English
Korean
Spanish
The pastor of Burleson’s NorthPointe Church, Landon Dees, was part of a group that went to Campulung and Sighetu, Romania, to serve, encourage, and share the gospel with refugees along with the group Manna Worldwide.
Dees ministers to a congregation of over 600 people who support his heart for the lost and the importance of mission.
“We challenge our people to live their lives on mission and look for every opportunity to have gospel conversations and identify needs that our church can meet,” Dees said. “When it comes to missions at a distance, our goal is the same.”
Dees was able to observe God at work in the middle of the chaos. “Two Christian brothers from Ukraine, Vlad and Alex, drove down from Kyiv to load up on supplies to bring back to those in need. We helped them load then listened to their testimonies and prayed over them. I admired their strength in the Lord to go back into harm’s way for the good of others and for the glory of Christ,” Dees said.
While on mission in Romania, Dees shared that his group spent one day of their trip in Campulung, Romania, where their mission partners oversee a family home/orphanage. There were about 30 Ukrainian refugees staying at the home and Dees and his group spent the evening listening to stories of God’s faithfulness and singing songs together “each in our own language.”
In Marmației, Romania, which sits on the border of Ukraine, Dees said there were several churches that he and his group worked alongside and assisted with restocking their supplies. NorthPointe and other partner churches gave funds to buy food, water, medical supplies, and more.
Sharing the gospel and the love of Christ was a major priority for the mission team.
“At one church we spent time with Ukrainian refugees, primarily women and children since the men had to stay back. To see these people displaced from their homes was heartbreaking,” Dees said, “but to see how this local church was caring for them and to hear how over 400 refugees that stayed there had heard about the hope only found in Christ was incredible.”
The team was composed of six American pastors (including him), four Manna missionaries, and three lay people (including Michael Luedtke, also from NorthPointe).
“We simply partner with local churches in communities around the world and join them in the work the Lord is doing there. One of the ways we do this is through our partnership with Manna Worldwide,” Dees said.
He’s partnering with the organization to go to Nicaragua and has also ministered through Manna in Cuba on three different occasions. Dees shared that the servants at Manna “do a fantastic job” at finding like-minded churches around the globe, primarily in impoverished places, then join them to help meet the needs in their communities. Often this is through feeding programs, schools, and medical clinics.
“It is through that partnership that we joined the work in Romania ministering to Ukrainian refugees,” he said.
Dees is currently working on his Masters of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Krystal, are evangelistically driven and support the Cooperative Program by giving through the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. In 2021, NorthPointe had 50 baptisms, and he baptizes those who accept Jesus as Lord on the first of every month.
Dees said he is blessed to serve at NorthPointe: “God made it abundantly clear through prayer, fasting, and the affirmation of others that it was where he was calling us to serve. The people of NorthPointe have been gracious and kind, and the Lord has shown us favor with substantial spiritual and numerical growth.”
The pastor asked for prayer for their mission partners and pastors in Romania and Ukraine.
“They are working very hard and are at the point of exhaustion,” he said. “Pray that God would allow NorthPointe to continue to minister to them and support them during this time, that Christ’s name would be made known through these difficult circumstances.”
