My name is Jozef Gabor and I have been the chairman of Youth for Christ in Slovakia for more than 15 years. I am married to Margareta Ingeborg Franzén. We have three daughters: Katharina, Erica and Josephine. We are for more than 30 years full time missionaries in Central and Eastern Europe.
I (Jozef) am working as adjunct professor at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Slovakia. My second job is as radio producer and trainer at Trans World Radio (TWR) Slovakia. Third thing I do is where I help Youth for Christ in Slovakia, as chairman of the Board of Trustees. My wife, Margareta, is involved with the children’s ministry at our local church. After the fall of communism in Europe, I was instrumental in establishing TWR-Central Europe and TWR Slovakia. At the present time we are involved primarily in teaching at the College of Theology and Mission (TCMI) in Slovakia and TCMI in Austria. We continue to work with TWR-Europe (media) and with Youth for Christ in Slovakia (Chair of the Board). I was involved with Youth for Christ in Slovakia from the very beginning of its 20 years history. At the start I was helping as a consultant for the new team. Later I accepted an invitation from the national team and their director, Marian Lipovsky, to join the Board of Trustees. Now I have served for more than 15 years as Chairman of the Board.
The main reason why I accepted the invitation to work closely with Youth for Christ in Slovakia was very simple: I believe that God is using the ministry for reaching young people. Many years ago while ministering with evangelist Dr. Billy Graham and Dr. Paul Freed (the founder of Trans World Radio), I learned firsthand about the ministry of Youth for Christ around the world. Later when I got the invitation to help with Youth for Christ in Slovakia, I did not hesitate to accept. Since the very beginning, thousands of young people in Slovakia have been reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the language they understand and communicated to in ways they identify with. The ministry of Youth for Christ in Slovakia is reaching over 30 thousand young people every year. Youth for Christ in Slovakia is serving beyond the borders of Slovakia. Our team was very instrumental in helping to start the ministry in Czech Republic as well. We have very good relations with Youth for Christ teams from all neighboring countries in Central and Eastern Europe, who regularly send teams to some of our events.
We did not forget how the other teams from Youth for Christ in North Island, Germany, Holland, France, Denmark or England helped us and shared their love, know-how and expertize with us. Now we can be used same way by God to help other Youth for Christ teams. At the end I would say that it is a blessing to meet former volunteers and workers of Youth for Christ who are now Christian businessmen joining the Board and helping us to reach others for eternity.