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Among his many accomplishments as a father, husband, pastor, evangelist, author, President of the Romanian Missionary Society, and chancellor at Oradea Bible Institute, Dr. Josef Ton’s most noteworthy contribution to the Church stems from his identity as a suffering saint. Josef was born on September 30, 1934, in Aiud, Romania to Ioan and Irina Ton.

He came to Christ as a teenager in 1950, despite growing up in Communist Romania, where the Church faced extreme hostility. He received his Literature degree in 1955 from the University of Cluj in Romania. He later studied Theology at Oxford where he graduated in 1972. After graduation, Josef spent nearly a decade enduring persecution and hostility as he pastored different churches in Romania’s Baptist Union. In 1981, under grave persecution by his government for sharing the Gospel, Josef and his young family were exiled to the United States.

While living in Wheaton, Illinois Josef was recruited to teach a course titled “Theological Issues in Eastern Europe” at Wheaton College. He attributes this experience, in addition to the great influence of Richard Wurmbrand’s book “Tortured for Christ”, to propelling him towards researching the theology of persecution, martyrdom, and suffering. While in the States, Josef ministered through the America Radio Free Europe (RFE) and received his Doctor of Divinity from Gordon Conwell Seminary in 1985. During this time he began the process of translating and publishing Christian materials into Romanian to equip ministry leaders in Romania.

In 1990 he returned to Romania where he has continued his work for the Kingdom with a special focus on training and equipping the next generation of ministry leaders. He is credited with establishing the Emmanuel Bible Institute, a Christian publishing company, and a Christian radio station at Suceava in Romania. For further insight on how a Christian like Josef Ton’s union with Christ is at the core of Christian endurance in the face of persecution, check out the video linked below.