Poland
Date Entered: 2006
Major Ministries: Sports Ministries: Basketball and soccer, Teaching English, Encouraging Pastors, Translating Evangelistic & Discipleship Materials into Polish
Country Profile
Population: 38,500,696 (July 2008 est.)
Peoples: 96% Polish. There are four groups within this number, each with a slightly different language, although most also speak Polish. The second largest people group is German at .4%.
Economy: Poland has pursued a policy of economic liberalization since 1990 and today stands out as a success story among transition economies. Since 2004, EU membership and access to EU structural funds have provided a major boost to the economy. The government plans to further reduce the budget deficit with the aim of eventually adopting the euro by 2012.
Politics: A Republic with two-chamber parliament, a President and Prime Minister. Poland has a stable democracy with close ties to the west. Historically most politicians have been proponents of conservative social issues, although the current Prime Ministry is more liberal on most social issues.
Religion: Almost 90% of people identify themselves as Catholics, which is down from previous census numbers of 95%, yet the number of praticing Catholics has stayed consistent at 75%. Evangelical believers are estimated at just over .1%.
Poland became a state around the middle of the tenth century under the Piast dynasty. During the sixteenth century Poland entered into the golden age. During this time it became the largest country in Europe.
The golden age ended in the mid-seventeenth century when Poland was invaded by Sweden. Many reforms in the Polish government led to the passing of the world’s second modern constitution in 1791. It did not last long as Poland was erased from the world’s map when it was partitioned a few years later by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. The reconstituition of Poland didn’t occur until after the first World War.
In 1939, Poland was once again invaded, this time by the Germans and the Russians, which started the second World War. During the war, Poland lost the highest percentage of citizens of any country—over six million people perished. After the war, Poland remained a country but its territories were shifted westward, and it fell under the control of the Soviet Union.
The rising cost of living and stagnant wages led to labor turmoil in 1980, which saw the formation of the independent trade union “Solidarnosc.” This movement was the catalyst for the eventual collapse of communism, and by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency.
Poland has a president who acts as the head of state and is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The government centers on the Council of Ministers, which is led by the prime minister who is elected to a four-year term. The two-chamber parliament is made up of the 460-member lower chamber and the 100-member Senate which are elected by the people.
A “shock therapy” program enabled Poland to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe. This economic success allowed Poland to enter the European Union in May 2004.
A variety of landscapes can be seen from the coastal lands of the Baltic Sea in the north, to the Tatras mountains in the south, to the lake regions and beautiful plains in its interior. Poland has one of Europe’s five natural deserts, the Błędów Desert.
More than half of Poland’s land is dedicated to agriculture, with forest covering an additional 28 percent of the country.
Poland is the birthplace of several world-renowned individuals, such as Fryderyck Chopin, Marie Curie, Nicolaus Copernicus, and most recently Pope John Paul II.
When the first ABWE missionaries entered Poland in 2006, God was already working in many areas, including church planting. Yet today there are only 85 Baptist churches with 6500 members in a country of 38 million people, 75 percent of which are practicing Catholics.
As with all ABWE missionaries, we desire to see God glorified through a church-planting movement within our country of service which swells into a worldwide mission movement. We strive to see this happen in Poland as we focus on developing culturally relevant outreaches and stressing personal evangelism, and through discipling believers, encouraging pastors and helping facilitate new church plants. A variety of skilled people are needed to see this happen, including individuals trained to work with students or children, theological educators, dedicated evangelists, and well-trained church planters. Individuals experienced in sports ministries, discipleship, and recovery ministries are also needed.