The late seventies through to the mid-nineties was a time when the Gospel was making a significant impact on the population of Poland, 95% of whom were Roman Catholic. To be Polish means to be Roman Catholic, and to cease to be Catholic means ceasing to be Polish. The two are inextricably linked.
Before the end of Communism there was a degree of openness to the Gospel that continued to the mid-nineties. This is not to suggest that there was anything like a revival but in many areas souls were being saved and new churches planted. During this period SGA teams were involved in Youth Camp ministry, when a significant number of souls came to the Lord, including university students. This took place against the backdrop of the strong influence of the first Polish Pope, whom many Poles saw as confirmation that they as a people, were to be the Messiah of the Nations. However in recent years there has been less of a response to the Gospel, but the work goes on and we look to the Lord to bring about a change.
Over the years it has been the privilege of SGA to be involved in evangelism in many Polish churches and recently a series of evangelistic meetings were held in the Wodzislaw Church in the south of the country. In the past this church has seen at least four other churches planted from their fellowship. Each time a new church was planted the fellowship was weakened numerically, but the numbers slowly built up again, with people saved out of the world. For this special series of meetings the church had been very active in saturating the area with invitations and quite a number of unsaved people attended over the space of several days. No doubt this was due in no small measure to the enthusiasm of the pastor and leaders of the church, who prayed faithfully that the Lord would move by His Spirit in the hearts of needy people.
The meetings were marked by a real sense of liberty and an openness in those who came to listen. What a joy to see several souls saved during those days. We rejoice in what the Lord is doing and look to Him to bring many more to saving faith so that the barriers of state religion will be broken down. |
