I have walked into some of the darkest places on this planet, and I've seen the light of the truth of God's Word shatter and dispel that darkness. But it all begins with God's people. In the early 1970s, a pastor began to call for repentance in the Christian community in Oradea, Romania. That nation was engulfed in the darkness under the evil dictator Nicolai Ceaucescu. It was a bleak hour in the history of Romania.

It was interesting to note that evangelical Christians in Romania were called "Repenters." When a person came to a personal faith in Christ there was such a dramatic change in his life that the person was identified as one who had repented. The pastor in Oradea began to teach that the "Repenters" must repent. The sins of society had slowly crept into the church. Therefore, believers in the church were encouraged to unite in prayer and repentance. Within six months following the church entering into a covenant of repentance, the Second Baptist Church of Oradea baptized 200 people.

It was dangerous in those days to be publicly baptized. A believer could go to prison or lose his job or educational opportunities for being publicly identified with Christ and His people. But the church began to immediately experience rapid growth and today the church in Oradea is believed to be the largest evangelical church on the continent of Europe. It all began when the "Repenters" began to repent.

If a great moral and spiritual revival is to come to the West, then it must begin in the church. Two things must occur. First, believers must become known for their change of life. Second, the "Repenters" must repent. That is why the Bible says, "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land (2 Chron. 7:14 NIV)." Ladies and gentlemen the time has come for the "Repenters" to repent.