My name is Joshua Louk. My wife, Laurel, and I are missionary appointees to Romania with Biblical Ministries
Worldwide. The Lord has directed us to assist in church planting through ministry to Romania’s neglected young people.
While studying at Bob Jones University I served in a prison ministry, nursing home ministry, and my local church’s visitation program. After graduation, I spent three and a half years in South Korea as a missionary. In Korea, I served as a teacher, song leader, youth director, and bilingual service preacher.
My wife has experience serving as pregnancy crisis center counselor and has also assisted in Bible clubs, camps, mission teams. She has also taught in Christian schools and has led Bible studies for teen girls.
This page contains information about how God is directing us to train Romanians through their local church to serve their Lord by:
- Giving the gospel and building relationships through Bible clubs and camps in the local orphan care facilities,
- Giving the gospel to Romania’s neglected children and assisting in their development through an after-school ministry center,
- Encouraging and facilitating the fostering and adoption of abandoned babies and children by Romanian Christians.
There is also information about our beliefs and backgrounds.
Thank you for your time. We look forward to seeing how the Lord might have us serve together in His ministry.
Our Mission Board
Biblical Ministries Worldwide (BMW) is a mission agency whose passion is to help churches plant reproducing churches through evangelism, discipleship and leadership development. BMW is committed to biblical truth, the local church, the primacy of relationships over programs, the pursuit of excellence, servant leadership, and life-long learning.
Biblical Ministries Worldwide is an independent fundamental faith mission board. The doctrinal statement is an integral part of the constitution. All missionaries and board members annually affirm in writing their agreement with this doctrinal statement and their position of separation.
Our Testimony
Joshua
I was saved at age five, after hearing the gospel preached and understanding that I had to trust Christ personally for salvation. My life was transformed, and because I was a new creature my life differed greatly from most of the people in my public school.
The Lord used my time at Bob Jones University to greatly transform my thinking. Especially helpful was the personal encouragement I received from my friends to read the Bible daily. This started me down a path towards a greater love, appreciation, and understanding of God and His word. For example, my freshman year I was challenged to study what the Bible said about baptism. As a result of that study I was baptized by immersion on Easter of 1998.
After graduation, not knowing where the Lord would have me minister, I moved to Korea as a missionary teacher for three years. While in Korea, I watched a documentary, chronicling the exploitation and trafficking of street children in Romania. Their dull and hopeless eyes moved me with compassion, and I thought,“if only they knew my Savior.” Then they would know true love, true hope, and their lives would have real meaning. This thought has never left me.
Laurel
I was saved at the age of seven when I understood that I was a sinner and that Jesus could save me if I asked Him to. I grew up in a Christian home but went to a secular boarding school as a teenager. Boarding school was difficult, but the Lord used it to grow me tremendously.
After graduation, I taught English and Latin in two different Christian Schools for a total of five years. The last year was spent teaching in Korea, after marrying Joshua.
Our Lives Together
We met during our time at Bob Jones University and married two and a half years after Joshua finished seminary. We are convinced that God made us for each other. Our strengths and weaknesses compliment each other in a way that lends itself to a wonderful harmony. We have enjoyed serving the Lord together already. And we look forward to continue delighting in His service together.
An Overview of Romania
Romania, a beautiful Southeastern European country about the size of North and South Carolina combined, borders the Black Sea between Bulgaria and Ukraine. Rich in natural resources and part of Europe’s bread basket, Romania was ushered into the European Union in 2007. Its population of more than 22 million has high but misplaced hopes that the EU will heal the deep wounds communism inflicted on every facet of the country.
The communist regime of Nicolai Ceaucescu fell with the 1989 revolution, but the legacy of atheistic communism left Romanian culture scarred and broken. Wide-spread corruption, thievery, immorality, poverty, and a pervasive disregard for the value of human life are the natural consequences of a world system that eliminates man’s Creator.
Although the Romanian Orthodox Church claims about 87% of the population, it teaches a liberal works based theology which is not a message of salvation by grace through faith alone. Even in the world’s second largest Orthodox Church, Communism has left its mark. It’s not unusual to find priests who are atheists.
Youth Ministry in Romania
The Problem
The whole country has suffered because of its communist past and present spiritual darkness, but perhaps its children have been injured the most.
Romania’s state-run orphan care facilities do very little to actually care for the orphans. The children are often left unattended, unloved, and unsupervised. Sexual abuse is rampant. The abuse comes from both older orphans and from adult workers. Aware of the problem, the officials do nothing.
Additionally, abandoned babies under the age of two are left alone in hospital cribs. These babies, who would otherwise be learning, exploring, and developing, spend the formative first two years of their lives alone in cribs like penned animals without hope of loving homes.
The Solution
Our desire is to exalt the name of Jesus Christ by displaying His power to save and transform young people, calling them out of a life of slavery and sin unto a life of joyful service for the Lord in His church. We believe that there are multiple New Testament mandates to be reaching lost souls by giving truth and demonstrating love to the whole person. Lugoj, Romania has an obvious orphan problem, and it has a group of young believers who want to serve their Lord but do not really know how.
We believe that the Lord is directing us to train Romanian believers to give the gospel through camps, Bible clubs, an after-school center, and through encouraging and facilitating Romanian Christians to foster and adopt.
