim and Heidi want to help with that load and assist the pastors, missionaries and church workers in Southern Romania to share the Good News of Jesus and await His return! The Olsons seek to accomplish this through Equipping, Encouraging, and Coming Alongside our Romanian brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the Southern region of Oltenia. The Olsons partner with Alfa & Omega Church in Craiova, along with different village pastors throughout Oltenia, for church planting, revitalization and discipleship. They seek to:
Equip through training programs to help raise up new church leaders and through leading Bible studies and preaching sermons that address the overall Biblical illiteracy found in Oltenia.
Encourage through real friendships and offering mentorship to new and struggling church leaders, and by offering Biblical counseling to those who are experiencing hard seasons of ministry and spiritual attack.
Come Alongside through partnering with existing ministries to offer practical hands-on assistance, lightening the heavy load that many church leaders carry, and through financial assistance for strategic projects that will better enable and further the spread of the Gospel in the region.
The Olsons’ Future
Tim and Heidi have a goal of opening a hospitality house to better enable them to fulfill this vision to Equip, Encourage, and Come Alongside the over worked and weary ministry leaders of Southern Romania. This hospitality house will further their mission to minister to pastors, missionaries, and other church leaders in Romania by:
Equipping these Gospel workers through being a location to host training seminars that focus on giving them tools to become more effective in their ministries.
Encouraging the beat down and disheartened church leaders through giving them a place to receive Biblically based counsel and to debrief traumatic seasons of life.
Come Alongside the tired and weary ministry workers who give their all for the Gospel of Christ, by giving them a place to come and rest, taking a personal retreat to refresh themselves for the ministry that God has called them too.
The Olsons’ Goal
Tim and Heidi cannot do this alone! They need partners in the Gospel ministry that God has given them, who will Equip, Encourage, and Come Alongside them as well. You can:
Equip the Olsons, by partnering with them financially, giving them the resources that they need for their work in Romania. You can do this by clicking on the “Donate” button at the top of this webpage.
Encourage the Olsons, by signing up for their monthly newsletter, and sending them encouraging responses. To do either of these you can send Tim and Heidi an email at: olsonfamily34510@outlook.com.
Come Alongside the Olsons, by becoming a prayer partner, committing to bring them and their ministry before our Father in heaven. If you wish to become a prayer partner, the best place to begin is by sending them an email, at the above address, and signing up for their monthly newsletter that has their latest prayer requests.
The Olsons cannot do this alone! Your partnership through prayer and financial support is vital to their ministry’s effectiveness. Thank you!
