Poland

The work of OM has a long track record in Poland, going back to the sixties when George Verwer and others ministered here. Later, other OM teams followed to minister, evangelise and bring in literature. After the fall of communism, OM’s Greater European team started to publish and distribute literature and OM teams started to live in Poland in the early 90s, working alongside local believers and churches to reach out to the Catholic Poles.

Our ultimate desire is to see Polish churches develop a vision for God’s mission both at home and abroad, and OM Poland wants to partner with the churches in fulfilling its role in the great commission.

This is achieved through conferences, church meetings, Polish Christian mission, internet communication (OM Poland Polish website), monthly e-news & Facebook page and mission exposure opportunities provided for Polish believers.

Since the evangelical population is still very small, OM Poland continues to assist the Polish churches in evangelism, discipleship, church planting, in order to meet the needs in the community.

Ministry opportunities in Poland:

• Church planting effort: OM Poland has been in partnership with the Polish Pentecostal Unions since 1999. A church was established in Kutno in 2005, which is reaching out to its local community with the Gospel and meeting the needs of the community. In 2015 another church planting project was started in Gostynin.

• Working among the marginalized: Alcoholism and drug addiction are great problems in Poland, which destroy not only individuals but also their families. Many are left homeless because of this. The ministry is established to help those who are trapped in addictions be set free by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and integrate into a normal Christian fellowship, where they can find support. We provide professional counselling, assessment, information and treatment service for people who are in need. "Coffee House" ministry is often the first contact we have with many alcoholics and homeless people. They are invited to our support group where they meet with the others who have similar struggles.

• Consultation Point: After so many years of ministering to people struggling with addiction, we realized that while addiction is a problem on its own, it is a symptom of larger problems and more personal issues like depression, anger, frustration and self-doubt. However, there are very few counseling services available locally to help people to deal with the roots issues of addiction.  In the beginning of 2016 we cooperated with “Teen Challenge Poland” and launched a new ministry called “Consultation Point”, an addiction counselling service which provides assessment, counseling, information and treatment service for people who are in need.   
• Summer English workshop and soccer clinics: Polish teens love learning English and playing soccer. Every summer we organize English workshop with our partner church from the USA and soccer clinics in partnership with the Brazilian Christian Soccer Academy.  They are great tools to connect with the younger generation and share the love of God with them. We realize that no matter what languages we speak there is a common language, which can break all barriers, and that is the love of Christ reflected in His followers’ lives.

How you can get involved:

• PRAY
  • Pray for Catholics to focus on the redemptive work of Christ on the cross and the personal relationship that He desires.
  • Pray for the unity of Polish churches. Even though only 0.4% of the population are regarded as evangelical Christians, there are over 80 registered Protestant denominations in Poland. Churches are still very much divided by the walls of denominations. If we want to see God’s Kingdom advance, the walls must be torn down and trust needs to be established.
  • Pray for Polish missionaries to reach the ends of the world with the good news of salvation through Christ’s sacrifice. Right now we have 5 Polish singles and 1 family serving in different OM fields.
  • Pray that the Polish quest for material advancement might be subordinated to their search for God.
• GIVE — Give here (http://www.om.org/en/give) to help support the work of OM in Poland.
• GO — See the job opportunities listed at http://www.om.org/en/opportunities. Contact us at: info.pl@om.org or visit our website: www.ompolska.org. Please join us in equipping the church in Poland to help fulfill the Great Commission.

More information about Poland

• Population: 38.5 million and Poles make up 93.5%,
• Official language: Polish
• State of economy: Member of the European Union since 2004. Poland's economy was the only EU country to avoid a recession through the 2008-09 economic downturn. However, GDP per capita remains significantly below the EU average, causing the outflow of educated young Poles to other EU member states.
• Religious make-up: Catholic 87.2% Orthodox 1.3% Protestant 0.4% other 0.4% unspecified 10.8% 8.5% Orthodox, 4.6% Catholic, 6.9% Evangelical, 1.8% other religions, 0.2% non-religious
• State of the church: Poland is one of the least evangelized countries, the Catholic Church still holds sway over Polish culture, but personal faith is nominal and morality is being chipped away from the foundations of Polish society.  Most Poles are resistant to the gospel due to either their cultural Catholicism or their spiritual apathy. Just 0.4% of the population are regarded as evangelical Christians, thousands of towns and villages have no evangelical presence at all. There is a desperate need for evangelical witnesses