Divine Encounters in Italian Church Planting
October 30, 2024
Matteo and Crystal Scamporlino glanced around, wondering which of the women standing nearby was the mother of the little boy with whom their daughter Sole had struck up a sudden friendship. The children chattered, chased, and played in the park as if they’d known each other forever. Three women stood nearby, engaged in conversation. Then, one of them—a petite young Ukrainian woman with blonde hair and blue eyes—stepped away from her friends to meet Sole’s parents.
“I’m Andriana,” she said, “and this is my son Leone.”
When Andriana learned that the Scamporlinos were Christians who had come to the town of Frascati to start a church, her eyes lit up.
“What, really? I’ve been searching for a church!”
Searching For More
As Andriana’s story came out, Matteo and Crystal listened with interest.
She and her husband Stanislav had been living in Italy for several years. Andriana was looking for a job while Stanislav worked in a hotel in the centre of Rome. Both had been raised in the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, but during the Covid-19 pandemic, Andriana had begun listening to some protestant Ukrainian pastors online.
Struck by their prayers, which seemed so much more profound and personal than the prayers she’d grown up hearing, Andriana knew she wanted that same kind of intimacy with God.
In conversing with Andriana, the Scamporlinos realized she was curious but not yet a believer in Jesus. The young mother was searching—beyond Church ritual and tradition—for some way to know personally the God she believed existed.
The Scamporlinos told the Ukrainian couple that they were renting a space for their church in the Villa Tuscolana. However, before they could begin holding services, they had to wade through some government bureaucracy to establish a church legally. In the meantime, Andriana and Stanislav could follow them online and listen to Matteo’s livestream sermons.
Thankfully and miraculously, the bureaucratic paperwork moved quickly and before long, the day came when Crystal could text Andriana saying, “We’re starting up this Sunday!”
Andriana replied to Crystal that the day before, she had been crying, “God, will you show me the way to you? I want to know you!” Crystal’s text came as an answer to that plea.
Andriana and Stanislav attended the very first Sunday service held at Chiesa Christiana Vittoria (Victory Christian Church) on September 24, 2023. Afterwards, they approached the Scamporlinos with tears in their eyes. “We want to receive Jesus,” they said.
The church planters were thrilled to pray with the couple and encourage them in their new-found faith.
Spiritual and Physical Healing
A week later, during an afternoon meeting in Crystal and Matteo’s home, Andriana and her husband shared a painful part of their lives with their hosts. “Our son hasn’t gained any weight for the past five months,” they confided. “We’ve taken him to all the best specialists in Rome, but nobody can figure out what’s wrong with him.”
Clearly, Andriana and Stanislav were desperate, worried, sick, and frustrated at the lack of answers. Andriana weighed Leone constantly, with no positive results.
Glancing at the boy, the Scamporlinos could see that he was extremely thin.
“We believe Jesus heals people,” said Matteo. “He healed people when he was on this earth, and we believe he still heals today.”
Leone, in his mother’s arms, became agitated even as Matteo spoke. He turned red and began screaming. This wasn’t normal behaviour for the child.
“Would you be comfortable with us praying for him?” asked Crystal.
“Yes, please pray.”
The Scamporlinos laid hands on the child and prayed for healing and deliverance. Within minutes, the child calmed down and relaxed. A few days later, Andriana texted Crystal: He’s gained 200 grams!
It was a small start but the beginning of something amazing. Today, Leone is completely healthy and normal. His thin face has filled out, and he continues to gain weight.
The Right Place at the Right Time
As Crystal reflects on these events, she believes the meeting in the park with Andriana was orchestrated by God.
“Andriana calls it an answer to her prayers,” she says, “but it was also an answer to our prayers! We were going through all the Italian bureaucracy to open a church, and we didn’t know how long it would take. How encouraging for us to know this couple was waiting eagerly for us to begin holding Sunday services!
“Andriana and Stanislav have taken their faith in Jesus very seriously. They continue to live it and put it into practice. For them, there is no turning back; they are hungry for God’s Word and apply everything they are learning to their lives. They are even taking what they learn through Bible study and sharing it with their family members and friends, explaining it to them.”
The Scamporlinos have no doubt that God led them specifically to the town of Frascati.
“He has certainly opened the doors for us to work here,” they say. “In a town known for its large, historic homes, God led us first to the Villa Tuscolana, an elegant hotel that rents out meeting space. As we negotiated for the space, we befriended two of the directors of the villa. They started coming to our church and have since begun following Jesus. We are amazed at how God has led us to those who were seeking him, putting us in the right places at the right times.”
In April 2024, the Scamporlinos found a new building to house their growing church, which is currently undergoing restructuring. In the meantime, they are holding services online. Many people in the town of Frascati are eagerly awaiting the day when they can join the church in person.
To learn more about the Scamporlinos, check out THINGS UNSEEN, a documentary featuring three GEM families on mission in Europe. If you want to know more about church planting in Italy, contact [email protected].
About the 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.