From the January-March 2007 Issue
Go West Young Man
Dawid and Agnieska Koziol
Town Square ZywiecAlmost right from the beginning of mankind God was calling his people to various tasks. Many of them were difficult and life changing for those who were called to fulfil them. One of the men called to fulfil a special task was Abraham. At a particular moment of his life he was called to leave his land and family, and go to the Promised Land. “Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee”. The task was difficult, but the promise great. He was called not only to take up residence in the land designated by the Lord, but also to be the father of the great nation. His obedience in leaving what was precious to him, and his readiness to trust are great examples for us even today. But a question I frequently ask myself is whether we are called to leave our countries, homelands and seek a new life in the “West”? Perhaps it is not a question of leaving our land for the sake of the Gospel, but for the sake of our well-being or ‘better-being’?
Those questions are provoked by the new situation that we are facing in Poland generally and also in the Polish Protestant Churches. Recently I heard from another pastor who told me that there are churches in Poland already closed, because so many people left the church that there are no people in the pews, and sometimes there is no one to lead the church either. Although such situations are exceptional, it shows the problem. Many Christians have left Poland to seek a better life in the “West”. I think that for the readers of this magazine in the United Kingdom and Ireland it is no great surprise, as you are familiar with the problem of immigration already. Putting it in the words of a British MP: “In the past, crime, health, education and council tax were the top issues. Now immigration is appearing in the top three.” It is no secret that the majority of the immigrants from Eastern Europe in the British Isles are Poles. There are many social, economic and even political issues in this, but I would like to focus on the church issues.
Effect on the Church
The church in Zywiec has 22 members. In the summer months three of them were working abroad; two doing temporary work for several months and one in permanent work. It was a very new situation that we faced, and generally there was a sense of loss among those who stayed. The reason for this was that in our situation, as small evangelical churches, sometimes the loss of several people makes a big difference. That was the case in Zywiec. Two of those three people were responsible for some ministry in the church, so not only were three people missing, but also the church was poorer for the lack of their ministry.
Unfortunately it is not only the church that suffers because of emigration. There are also abandoned families, very often with growing frustration and improper balance. No one knows what will be the consequences of the permanent separation of families, husbands and wives. The future will show this, but in my opinion in many cases it will be a tragic revelation – hopefully that won’t apply to the Christians.
This situation means that the church not only loses its members, but also takes more responsibility in ministry and care for families. The work is definitely more demanding. To complicate the matter, it has to be said that many of those who left are very often unemployed or very low-paid, and for that reason are not able to support their family. For many of them work in the “West” is really a chance for a better life for their families – it is not a matter of choice, but necessity. Because of that, very often Polish pastors feel a tension as they feel the loss, but also on the other hand see the real financial need of those who go. We just have to learn to understand them. For years we were accustomed to a situation where generally people stayed in one church for their whole life, so maybe we just need to adapt to the new situation of migration.
I struggle most when I realise that not all of those who left Poland did it because of real need. Some went “West”, bowing down under the pressure of having more, more and more. It is sad, but for many materialism was the main reason. Yet in his infinite wisdom God may use even this situation for His glory. It is so good to know that. If the statistics are correct, there are 700,000 Poles working and living in the British Isles. Willingly or not, they will have contact with many different people. Most Poles will look for the Catholic Church in their area, but some won’t find it, and will go to any church in the town. Hopefully some of these will be Protestant churches (that itself is amazing as in Poland it is very difficult for a Catholic person to go to a Protestant church). They will meet with Christian people, and for many it will be for the first time in their life. In fact already many have been given tracts in Polish, and we can only pray that far away from their homes they will approach the Christian message seriously. That is a good alternative, and in fact it is happening now. It is hard to imagine a Pole without a Catholic context, but for some it could be a life-changing, or at least mind-changing experience.
At the end of November an article appeared in a Polish newspaper. The author of the article shared his observations from his stay in the United Kingdom. One of the things he said was that he had never heard such powerful sermons as he heard in Protestant churches in Britain, and what was amazing for me, these were the words of a Catholic man! Surely God’s ways are not ours, and his thoughts surpass our understanding. Who knows, maybe many of those who seek wealth today will find the treasure that eclipses all other treasures – salvation in Christ!
The title of this article says “Go West young man”, and it reveals the sad truth that most of those who have gone are young people (averaging 29 years old), only a small number of them think about coming back to Poland. It is scary if the Christians who leave Poland think the same. The sad thing is that our weak churches have lost many national missionaries. We could ask with Paul: “The harvest is great, but where are the workers?” Thank God not all of them have gone abroad. But I believe that even for those who have gone it could be a good experience while they are in good churches, learning good lessons. I believe God is in control, working out his plan, even for our nation. It is good to rest in this assurance.
The quote in this article comes from the internet: www.bbc.co.uk/insideout November 13, 2006