Chris and Lenee Oakley: Erd, Hungary
ERD, HUNGARY — Chris and Lenee are Assemblies of God missionaries from Concord, NC. They currently live just outside of Budapest, Hungary in the town of Erd. They are involved in several different areas of ministry, one of which is Europe's Heart, a compassion-based ministry focused on reaching the outcast and marginalized of society, beginning with the Roma (Gypsies) of Slovakia. The Oakley's host short-term mission teams for Europe's Heart, usually working in the areas of construction and evangelism. They are also helping to plant an international church in Budapest, Riverside Church, which was started in 2014. God has provided a great facility for the church and things are going well, with many visitors, and a normal attendance of over 100 people. Additionally, the Oakley's started a youth ministry called H2O youth Budapest in 2014 and continue to lead this ministry. Every other week, there are around 35 - 40 teenagers that meet to worship God. One last thing, the Oakley's are involved with coaching (and playing on) Hungarian baseball teams. This has become a great opportunity to meet and build relationships with Hungarian young people and their families.
The Oakley's began their first term as Central Europe missionaries in 2004, living in Dresden, Germany. They hosted 30 short-term missions teams over their first term, working in the countries of Germany, Poland, Czech Rep., Austria, Slovakia, & Hungary. They felt God leading them to move to Prague, Czech Republic for their second term in 2009. They continued to host missions teams and pastors throughout Central Europe, working with a total of 25 different teams and individuals. They began to branch out into other areas of ministry as well, such as street evangelism, prayer ministry, children’s ministry, and women’s ministry.
Chris is a 1989 graduate of Wake Forest University. He is a licensed minister with the Assemblies of God, as well as a licensed residential building contractor. Lenee' is a 1993 graduate of UNC-Charlotte. She is a registered nurse who has worked in hospitals, doctor's offices, nursing homes, and Hospice House. They have five children: Nathan (20 - student at Evangel Univ.), Aaron (18 - student at Carson-Newman Univ.), Matthew (16), Madelyn (13) and Abigail (10). They have worked with around 100 different AIM, Book of Hope, and MAPS teams and traveled in over 30 different countries.
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