Singing to Salvation

Three hundred and forty-five Poles gathered on the last weekend of April in the large, auditorium in Wroclaw, Poland. They came to learn to sing trendy Gospel Music. As the style calls for, they exuberantly sang praise to Jesus...before many of them knew who He was. It's a funny thing, though, when you praise Him, He begins to draw you in…slowly and unconsciously…in to a relationship with Himself. Forty-one responded to His tugging on their hearts and gave their lives to Him.

It seems the participants are attracted to Christ through the electric atmosphere, the worship time, and the overwhelming evidence of relationships with Jesus shown in the lives of the leadership. One participant shared that when Brian Fentress, the Black Gospel Music instructor of the workshop, shed a tear on stage, “I was amazed that you can love God so much…and that was a great testimony to me.” One woman was touched by the words of Kenn Oke, an Avant missionary, and she reported that, “No one has ever presented me the Gospel in such a way,” and shared that she asked God to, “…touch me so much, so that I would desire to serve Him for the rest of my life.”

Earlier this spring, the workshop in the city of Torun, Poland drew 170 participants, doubling the previous year’s attendance in that city. Historically, Torun has been the city yielding the smallest returns of participants for Gospel Joy. This year, they turned it over to the Lord in prayer and boldly asked for at least 100 participants. He opened the flood gates of heaven and lavishly rewarded the staff for their faith with 170 participants, 21 of whom received Christ over the course of the weekend!

In December, Gospel Joy held a workshop in Poznan, where their headquarters are located. Because of the location, this city’s workshop always scores high attendance numbers. This year, they had to turn away over 70 participants because of space, but were able to include 450 participants! Seventy-nine of the workshop participants signed up to attend “The Zone of the Word”, a weekly meeting with early church flavor that provides the opportunity to discuss the Bible, participate in worship, and find out more about the joy they tasted during the workshops. Four of the individuals who have faithfully been attending the Zone of the Word for two years have recently attended a course on how to lead a Bible study. The Gospel Joy staff prays that these individuals will be able to start their own Bible studies, multiplying the effectiveness of the ministry.

Five years ago, an Evangelical Church in Poland would struggle to have 41 unchurched people attend an evangelistic event. The Gospel Joy Workshops have shattered all human possibilities and are evidence that God is working mightily in Poland, drawing more and more into a life-long relationship with Him. Gospel Joy is “flying” beneath the fear radar that the common Pole has of the “cult” of Evangelicals, gathering more and more souls into the family of God. Make no mistake, the Poles have fallen in love with Gospel Music for a divinely appointed season...and we believe the reason is so that they will fall deeply in love with the One who loves them enough to pursue them relentlessly.

Written by Summer Kelley