Hello, my name is Nicolae, and I am a child of God, a follower of Jesus, the husband of Magdalena, the father of David, and the pastor of Victory Church. I was born in Baia Mare, a beautiful city in northern Romania, lived as a missionary in India for seven years, then returned to Romania in 2016, where I served as an assistant pastor at Filadelfia Church in Baia Mare. In the beginning of 2026, I planted Victory Church in Baia Mare, where I serve as the leading pastor.
I found out about Manna University from the other pastors of Filadeflia Church, Baia Mare, who wanted to enroll in the MACL program (Master of Arts in Christian Leadership) at Manna University. Because I wanted to be more effective in the ministry that God entrusted to me, I enrolled in the MACL and then in the D.Min. program (Doctor of Ministry).
I have learned many things at Manna University, especially about Christian leadership, such as effective models of leadership, the importance of character and ethics in leadership, and how to spot and avoid Machiavellian, toxic leadership, and the abusive use of power. However, if I have to reduce everything to only one thing, what I have learned at Manna University is how to develop an effective ministry where believers are inspired to develop their relationship with God and grow spiritually. I have discovered that to develop an effective ministry, the leader must grow continuously in his relationship with God and self-leadership, develop a strategic team, and cast clear directives.
Manna University helped me understand what Christian leadership looks like and the importance of character and shared leadership. Manna University also helped me understand how to develop a team, which is where the leader mentors his followers and helps them find their calling and discover their gifts, inspiring them to grow spiritually, and building a healthy community with biblical values and principles. Besides these, my experience with Manna University helped me become more confident, courageous, and willing to take risks, both in my personal life, and to fulfill the vision and mission of the ministry.
I believe that the people from my church benefit not only from the things I have learned at Manna University, but from the whole experience that transformed me as a Christian leader. However, some specific things are helpful for the Church to know are the process of spiritual formation, the importance of developing a godly character, the fact that God has a calling and spiritual gifts for each believer, and being able to transmit important truths in simple words. Moreover, the leaders from the Church benefit from knowing how to build a strategic team, understanding some leadership models such as servant, transformational, authentic, and spiritual models, following some mentor programs with their followers, and being able to develop and cast clear directives, such as vision, mission, values, and strategies for their ministry.
In conclusion, Manna University gave me a remarkable experience of learning and transformation, helping me to transition towards effective leadership, where I got a strong desire to fulfill my calling, inspire others to love God and walk into their callings, and work with responsibility in the Kingdom of God, aiming to finish well.
Nicolae Zahari, Almun