Ohrid – The European Baptist Federation’s (EBF) missions programme for utilising native missionaries to plant new congregations is going larger and larger. Daniel Trusiewicz (Wroclaw) the Polish Coordinator of the “Indigenous Mission Project” (IMP), reported at sessions of the EBF-Executive in Ohrid/Macedonia from 13 to 15 March that 65 church plants in 24 countries of Europe and the Middle East are to be supported this year. That is five more than during 2007. The programme started in 2002 with initiatives to plant four new churches in Moldova. The EBF’s support for such projects is limited to five years; after the initial 2,5 years, support is being gradually decreased every year. The earliest projects are no longer supported financially, yet they are continuing to exist. Even though none of the new church plants have succeeded in becoming financially independent, Trusiewicz believes the programme can nevertheless be labelled successful. Thousands of people have come to faith in Jesus Christ through these church plants.

One project being supported is in Macedonia: in a city district of Skopje with more than 100.000 residents, the city’s only Baptist congregation is attempting to open a daughter congregation. A public library has been established there and ten seekers are meeting weekly in order to study the Bible. Trusiewicz noted that the weak dollar is causing serious problems. Some of the programme’s strongest supports reside in the USA; their unchanged level of contributions is worth less and less in euros. It is also becoming increasingly difficult to locate talented and well-equipped persons willing to attempt church planting. He is nevertheless fascinated to see “what God is doing in new mission congregations”.

In a devotional, Croatian EBF-President Toma Magda (Cakovec) called for heightened evangelistic efforts to fulfil Christ’s call to mission. Congregations without evangelistic efforts not only violate the Great Commission, they also bring harm upon themselves. Magda illustrated this by showing a video clip of a scientific experiment. In the experiment, normal room flies were held captive in a glass for three days. By that time they had so accustomed themselves to their cramped quarters that they no longer attempted to escape when the glass over them was removed. They preferred to remain in their tight, self-imposed dwelling. Magda added that this also happens to Christian congregations without evangelistic goals. As a rule, children and young people from such congregations also display little missionary zeal.