Persecuted Romanian shares his life story at Birmingham church

Growing up in communist Romania, Josef Tson faced many forms of persecution.

Tson, who recently spoke at a missions conference at Raleigh Avenue Baptist Church in Homewood, shared with the congregation about his life under the strict scrutiny of secret police and his work as president of the Romanian Missionary Society, based in Wheaton, Ill.

“In God’s economy, everything that is great is achieved … by self-sacrifice,” said Tson, whose main message for members and visitors centered on that topic, “Jesus’ cross is not enough. He needs people to pick up their cross.”

An integral part of self-sacrifice is giving up television and money.

“(Jesus) tells you to spend everything for the promotion of His kingdom,” Tson said. “It’s sort of like His cross falling on your bank account and saying “it’s mine.”

The 2000 Missions Conference: Suffering and the Spread of the Gospel (Acts. 20:24) which occurred Oct. 18–22, brought the 557-member congregation together to study God’s purpose in missions, said David Prince, pastor at Raleigh Avenue in Birmingham Association.

Another important aspect of missions, Tson said, is prayer. By praying, people can send power to missionaries.

Tson shared his stories of persecution — being arrested, beaten and ultimately exiled from his home country.

He was only able to return when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics collapsed in the late 1980s. Thirteen time zones, 400 million people and 140 languages — “All of that was an evil empire intent on destroying you,” he said.

Tson’s childhood was also filled with persecution after his father became a Christian and a Baptist.

In Romania, “you are East Orthodox,” he said. If you become anything else, you are considered a traitor.”

The best and worst thing about persecution is that it tests your faith, Tson said. “You cannot be a shallow believer in persecution. You either give up or go deep.”

When Christians face persecution, they need to thank God because it’s a blessing, Tson said.

“Persecution is not a tragedy; it comes from the loving hands of the Father and He has special plans for you in it.”

Tson, who has written eight books and many articles for Christian publications, founded the Oradea Bible Institute in Romania, which is now known as Emmanuel Bible Institute, and established the Christian Radio Voice of the Gospel FM network.