Fellowship and Outreach in Gniezno

As the very religious Polish population reels, trying to gain its footing from the 1-2 punch it received with oppression under the Nazis followed by the years of terrorizing Communist rule, they turned to the well-established and powerful Catholic Church for hope and spiritual rejuvenation. However, it seems that many are becoming disillusioned as their current spiritual state is insufficient for lasting joy, but they are afraid to turn outside of themselves to any of the other groups of Christians out of fear of these scary and crazy “cults”. For this reason, there are few evangelical fellowships available for those daring enough to seek out a fresh, alive perspective on spirituality: a relationship with Jesus. Only 15% of the 2500 Polish counties have an evangelical fellowship within their boundaries.

In Touch Mission’s partner, Gniezno Baptist Church is the only evangelical fellowship in the Gniezno area. Janusz Fredyk is currently the pastor, and ITMI partners, Bob and Sue Taber are also serving Gniezno Baptist Church.
Though its membership is a miniscule percentage of the city’s population, it is a growing, dynamic and externally focused fellowship. The church had been operating a homeless shelter called Kaviari in partnership with the city, providing food and lodging for homeless men, as well as sharing the gospel with them. But recently, the government pulled out of the partnership due to the religious nature of the aid being offered, and Kaviari lost its facility. Since the closure of Kaviari, the church has turned its attention to being involved with the nearby New Life Center’s ministry to the homeless. Janusz accepted a position as the New Life Center’s Director, and the Tabers began directing more of their time and effort toward the New Life Center, as well.

The church also offers regular community outreach events for families, complete with face-painting, games, and character mascots. The events are organized by Magda, who also works with Bread of Life’s New Life Center as a counselor. They are so effective in bridging the gap between the church and the community that the local Catholic officials sent a letter to those she was reaching, warning them not to participate. The letter was ineffective after a personal conversation with Magda assured them the accusations by the church were false, and most continued to participate in the events.

This family of believers is also undergoing a renovation project of the building in which they’ve been meeting. After long, drawn out navigations of red tape and government regulations, the work has finally commenced. However, because quality workers are migrating in droves to Western Europe, where they can make more money, they’ve struggled to find a contractor that will stick with the job. Several short-term mission teams have answered the call and met this need for the determined fellowship, but there are still challenges and hurdles to overcome.

One such short term team from Fresno, California, served in May, working on the church building and the Education center at the New Life Center. The team was led by “Pastor Jim”, Bob Taber’s previous employer. Before Jim met Jesus, he owned a multi-million dollar construction company, where Bob worked. Many of the employees attempted to share Jesus with Jim, but he was unimpressed because they took work time to do it. Meanwhile, Bob’s quite, respectful, hard-working nature and character stood out. Bob's patience in planting seeds with his integrity and dedication to honorably earn fair wages paid off. Eventually, Jim sought Bob out, and Bob had the opportunity to lead Jim to Christ. Following that life change, Jim was called by the Lord to become a local pastor. He sold his construction business and became the pastor of his church in Fresno, where he’s been serving for more than 15 years. As part of his ministry, he organizes and leads mission teams, which have had some major impact around the world. His background in construction made his team the perfect fit for working with Gniezno Baptist Church.

This small but potent fellowship needs our prayers as it grows and reaches its community through caring for those less fortunate and seeking out members of their community to share Jesus with them. Gniezno Baptist Church is showing that numbers and meeting place are not the most important components of a church. These are secondary to passion for Jesus and His work.

summarized by Summer Kelley