Slovakia
Date Entered: 1996
Major Ministries: Existing church strengthening, Leadership mentoring and development, Church planting partnerships
Country Profile
Population: 5,455,407 (July 2008 est.)
Peoples: Slovak 85.8%, Hungarian 9.7%, Other and unspecified 1.8%, Roma 1.7%, Ruthenian/Ukrainian 1% (2001 census)
Economy: Slovakia has made significant economic reforms since its separation from the Czech Republic in 1993. Reforms to the taxation, healthcare, pension, and social welfare systems helped Slovakia to consolidate its budget and get on track to join the EU in 2004 and to adopt the euro in January 2009.
Politics: Parliamentary Democracy based in the capital city, Bratislava. Governed by a president, prime minister, and the unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic.
Religion: Roman Catholic 68.9%, None 13%, Protestant 10.8%, Greek Catholic 4.1%, Other or unspecified 3.2% (2001 census)
Slovakia became an independent state in January 1993 after Czechoslovakia split into its two constituent parts.
The country is in the heart of central Europe, linked to its neighbors by the River Danube. The Carpathian Mountains extend across the northern half of the country and include the High Tatras – a popular skiing destination and home to the country’s highest peak – the 2,655 m Gerlachovsky. The lowlands of the Danube plain provide a fertile farming region producing wheat, barley, potatoes, sugar beet, fruit, tobacco and grapes.
The President, elected by direct popular vote for a five-year term, has limited powers. The country has a single-chamber parliament whose 150 members are elected for four-year terms.
Ethnically, the population is 86% Slovak; Hungarians are the largest minority.
Perched on many hilltops are fortifications that bear witness to Slovakia’s long history of invasions. Bratislava, the coronation place for the kings of Hungary in the past, has a rich heritage of medieval and baroque architecture.
Traditional meals include potato dumplings with sheep’s cheese and cabbage soup with sausages.
Among the best-known Slovaks are Štefan Banič who invented the parachute in 1913, and Andy Warhol, the American-born pop artist, whose parents were from Slovakia.
When ABWE began its official surveys of Slovakia in 1993, no church planting missionaries had located there. By 1995, only two missionaries who had a church planting focus could be found in the country. With less than 60 evangelical churches and even fewer trained leaders, Slovakia is ripe for the vision of our team missionaries.
Building on the basic plan for Central and Eastern Europe, the strategy for reaching Slovakia with the gospel is founded upon the development of a national church planting movement. The missionary team seeks to evangelize and disciple new believers, while mentoring a number of church planters strategically located across the nation. The ultimate goal is to enable the Slovaks to evangelize their own country with the gospel, and sustain a growing church planting movement without missionary assistance. Experienced and well-trained church planters, pastors, theological educators, youth and children’s workers, musicians, and dedicated evangelists are needed.