Hungary
Date Entered: 1988
Major Ministries: Church Planting, Leadership Development, ESL
Country Profile
Population: 9,930,915 (July 2008 est.)
Peoples: Hungarian 92.3%, Other or unknown 5.8%, Roma 1.9% (2001 census)
Economy: Hungary has made the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy, with a per capita income nearly two-thirds that of the EU-25 average.
Politics: Parliamentary Democracy based in the capital city, Budapest. Governed by a president, prime minister, and unicameral National Assembly.
Religion: Roman Catholic 51.9%, Calvinist 15.9%, Unaffiliated 14.5%, Other or unspecified 11.1%, Lutheran 3%, Greek Catholic 2.6%, other Christian 1% (2001 census)
Hungary lost 60% of its land area in 1918 when the Austro-Hungarian Empire broke up, with the result that nearly one-third of all Hungarians now live in neighboring countries. Russia occupied Hungary during World War II, leaving only after the dissolution of the “Eastern Bloc” in 1991.
A brief attempt to throw off Russian rule in 1956 was aborted when western nations failed to come to the rescue of Hungarian freedom fighters; 80,000 died and more than 200,000 refugees fled to the west during this failed coup. Hungary was the first Communist bloc state to abandon Marxism and create a multi-party system in 1990. In 1994, however, elections returned Communist leaders to political control, even though the newly-instituted democratic processes are still intact.
Even during Communist rule, Hungary was always better off than other satellite countries, having a strong industrial base and productive agricultural land. It was the first Communist bloc country to begin privatizing the economy and to record positive economic growth. However, the large debt created by the former Communist regime continued to grow ever larger. Unemployment at the end of 1994 was 12%. Nevertheless there is an appearance of prosperity, evidenced by the presence of automobiles from western Europe, an abundance of consumer goods, fast-food restaurants and tourist hotels.
Hungary experienced its own Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. By 1600 A.D., nearly 90% of the country was professing Protestant. Many reverted to Roman Catholicism in the Counter Reformation. Today 52% are Roman Catholic in name; about 20% continue as members of the Reformed Church. Baptists comprise only about 11,000 of the total population, equal to the number of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In 1990, religious liberty was restored, ending more than 40 years of intimidation, discrimination and infiltration by Communist leaders. Hungary is a spiritually needy country, and traditional Catholic Christianity offers many challenges to missionaries.
Budapest is the headquarters for ABWE’s ministries in Central and Eastern Europe. From the outset, ABWE’s strategy has been to focus on the training of national Christian leaders to promote a national church planting movement. Missionaries work closely with Hungarian partners in the work of evangelism and discipleship.
Personnel needs include evangelists, theological educators, children’s workers, youth workers, and English as a Second Language teachers.