From the October-December 2007 Issue
Changes without and within
Henryk and Daniela Karzelek
Church at WodzislawIn the mind of our sovereign and almighty God the Church existed before the creation of the world. Even in the Old Testament we can see some of its portraits and pictures. Yet the full picture of the Church whose head is the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph.1:22-23) was revealed with the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter two. The Church is God’s work and he rules his Church by unchanging principles revealed in the Holy Scriptures. Knowing that, we also have to remember that where there are people there are also some forms, methods, structures, patterns and traditions. Those things are regulated and influenced by our beliefs, but also by history, cultures and other situations, among which there are those things that are changeable, not absolute. We can see changes in many areas in our country, and also in the Church.
Adapting to a new situation
When many years ago I visited the United Kingdom I was surprised how late churches started their midweek services. Now, as we are in the process of transformation, we are in a new reality. We have different working hours and very often unlimited working time. We too had to think that matter over and adapt our services to the new situation. That is a clear illustration of changeable things, even in the Church. Of course we have to remember about absolutes in the Church as well, and we have to be wise to distinguish between them. I think it is especially true in the situation in which we are living now.
We are convinced that God is encouraging us to work for his glory in various forms of ministry in our Church. Therefore we organize the following:
• Bible classes for children, where the teachers can encourage young children to think and learn about simple spiritual truths, and teaching about our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ.
• Meetings for women. The main reason to organize these is for prayer support, fellowship and encouragement to follow Christ, imitating many examples from both the Old and New Testament. Also to learn from history and personal experiences.
• Meetings for young married couples, with the purpose of encouraging one another to perseverance in faith and vigilance over proper relationships in the marriage. They also focus on the mission work that is based on the family.
• We emphasize the necessity of work among children and young people in our town and its outskirts. It is a programme that helps to fight the different problems among children and also gives us the opportunity to share Bible lessons and snacks for those who come.
Regular children’s club
However, in addition to those meetings for children and young people, we have opened our church building for a regular children’s club. We have two people who are responsible for organizing this work: Justyna and Alexander, who have the help of some volunteers working alongside them. During the school year the club is open for children as a place where they may do their homework, learn how to operate a computer, and do other manual work. There is a Bible based message for them as well. We are encouraged by the very positive change we can perceive in some of the children. It is a particularly important work as most of them come from very difficult backgrounds and ‘problem’ families.
Mission work
We are encouraged by the fact that in recent years two independent churches have been established as part of the mission work of our congregation. The mother church in Wodzislaw delegated two brothers as pastors to continue the work of proclaiming the Gospel in those places. We continue to pray that the church in Wodzislaw will keep its vision for preaching the Gospel among our countrymen. It is quite a challenge in our changing situation.
As in many Polish churches, we too faced blessings and difficulties that arose after the opening of borders for the European Union. Some young people from our church left Poland to seek better work in the West. We understand the difficult situation when young people are without any good prospect for a better future. Lack of work and very low wages are the main reasons for their departure. We feel that we have lost good young people with great potential that could have been used in the work of our church. On the other hand, God has given us relatively young brothers with a sense of responsibility. This is clearly seen in the way they preach and prepare for the ministry.
As a pastor I try to encourage them in that responsibility and help them by suggesting good literature. I am very thankful for the number of good commentaries published with the help of EMF through the LEGATIO publishing house. Without this work the number of good books available in Poland would be very limited, so thanks to all of those who help in that ministry.
The ministry of preaching has a very good reputation not only in our fellowship, but also in other churches in the town. In their opinion our church is full of peace and good preaching. As a result of that we have applications for membership. There are also three people who were converted recently. Although our country is free from persecution, all of them have some difficulties in their families.
At the time of writing we are organizing some special evangelistic meetings. We are especially praying for those who are distributing invitations, that they may give them to those who need their life to be changed, those who need God – and we believe that the One who gives the desire will also supply the answer to that desire.
Extending the work
God’s blessing on the witness here has meant that we need to undertake some renovation and make more room for the clubs we organize. We are thankful to God that we were able to buy a plot of land that gives us much more space next to our building. We pray that God will help us to collect funds that will enable us to carry out our other plans.