After only one Friday night service in their building, the Adventist property was confiscated and held by local authorities. A pioneer Adventist tells the challenges of the early days in Montenegro.
The Bay of Kotor [koe-TORE] is dotted with churches, beaches, and fortified towns. Visitors flock to these towns to enjoy nice weather year round. In fact, the country of Montenegro hosts almost triple the amount of visitors than its own population each year!
Along the coastline in the town of Zelenika, the Adventist church has operated a summer camp for many years. Illija [illy-yah] was one of the first Adventists to pioneer this area. He remembers the challenges of the early days.
“The work was organized here, it started somewhere in the 40s of the last century. The work was met with great resistance by the communist government, So the brothers and sisters who gathered in the houses had a lot of problems. They were forbidden to gather. When the laws loosened a bit and people relaxed a bit, religious services were held in homes and had to be reported. Eventually, the church bought this building here.”
After only one Friday night service, the property was confiscated and held by local authorities. Adventist leaders found another property where they started youth camps in the summer, a risky move at a time when this wasn’t allowed. Danilo, who is now the local pastor in Zelenika, remembers attending the camps? as a kid and the influence they had on his decision to live a life of ministry.
“On this field, 28 years ago we started youth camps. There were a bunch of tents around, a place for worship, singing, and studying the Bible together. For a number of years, this was the place where youth camp was held.”
Almost 35 years later, the church managed to regain ownership of their original property.
“So, when communism was overthrown, there was a change of government here in Montenegro. And not long after that, we got back this building that was taken from us.”
The existing building on the property has been a venue where youth and children summer camps and mission camps have been organized for decades. This is where many youth have given their hearts to Jesus and been baptized in the nearby sea.
But the building, being almost 90 years old, is rapidly deteriorating. It has been patched many times over the years, but has now reached a state beyond restoration. Considering updated health and safety standards, tearing down the existing building and creating a new structure is the best option.
This quarter a portion of your 13th Sabbath Offering will help restore this property.
“As a people of vision, we are looking forward and praying for the new building that can serve not only this area, but also youth and adults all over our union and division year round.”
In addition to continuing youth camps, the new structure can be rented to outside groups to provide funds to make it self sufficient. Adventists want to transform it into a center of influence where they can meet the needs of their community.
Please pray for this project in Montenegro. Pray that these plans will touch the hearts of this community. Thank you for supporting 13th Sabbath Offering projects like this!
