Sunbathers, Seeds and Submersion

While in Poland, Steve had the privilege of attending the 10th Anniversary of Poznan International Church. Under the direction of veteran church planter, Dr. Piotr Zaremba, ITMI short-term missionaries Ron and Jane Dissly and another couple planted the church to reach the many international students who gravitate to Poznan University.





Five years ago, Richard Nungesser became the pastor of the Poznan International Church. He and his wife, Brooke, have worked to maintain a warm, safe and inviting place to connect with other students and hear about Jesus. The students come from all over the world to take advantage of the programs the university offers in English, the one common language that most can already understand. But before PIC, there wasn’t an evangelical fellowship that was reaching out to them in a language they could understand.

Currently, there are members from every continent except Antarctica attending PIC. The students will return to their homelands after earning their degrees, and have many opportunities to share their faith as educated members of their communities. Richard and Piotr envision founding a small Bible Institute that would equip the students to be missionaries in their homelands on their return.

Steve spoke at the event, and shared about the value of “planting and harvesting seeds”, just as the planters of PIC did ten years ago. He illustrated with the story of the boy with 2 loaves and 5 fishes that many times, God uses most unlikely candidates to do His work so that He gets the credit for the multiplication.

After the service, PIC and the K5N church met at the lake for a baptismal service. It was a warm Sunday, and the beach was strewn with scantily clad bodies intent on relaxing in the sun. The group, fully dressed for church and at least 100 strong, picked their way between groups of beach-goers until the first of them reached the water’s edge. As the procession stopped, people stood in the open spaces around the camps of people lying on their towels enjoying the sunshine. The sunbathers had no choice but to witness the demonstration of Christ’s work in six lives, and their very public statement of dedication to Him.

Piotr made his way into the water with those being baptized that day. Adorned in all-white Polish baptismal robes, they stood out like sore thumbs in the crowd of swimmers. A few young boys began splashing and mocking Piotr and the six who had planned to declare before their peers that their lives were dedicated to Jesus from that day forward, even though this brands them as part of a dangerous cult.

Steve later mused that it felt strange to be a part of such a public statement of the difference between the redeemed and the lost, especially when the lost truly believe you have actually gone crazy and joined a scary cult. But ITMI partners deal with this sort of persecution on a daily basis. What’s so incredible about them is that they continue to love those that refuse to understand them and even those that persecute them. This is the love of Jesus in action.

summarized by Summer Kelley