ABWE - Association of Baptists for World Evangelism

Date Entered: 2005

Major Ministries: Church Planting, Leadership Development, Theological Education, Campus Ministry, TEFL, Local Church Ministries

Following the First World War, the closely-related Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar years, the new country’s leaders were frequently preoccupied with meeting the demands of other ethnic minorities within the republic, most notably the Sudeten Germans and the Ruthenians (Ukrainians). After World War II, a truncated Czechoslovakia fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country’s leaders to liberalize Communist party rule and create “socialism with a human face.” Anti-Soviet demonstrations the following year ushered in a period of harsh repression. With the collapse of Soviet authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a peaceful “Velvet Revolution.” On January 1, 1993, the country underwent a “velvet divorce” into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.

Today with a population of 11 million people and an area slightly smaller than South Carolina, the Czech Republic is one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe.

Yet, a recent (2001) national survey revealed that those who consider themselves atheists, have grown considerably since the last survey in 1991 to roughly 60% of the population. In Prague roughly three of four people do not believe in the existence of God. There are still today many villages throughout the country with no evangelical witness. The most reliable sources tell us that less than one half of one percent of the Czech Republic are followers of Jesus Christ (about 20,000 to 40,000). The Czech Republic now challenges Sweden as the most secular country in Europe.

ABWE’s involvement in the Czech Republic dates back to the arrival of ABWE’s first Central and Eastern European missionaries who developed strategic partnerships with national ministries. ABWE’s strategy for church planting and reputation in the region led these nationals to ask ABWE to partner with them. Leaders of the Baptist churches of Czech partnered with an ABWE short-term family, to help mature a young church plant, in southern Bohemia, the only Baptist church in southern central Bohemia and the first totally new Czech Baptist church started in 100 years.

The Czech Republic has a total of 28 pastors for its 36 Baptist Churches and for many years had no Czech-speaking Baptist Seminary to train Czech pastors. Thus, ABWE in the Czech Republic is focusing on developing a Czech church-planting movement. This will be carried out by evangelizing and discipling new believers, developing, training and mentoring a number of church planters strategically located across the nation, and encouraging, assisting, and mobilizing existing churches. The ultimate goal is to enable Czechs to evangelize their own country with the gospel, and sustain a growing church-planting movement without missionary assistance, in order that they too might be involved in worldwide evangelism.

In order to accomplish these goals we need experienced and well-trained church planters, pastors, theological educators, office managers, TEFL teachers, MK teachers, youth and children’s workers, musicians, and dedicated evangelists.