There is a hunger for God’s Word all over the world! Even though the world seems lost and hopeless, people are still searching for truth[JG1] to fill their hearts. Many people in Poland are being drawn to churches who are faithfully preaching God’s truth verse by verse. However, in order to preach the truth, pastors must be properly trained.
Thankfully, there is an SGA-supported, Ukrainian language training program in Poland that continues to prepare and ready men for the incredible task of properly handling God’s Word while preaching and teaching. Not only do these classes train in theology, but also in application.
In the story below, you will read of dedicated men who have a great desire to see more and more men trained up for this work of ministry. “To see the Word of God faithfully proclaimed in every church, to every person living in Poland.” It is with burdened hearts that these missionary church planters go out into the lost world to speak and preach truth. Please pray for many to hear and by God’s grace, be saved.
“One of the key factors impacting the health of the church is the faithful proclamation of God’s Word. The best expression of this is expository preaching. Today, I want to tell you about how Expository Preaching is developing in Poland and how it’s influencing the planting of new churches and the health of those that have existed for many years.
“Many pastors in my country believed that expository preaching was the best method for teaching the Bible, but they lacked the tools and skills for it. For many years, Polish preachers were trained in topical preaching, and Polish seminaries did not teach expository methods. As a result, those who wanted to do expository preaching had to try it on their own, learn through trial and error, and rely on English-language books. Things began to change significantly on a larger scale in 2017. At that time, a course in expository preaching was started in the Baptist Church Union in Poland, led by an American workshop leader. This course was unique in that its goal was not only to teach good expository preaching, but also to prepare participants to teach others in Poland what expository preaching is and how to do it. The course consists of eight sessions held every six months, where participants study eight different books of the Bible from various literary genres over three days each session. The same methods are applied each time: asking good questions, creating a structure of the text, understanding the context of the original audience, formulating the main idea of the text, anticipating the transformation intent, identifying how the text points to Jesus and fits into the overarching plan of salvation, and applying the text.
“Around 25 Baptist preachers took part in the course that began in 2017. After several years of practicing these tools, eight participants were selected from the original group to prepare and train new preachers. Since 2022, they have established five more groups in different parts of Poland to train more preachers. The Ukrainian group is led by Pastor Maksym, supported by SGA, and one of the Polish groups in western Poland is led by Pastor Samuel, also supported by SGA. Now, not only Baptists participate in the workshops, but also preachers from other evangelical denominations. This work is now fully conducted by Poles and Ukrainians living in Poland, with about 100 preachers currently participating. Next year, another edition of the course will conclude, selecting the most ambitious participants to start new groups for expository preaching training.
“We hope that in the coming years, every evangelical pastor living in Poland, regardless of language, will have the opportunity to undergo such deep training. Expository preaching groups are expected to appear in more places across Poland. The vision driving these workshops is: ‘To see the Word of God faithfully proclaimed in every church, to every person living in Poland.’
“Expository preaching has become the primary form of preaching taught at the Baptist Seminary in Warsaw. We see steady growth in this type of preaching in Polish churches, which is also impacting their development. For example, our church in Bydgoszcz, which began its ministry in 2022, has emphasized expository preaching from the start, and everyone joining our church clearly expresses their desire to be part of it, partly because they see God’s Word faithfully proclaimed for the first time. This is not an isolated case; we hear similar testimonies from other churches in Poland!
“Please pray for the growth of expository preaching in Poland and for the vision of those training others to be realized in our churches. We also thank many Christians from the West who have invested in our country, enabling us to acquire practical skills to serve God and His churches more effectively.”