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Poland Outreach
What an
exciting and fulfilling two months of ministry! Nightly
evangelistic concerts were packed with
needy people. We had the opportunity of working with Pastor
Zbigniew Chojnacki from Ostroda, and Pastor
Marek Kiewra from Lwowek. The concerts were
held in churches and public halls, in towns all over Poland.
Marla sang for about an hour, opening the hearts of the audience
with praise and worship. Then Kurt preached an evangelistic message.
Afterwards, there was the opportunity for prayer and ministry.
One of our primary goals was to preach the gospel to as many
non-Christians as possible, and this was done with great success!
Our concerts were advertised to the general public through posters,
newspaper, radio, and television. As
a result, the concerts were full almost every night, with high percentages
of non-believers.
 Marla’s
music was very well received! Polish
people enjoy listening to music in English, and to make sure they got the message
behind the music, we had the lyrics to Marla's songs translated into Polish. We made up a small booklet
which was passed out to the people at the concerts.
The booklets also contained the gospel message and a prayer of
salvation. The lyrics themselves, mostly scripture, also contain the
gospel message. Hundreds of these booklets were taken home into Polish
households.
We are believing that many more people will listen to Marla’s
music in their own home, read the lyrics in their own language, read the
gospel message, and give their lives to God. Marla
also learned a few songs in Polish, which greatly surprised and
blessed the Polish people. This opened the door of their hearts to
hear the gospel at the end of the service.
While the concerts were our nightly ministry, God
gave us many other very interesting opportunities as well.
We had the opportunity to lead several Sunday morning worship
services, in which Marla led worship and Kurt preached the message.
These were very special times of teaching, encouragement, and
exhortation. We were also interviewed on Polish television to
promote one of our concerts. We
gave glory to God and shared about our faith on the airwaves of Poland as
well!
Our ministry in the prison near Lwowek, Poland
was a powerful time in the presence of God. By the end of the
singing and preaching, we saw quite a response from the prisoners; many of
them were crying, others smiling a great big smile! Afterwards, we
gave each prisoner a copy of Marla's album, "Passion". Pastor
Marek Kiewra, our contact in Lwowek, was very excited about the move
of God among the prisoners that day.
Praise be to God for the outstanding works He
performed on this outreach! We estimate that we were able to minister to
around 1000 people face-to-face, many of whom had never before heard the
gospel. And many more were reached through television in Poland.
We know that the seeds of God’s Word which were sown will bring
forth much fruit! Please pray
that people who heard the gospel will give their lives to God, and be
discipled.
There were outstanding examples of salvations
which God harvested...including one young man in northern Poland.
One Pastor, who is extremely hungry for a move of God in his church, told us that this young man was
the first person ever to be saved in his church!
The Church faces so many challenges in Poland.
Discouragement is a real problem for many pastors and their flocks.
We felt that one of the purposes that the Lord had for us there was
to encourage and build up the pastors in Poland. We thank God that
we were able to build strong friendships with several pastors, and many
shared with us that they were greatly encouraged by our ministry.
God rekindled hope, vision, and purpose in their ministry.
In every place we visited, we were extended an open invitation to
return in the future.
It is so wonderful to see how God works among His
people in other nations. The field is ripe for harvest in these former
Soviet-block countries, but the laborers are few.
Pray that the Lord will send more laborers in the future, and
that the laborers there will be encouraged and full of the Holy Spirit! |
