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OUR TEAM

A TEAM DEVOTED TO THE CAUSE

The ministries of the Romanian Missionary Society are driven by Godly men and women who are called to serve in the field in Romania, Moldova and the Ukraine. They are the heart and soul of our organization. Supporting and enabling their work is a dedicated team of servants. You can get to know us better below.

TEAM

Dr. Cristian CHIRLA

BOARD MEMBER

A man of science but with a heart for the Gospel, Christian is one of our Board Members. Dedicate to his family and the ministry, in his day-to-day life he is a dental medicine practitioner in Ohio.

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Val MONAFU

PRESIDENT

For more than 15 years Val has been involved in pastoral ministry in Romanian churches in California, while actively seeking missionary opportunities in Romania. In June 2020, Val was elected to serve as RMS President.

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Dr. Livius PERCY

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

A once political refugee, fleeing from the persecution of Christians by the Communist regime of Romania, Dr. Livius Percy has served the gospel both as pastor, apologist and as a member of RMS for almost 40 years.

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Dr. George HANCOCK-STEFAN

SECRETARY

An esteemed theologian and professor, Dr. Hancock-Stefan has been one of the most long-lasting members of RMS, his involvement with the ministry going all the way to the early '80s. He is currently a Member of the Board of RMS

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Valentina MIRZA

VICE-CHAIR

With a heart for the people in need and an extensive experience working in the field of assistance programs, Valentina is a valuable addition to our team, in our effort to expend our humanitarian efforts.

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Andrei SAVA

BOARD MEMBER

An accomplished student of Theology, Andrei is a pastor who believes that after hearing the Gospel, discipleship is a must in the life of those who are saved.

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Lucian URSAN

BOARD MEMBER

Beyond his career in the field of Economics, Lucian has a burning heart for ministry, especially when it comes to nurturing the young generation in our churches, as a youth pastor, and in his role at RBYA.

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Dr. Cristian CHIRLA

CHAIRMAN

A man of science but with a heart for the Gospel, Christian is our Chairman of the Board. Dedicate to his family and the ministry, in his day-to-day life he is a dental medicine practicioner in Ohio.

READ MORE

Val MONAFU

PRESIDENT

For more than 15 years Val has been involved in the church ministry throughout the state of California, while actively seeking missionary opportunities in his native country of Romania. In June 2020, Val was elected to serve as RMS President.

READ MORE

Dr. Livius PERCY

BOARD MEMBER

A once political refugee, fleeing from the persecution of Christians by the Communist regime of Romania, Dr. Livius Percy has served the gospel both as pastor, apologist and as a member of RMS for almost 40 years.

READ MORE

George HANCOCK-STEFAN

BOARD MEMBER

An esteemed theologian and professor, Dr. Hancock-Stefan has been one of the most long-lasting members of RMS, his involvement with the ministry going all the way to the early '80s. He is currently a Member of the Board of RMS

READ MORE

Valentina MIRZA

BOARD MEMBER

With a heart for the people in need and an extensive experience working in the field of assistance programs, Valentina is a valuable addition to our team, in our effort to expend our humanitarian efforts.

READ MORE

Andrei SAVA

BOARD MEMBER

An accomplished student of Theology, Andrei is a pastor who believes that after hearing the Gospel, discipleship is a must in the life of those who are saved.

READ MORE

Lucian URSAN

BOARD MEMBER

Beyond his career in the field of Economics, Lucian has a burning heart for ministry, especially when it comes to nurturing the young generation in our churches, as a youth pastor, and in his role at RBYA.

READ MORE
  • 714 459 2629
  • P.O. Box 1869, Anaheim, CA 92815, USA
  • contact@rmsonline.org

CONNECT WITH US

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  • 714 459 2629
  • P.O. Box 1869, Anaheim, CA 92815, USA
  • contact@rmsonline.org
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CONNECT WITH US

CHAIRMAN

CRISTIAN CHIRLA

Born in Oradea, Romania, Cristian immigrated with his family when he was 17 years old. His undergraduate years at Lynchburg University gave him a Bachelors degree in Biology and Chemistry. Yet, he would soon realize that the impact those years had on his life reached beyond that: it sealed his heart and love for the ministry.

He married Adina in 1992. Their family was blessed with 4 children, but one day the Lord asked Cristian to open his arms and hand Him their first daughter. That was to be yet another stepping stone in Cristian’s life. In 1997 he graduated from Case Western University School of Dental Medicine and was blessed with a succesful practice in Ohio, in the Cleveland-Akron area. The Lord placed three passions in his life: his family, the ministry, and practicing dentistry!

GET INVOLVED TODAY

For more information
and a list of current opportunities,
please contact our office (e-mail
to RMS@RMSonline.org
or call at 708.657.4391)

PRESIDENT

VAL MONAFU

Val Monafu began his ministry as a youth pastor in 2004 at the Romanian Baptist Church of Anaheim (Los Angeles), CA where he served until 2016. During this time, in addition to ministering to the youth of the local church, he was involved in many missionary activities in Romania and Mexico, particularly in short term mission trips with the youth, serving in orphanages.

From 2012 to 2014 Val has served as President of the Romanian Baptist Youth Association and is still very involved in this ministry from an unofficial position.

In 2014, Val has received his Master of Divinity degree from Biola University, Talbot School of Theology.

In 2016 he was called to the Romanian Baptist Church of San Francisco, Bay Area where he was ordained to serve as Assistant Pastor, and where he still serves.

Starting in 2017 he became involved in Apologetics conferences in Moldova and Romania, organized by the Romanian Missionary Society. In June 2020, Val started serving as RMS President.

Currently he resides in Northern California with his wife, Christine and their two sons, Timothy and Michael.

GET INVOLVED TODAY

For more information
and a list of current opportunities,
please contact our office (e-mail
to RMS@RMSonline.org
or call at 708.657.4391)

BOARD MEMBER

LIVIUS PERCY

Dr. Percy was born in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Growing up under Communism, he faced discrimination and persecution because of his commitment to Christ and his involvement in the youth ministry of the local church.

He came to the United States in 1981. The same year he got married to Mariana, started graduate school at the University of Illinois in Chicago, and became involved in the ministry of RMS as a translator. He translated over 40 books and also contributed to the evangelical radio broadcasts over Radio “Free Europe” in the 1980s. He continues to be involved in the radio ministry and his sermons are broadcast over many Christian radio stations in Romania and Moldova.

In 1984 he became a member of the Board of Directors of RMS and in 1987 he earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago. An ordained minister since 1990, Livius has served for 15 years as pastor of a Romanian church in Hickory, NC, and is currently senior pastor of the Romanian Baptist Church of Charlotte, NC. He is also working on a Doctor of Ministry degree in apologetics, at the Southern Evangelical Seminary, under the direction of Dr. Norman Geisler.

In October 2004, the Board appointed Livius Percy as the new President of RMS, upon the retirement of Dr. Josef Tson. Dr. Percy travels extensively to Romania and Moldova, ministering to youth and to churches.

Dr. Percy has served as RMS President until June 2020, when he retired and remained on the Board as Missionary at large. He and his wife, Mariana have one daughter, Patricia.

GET INVOLVED TODAY

For more information
and a list of current opportunities,
please contact our office (e-mail
to RMS@RMSonline.org
or call at 708.657.4391)

BOARD MEMBER

GEORGE HANCOCK-STEFAN

George Hancock-Stefan started working with the Romanian Missionary Society as the Executive Director from 1982 to 1989. He is currently the Associate Professor of Church History at Palmer Theological Seminary, the Seminary of Eastern University. He has also taught at Princeton Theological Seminary, New York Evangelical Seminary, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and Wheaton College Graduate School.

Dr. Hancock-Stefan started his pastoral ministry as the Minister of Christian Education at First Baptist Church of Hightstown from 1977-1982. While working at the RMS, he also served as the pastor of the First Romanian Baptist Church in Chicago. He has been the pastor of Central Baptist Church in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, since 1990. Dr. Hancock-Stefan is very involved in denominational and ecumenical life and serves as the convener of the Area Association of Community Churches and the North Shore Association and the president of the American Baptist Churches of New Jersey.

Dr. Hancock-Stefan’s doctoral dissertation, The Impact of the Reformation on the Romanian People from 1517-1645, was translated into Romanian in 2003 and is being used as a seminary textbook. He is also one of the contributors to the book Three Views on Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelism, which will be translated into Serbian in 2019. Dr. Hancock-Stefan and his wife Ginny live in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey and have four daughters and three grandchildren.

GET INVOLVED TODAY

For more information
and a list of current opportunities,
please contact our office (e-mail
to RMS@RMSonline.org
or call at 708.657.4391)

BOARD MEMBER

VALENTINA MIRZA

Valentina developed an interest in the needs of people around the world when interacting with Christian missionaries hosted by her family in the early 90s, and while seeing her parent’s faith put in action in their communities. In high school and college, she was increasingly preoccupied with Christians’ relevance to contemporary issues. While a member of Vox Domini Church and the OSCET student association in Timisoara, she was involved in student outreach and debate events, as well as social projects and short-term missions.

Her passion for social justice and holistic ministries to communities in need was solidified during a discovery trip to Kenya in 2008, after encountering the devastating poverty and realities in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, as well as the amazing ministry, school and feeding programs run by the Tumaini church there. Her return with a group of students in 2009 turned into a 11 years partnership between the Tumaini Kibera church and the student movement in Romania.

Later that year, she started her MA in Intercultural Studies at Biola University, graduating in 2011. This was followed by an internship with World Vision in the Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs department, which was the beginning of her professional career in Humanitarian and Development work.

In the past 8 years, Valentina has worked for international non-governmental organizations designing and implementing assistance programs in various contexts across Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, including in South Sudan, the cross-border Syria Response (based in Turkey and Jordan), Nepal.

Currently, she is the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for Asia Pacific for CARE, based in Bangkok, Thailand. In her role, she provides technical support to 21 countries with CARE presence in the region. She’s recently deployed to the Philippines, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka to support their humanitarian response and preparedness efforts to natural and man-made disasters.

GET INVOLVED TODAY

For more information
and a list of current opportunities,
please contact our office (e-mail
to RMS@RMSonline.org
or call at 708.657.4391)

BOARD MEMBER

ANDREI SAVA

Andrei Sava completed his undergraduate degree in Theological Studies at the University of Bucharest in Romania, followed by a Master of Divinity and a Master of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY.

He and his wife Samantha were married in 2009 and have 4 beautiful girls: Sofia, Eliana, Lydia, and Clara. Andrei now serves as the Pastor for Preaching and Discipleship at Trinity Community Church in Clovis, California.

One of Pastor Andrei’s favorite passages of scripture is Ephesians 2:1-10. “These verses encompass my life’s story and are a continual reminder of God’s grace and mercy over me!” In his spare time (what little he has), Andrei loves spending time with his sweet wife and girls, reading, and playing sports such as tennis and soccer (or as he says, “Football – the real FOOTball!”)

GET INVOLVED TODAY

For more information
and a list of current opportunities,
please contact our office (e-mail
to RMS@RMSonline.org
or call at 708.657.4391)

BOARD MEMBER

LUCIAN URSAN

Lucian was born in Romania just before the fall of communism, but his parents emigrated to the United States like so many others before them in hope for a better life for their children and the opportunity to worship free from the fear of persecution.

For the past decade and a half, Lucian has been served in various ministries within his local church as well as serving the broader Romanian Baptist Youth in America. Most recently, he has been leading the youth ministry of Bethel Baptist Church of Anaheim for the past 8 years.

Lucian graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 2011 with a degree in Mathematics with a Concentration in Economics. He has been working in the financial services industry for the past 12 years, of which most recently, as a Wealth Management Advisor.

Lucian is a Southern California native and currently resides in Orange County alongside his beautiful bride of 1.5 years, Grace. Together they continue to serve the youth in their local community, and Lucian is excited to join the board of RMS and use the gifts God has given him to further the mission of RMS.

GET INVOLVED TODAY

For more information
and a list of current opportunities,
please contact our office (e-mail
to RMS@RMSonline.org
or call at 708.657.4391)