Discipleship Through Music Training in Romania
September 24, 2025
At a week-long event called “Junior Levites,” fourteen-year-old Anca sat quietly among her fellow teen musicians, taking part in a small group led by GEM worker Richard Mauney. At the beginning of the week, as the group discussed faith and serving God with their music skills, Anca listened carefully.
Yet she was hesitant to speak.
Gradually, Anca began to open up. She became more comfortable asking questions. Her life wasn’t going well. The slender girl with the dark hair and eyes felt depressed and generally struggled in life. She revealed that despite growing up in a Christian home, she had never chosen to follow Jesus herself, and her constant struggle with the nature of faith kept her from making that commitment.
“It’s possible that I made a decision to trust Jesus earlier in my life,” she said, “but I just don’t know if it was sincere, or if it ‘took.’ And if I trust Jesus, does that mean I have to see big changes in my life overnight?”
Each day, Richard was able to listen to Anca’s concerns, talk with her a little bit more, and even pray with her as the crowd milled around them.
The Junior Levites event is always crowded, with places selling out immediately upon the opening of registration. Richard, his fellow GEM workers, and their Romanian co-workers work hard to put together programs to “develop disciples from musicians and develop musicians from disciples.”
For this ministry team, all accomplished musicians themselves, it is first and foremost about building up the Kingdom of Christ in Romania.
“We are a group that has been together for 29 years,” explains Richard. “We call our team ‘Jubilate.’ Psalm 100 says, Shout for joy to the Lord all the earth, and that phrase is translated into Latin as: Jubilate Deo. So, ‘Jubilate’ means to shout for joy, or make a joyful sound. The name fits us well. Our ministry is about music and equipping, and we have established the ‘Jubilate Foundation’ to do just that.”
In all they do, the Jubilate team seeks to be a witness for Christ, forming disciples from the community of musicians. Not all who attend events like Junior Levites are believers, but they hear the gospel clearly while there.
The youth rehearse together to perform classical music, take various courses on performing and directing music, listen to speakers about the Christian view of art and other topics, meet together to discuss those views, and ultimately finish out the week with a message and time of worship.
Richard and his co-workers maintain a strong commitment to discipleship within the context of helping young people grow musically.
For this reason, Anca was a priority. On Saturday night, the last night of the event that culminates in a special worship time, the teenage girl approached Richard with tears in her eyes.
“I finally realise that trusting Christ isn’t about feeling emotion,” she said.
When Richard asked her if she was ready to take the next step of committing her life to Jesus, she said yes. Anca now understood that faith was an act of obedience, not feelings. That night, Anca gave her life to Christ, and Richard was able to connect her with an older Christian girl in her home city to follow up with her.
“We don’t just minister to youth,” says Richard. “The highlight of our ministry comes in August when we put on a week-long course for 150 adults. Places go fast. Even Romanians who have emigrated to other countries return home for this event. Throughout the week, they take courses on voice, various instruments, choir-leading, and composing, all for the purpose of building up the body of Christ.
“The Jubilate Foundation also has a publishing house. We publish collections of chorale pieces, primarily written by Romanians. We offer textbooks on worship, along with study guides, hymns, and worship song collections. Our priority is to encourage and equip Romanians to write poetic texts and music for worship. God has brought people to himself through the study of music in our courses.”
Ultimately, Jubilate’s purpose is to strengthen the life of the Church in Romania. If you are interested in knowing more about this ministry, contact [email protected].
Author: Jenny Garrity is a Storyteller with Greater Europe Mission. Jenny and her husband Kim joined GEM in 1984. They have served in Germany, Belgium, and most recently, Greece in response to the refugee crisis.