Digital Strategies in Slovakia

by Eva Mergl - CRU Communications

I hurried to the mezzanine of the main hotel of the expansive resort nestled in the secluded, rocky shore of Turkish Cyprus. It was the site of the triennial Eastern European Staff Conference. There were over 1000 staff and volunteers in attendance, so meeting up with someone you didn’t know took some doing. The mezzanine was just right, because it was quiet and out of the way. A perfect site for an interview!

Eva Majerova arrived first. She is a motivated, humble staff mom with a heart that burns for ministry. She and Viktor Repasky make up the Digital Strategies Team in Slovakia. This ministry dedicated to approaching people on the internet is barely a year old, but it has made inroads into Slovakian hearts like nothing before it. A few minutes later, Victor arrived and joined the conversation.
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Slovakia has historically been one of the more difficult countries in the Eastern Europe and Russia Area for sharing the gospel face-to-face. People tend to be private about their faith. They are generally skeptical and need much time to consider the facts of the gospel before making a decision for Christ. Both Eva and Viktor had been active in campus ministry and knew firsthand how difficult it could sometimes be. If only there were some other way to connect people to the gospel…
Then they were introduced to Digital Strategies – a new Cru ministry track dedicated to using the internet for evangelism, and even discipleship! They were each captivated. The idea of approaching people via the internet seemed like it might just work in Slovakia. Because people can ask questions anonymously and it’s private and they can be as transparent as they want, with no fear of being laughed at or criticized.

​And for Eva contact with interested unbelievers online would fit perfectly. It would give her a chance to interact directly with interested unbelievers, as well as provide the scheduling flexibility that would mesh well with her family and other responsibilities. So when a dedicated team led by Viktor was created, Eva immediately took steps to become part of it.
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Contrary to most internet ministries, Viktor and Eva’s long-term goal is to turn “faceless” internet contacts into face-to-face disciples. And they are seeing amazing success.

For example, a high school student stumbled upon the Slovakian site. After asking questions and going through the gospel presentation, she received Christ. Upon completing the “Spiritual Starter Kit,” her mother wrote Viktor to ask where her daughter could find a group nearby which had similar values. Her daughter had changed so much that she wanted to help her stay on the same road. Viktor connected the daughter with a local staff woman and when they got together they cried and shared for 2 hours about the work of God in both their lives! In the end the whole family came to Christ and have become members of a local church!

But this couldn’t have happened without a whole network of partners. Digital ministry is more than posting interesting articles on a website. The website also offers an interactive 7-part Spiritual Adventure Pack and follow-up series developed by the US based Everystudent.com.

The Spiritual Adventure pack is well-received in Slovakia as it addresses some compelling reasons a self-avowed former atheist came to understand why “a rational person would want to believe in God.”

Another key partner is  Jesus.net. This is a web-based ministry developed by Dutch believers, which offers an in-depth course called, “Who is Jesus.” The exciting thing about the course is that each participant is matched with a live mentor from his/her area by a local ministry partner!   As Slovakian Digital Strategy Team is one of the over 70 church and mission partners of Jesus.net around the world, Viktor and Eva are responsible to find trustworthy local mentors for the contacts from Slovakia.
And they are finding them through partnerships with local churches. Eva and Viktor each present the idea of digital ministry as often as they can and include a challenge for believers to consider mentoring Jesus.net contacts from their local area. So far, they have recruited 20 volunteers, who mentor participants ranging in age from teens to 74 years old!

One day soon, Viktor hopes to have an interactive map of all Christian groups and churches in Slovakia. This will make it very easy for people to find a church or small group near them. Plus it will be encouraging to see how many pinpoints of gospel light are scattered all over their nation!
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Of course, the campus ministry is also a key partner. As often as possible, Viktor and Eva both encourage the students they are connected with to meet with local staff.
Since that day a little over a year ago, many things have happened. But as Viktor says, “the most important thing is not the project itself… lives are changing; I see that lives are changing.”

As Eva and Viktor rush off to a meeting, I sit in the mezzanine reflecting on the amazing work of God. He brings together the heart desires of individuals and opportunities to accomplish His plan in the world… The hum of people talking in the lobby wakes me from my reverie and I also pack up and go on to my next interview, excitedly anticipating the next amazing thing I will get a peek of…. through ordinary men and women ready to take the next step God puts before them.