Amsterdam – The Baptists of Europe are confronted with numerous difficulties. Nevertheless, their congregations are growing even in crises regions. That was noted at the „Amsterdam 400“ congress taking place in Amsterdam from 24 to 26 July. Nabil Costa (Beirut), Representative of the European Baptist Federation (EBF) for the Middle East and Director of the heavily-Baptist “Lebanese Society for Education and Social Development”, reported that Baghdad’s Baptist congregation is expanding its work. The Iraqi congregation, which is visited every week by as many as 500 worshipers, is planning to plant a congregation in the north of the country. According to Costa, who maintains close contact with Iraqi Baptists, they are also planning to simultaneously found a school there.

Middle East: Loving Islamists too

Nabeeh Abbassi (Amman), the former General-Secretary of Jordan’s Baptist Union, noted that Christians living in the Middle East have no option other than to love the violent Islamists of the region. Jesus Christ himself has called on his followers to do so. According to Abbassi, Islamists have been misled by Satan and are therefore themselves also victims. He noted that although this region is the cradle of the Christian faith, it belongs today to the areas least-reached by the Gospel. A change in this can only be expected if the region’s Christians cooperate more closely and believers globally cover them with their prayers. Five countries in the Middle East have Baptist Unions with a total of 83 congregations and 5.400 members.

West Bank: Christians cannot move about freely

Christians on the West Bank are suffering from double pressure: Because of the region’s 600 Israeli checkpoints, they cannot move about freely. Additional problems stem from the area’s Muslim majority, which attempts to marginalise Christians. Munir Kakish (Ramallah), President of the evangelical congregations in the Holy Lands, reports that evangelical congregations, of which Baptists are a part, are nevertheless growing. Approximately 48.000 evangelical Christians reside on the West Bank, which officially is a part of Jordan. Kakish was able to bring along “good news” regarding the Baptist congregation in Gaza City. After the work of the sole Baptist congregation in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip had been halted last year, Christian life has now restarted. One-hundred participated in a church service there in mid-July. Yet according to Kakish, believers there are in desperate need of spiritual and financial support from foreign Christians.

Serbia: Baptists regard themselves as second-class citizens

Dane Vidovic (Belgrade), the General-Secretary of northern Serbia’s Baptist Union, sharply criticised the religious legislation which came into force in April 2006. The laws have resulted in Baptists feeling as if they were second-class citizens. The original legislation put into force by the communist government in 1953 had given all religious communities equal standing. But the new laws have split the citizens of Serbia into two camps: Orthodox, Catholics, Muslims, Jews, Lutheran and Reformed enjoy full recognition and numerous privileges, for ex. in the realms of tax legislation and religious instruction in schools. But other groups such as the Baptists are regarded by the state only as “confessional societies”. They are kept from holding religious instruction in schools and their buildings are taxed 200% higher than those of the officially-recognised churches. One hopes now that through intervention of the European Union injustices stemming from the treatment of the various religious communities will be stopped. Vidovic also called on prayer for the Baptists of his country. They have already won a court case upholding their rights to equal treatment, but the Serbian government has until now refused to enforce the new ruling. The Union of northern Serbia is nevertheless growing. Approximately 70 congregations with a total membership of 2.000 belong to this denomination.

Kiev: Successful church plants

The Ukrainian Baptist pastor Vladimir Omelchuk reported on a successful church planting project in Kiev. In 2003 he along with two friends founded a new congregation in Kiev. It now has 250 members and has formed two additional daughter congregations. Asked about the secret behind this success, the young pastor responded: “I trusted in Jesus.” Those acting in such a way should reckon automatically with spiritual fruit. He based his work primarily on personal relationships and trained church members accordingly. One also attempted to meet the personal needs of those who came. A programme for overcoming drug addition was installed. He himself had also been a drug addict until 12 years ago. Initially, the venture had been funded by the EBF’s church-planting „Indigenous Mission Project“ (IMP). The IMP’s goal is that every congregation receiving financial support become self-supporting within a five-year period.

New home for Burmese believers in Norway

Peter Ngaidam, a Baptist from Myanmar/Burma now living in Norway, thanked Norwegian Baptists for their „open doors“. They had made it easy for him as a political refugee to find a new spiritual home. He along with many others had left their homeland for religious reasons. The Christians of Myanmar are pressured hard by their government. Norway has accepted 4.000 refugees from Burma – 2.800 of these are Baptists. They have formed 19 Burmese Baptist congregations. The founding of such ethnic congregations is seen as a good means of helping people become acclimated to new surroundings.