Promises

Basically before the Bosnian Civil War (1992-1995), there was the following social structure: the grandparents were traditional and religious, the parents were mostly communist party members (though not necessarily atheists) and the younger generation, left without an identity, enjoyed pursuing the trends established by their peers in the Western nations. Now nearly 20 years later, you find the following structure: grandparents who are nostalgic for the shallow stability of the communistic era, parents who are war hardened nationalists and the post-war younger generation who have made tradition and religious expression once again fashionable.

It is amazing how the gift of youth is able to creatively emerge from the most discouraging of environments and adapt, and how the gift of age is able to wisely guide through the most challenging of adventures and adopt. The generations need one another. They thrive off of one another.

The Prophet Joel foretold a promise for the generations:

“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28-29)

While the generations of Bosnia may each be in a different season of life, there is a promise from God that is for all regardless of age: the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The greatest need in Bosnia is to experience the promised gift of the Holy Spirit so that the Word of God, the Bible, would be preached in power, that the people would have Kingdom-focused vision and have a God-given dream. The protestant / evangelical church body overall in Bosnia is few in number and young in years, yet spiritually positioned for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit that would change the spiritual landscape of the nation.

^“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” (2 Corinthians 1:20-22)