How God is using Cristian and Vanessa Martinez to reach Romania through church planting and discipleship.

Sometimes God writes stories that no one could have planned.

It began with a Hungarian man living in Romania. Looking for encouragement, he joined an online support group where he met a woman from Jonesboro, Arkansas. As their conversations continued, she shared the gospel with him and encouraged him to visit Return Church in Brașov, Romania, a BMA Global church plant led by missionaries Cristian and Vanessa Martinez.

When he walked through the doors for the first time in January, Cristian remembers that he “came with the joy of a child on Christmas morning.”

Over the following weeks, he continued attending, hearing God’s Word, and asking questions. Eventually, he placed his faith in Christ, was baptized, and immediately began looking for ways to share the gospel with others. Today, he is helping reach the Hungarian community in Brașov, extending the very message that first reached him.

“It reminds us,” Cristian says, “that God is always working in ways we could never orchestrate ourselves.”

While this testimony may seem extraordinary, it is also the result of years of faithful, intentional ministry.

Cristian and Vanessa’s journey to Romania began long before they ever stepped onto Romanian soil. Cristian, originally from Mexico City, and Vanessa, who grew up in Brașov, met through mutual friends while Cristian was studying at seminary in Jacksonville, Texas. They married during his final year of seminary, united by a growing desire to take the gospel wherever God would lead.

While serving in a Hispanic ministry in Texas, they began learning more about the spiritual needs in Romania. Vanessa often reflected on how many people in her home country had never been taught the Scriptures in a way that clearly explained the gospel, salvation, sanctification, biblical preaching, and God’s design for the local church.

At the same time, the couple was praying a simple question: Where can God use the gifts He has given us most effectively?

“There is need everywhere,” Cristian explains, “but there is greater urgency in some places.”

Although Romania is not considered an unreached nation, evangelicals make up less than five percent of the population, and the country serves as a gateway to regions with even less gospel access. The Martinez family sensed God calling them to plant a healthy church in Brașov, reach nearby Roma (Gypsy) communities, and eventually send believers from Romania to take the gospel to other nations.

Rather than searching for a single formula for evangelism, Cristian learned that different people require different approaches.

“When we first arrived, I was obsessed with finding the right way to reach people,” he says. “Should we knock on doors? Should we preach in public? Eventually I realized there are different kinds of people, so we need different ways to build relationships with them. The goal is always the same: introducing people to Jesus.”

One of those approaches became a coffee shop.

Located directly across from a university dormitory, the coffee shop gives the church a place to serve the community six days a week while naturally building relationships with students and neighbors. Cristian even worked in a local coffee shop himself early on to improve his Romanian and meet people.

The vision was never simply to start another program.

“Our prayer was to serve the Romanian people and invest in them,” he says.

Today, Return Church gathers for worship in that same coffee shop each Sunday. Throughout the week, it continues serving as a place for Bible studies, conversations, discipleship, and hospitality.

The church’s ministry extends beyond university students. On Sunday evenings, women from the church serve in a nearby Roma village, partnering with a local university to help children learn to read and write. The ministry not only blesses children who often have limited educational opportunities but also creates opportunities to share Christ with the university students who volunteer—many of whom are not yet believers themselves.

Every ministry reflects the same philosophy: faithfully invest in people, build genuine relationships, and trust God to produce the fruit.

The story of the Hungarian man is a beautiful reminder of what God can do through those simple acts of faithfulness. A conversation that began online with a believer in Arkansas eventually led to a church in Romania, where the gospel took root in a man’s heart. Now that same man is sharing Christ with others in his own Hungarian community.

It’s a testimony not only to God’s sovereign work but also to the partnership of believers across continents. As local churches send missionaries, missionaries plant churches, and Christians faithfully share the gospel wherever God places them, the Lord continues drawing people to Himself—often in ways no one could have imagined.