Emmanuel Baptist Church of Timisoara

Established in 1995, in the aftermath of the Romanian revolution, House of Hope Foundation was intended to be really, a House of Hope for many needy people - a place where dashed hopes would be renewed, an oasis of peace in a troubled world, a haven of rest for the weary soul, a place of God's presence and blessing.

The new conditions of freedom for worship and serving God, prompted some visionary people from Emmanuel Baptist Church to ask: "What God is doing these days in Romania? How we can align ourselves to His plans, His purposes in these new and exciting times we live in?"

They knew that the heartbeat of God was for missions, that the love of God is reaching down for the salvation of the souls, that's why they were engaged in church-planting and evangelism. But, what about the social implications of the Christian gospel?

Yes, the Communists kept on telling Gods Church that the earthly affairs are not its business, that the Church will take care about the heaven only, and let the earth in their hands. But those days are bygone days, now. They showed what they could do with in the social realm: their "paradise" was resembling more with a hell on earth, and their "new man" was too stubborn to show up.

Who was to take the initiative to lift God's creation from its shambles after the Communism? Many Christian individuals and Christian Churches felt it was God's ordained time for His people to stand up for what is right, to get involved in people's lives by showing the love of God in action, and not only in words.

Among those who felt the need to involve were individuals from Emmanuel Baptist Church which constituted into a non-profit organization, which soon became the major social outreach of our Church. Let it be known that we don't believe in the "social gospel", but we believe in the social implications of the Gospel of Christ. We don't believe that we are called to save bodies by providing them better condition for living, but to save souls from eternal damnation and to provide the hope of eternal life with God in heaven. However, as Spurgeon has said "the people will accept better the Gospel when is wrapped in a sandwich", particularly, the people with physical needs.

Because of this, it was starting a Christian orphanage in a family setting, where orphan children or those coming from dysfunctional families, are raised and nurtured in the love of Christ. It is such a wonderful thing to see the beautiful transformation God is doing in their lives, as they came to know Christ and serve Him.