Still Reaching Poland’s Next-Gen

On October 22-28, 2023, BCM Poland hosted the first in-person BCM Europe conference since the Covid lockdown. Over ninety BCM personnel from Europe and the British Isles as well as leadership from Africa and North America met in beautiful Wisla, a resort town near the Czech border, for a week of Bible teaching, field ministry presentations, and fellowship. A major answer to prayer was travel visas and safe arrival for all twenty-two members of BCM Ukraine.

BCM Poland under leadership of country director John Abramovich and his wife Dasia has partnered with a children’s ministry organization, Miłość Edukacja Dojrzałość (English translation: Love, Education, Maturity, or MED), since its founding in 1990 shortly after the fall of communism (see Raising Up NEXT-GEN Leaders in Poland, BCM World, September 2016). Poland has seven million children and teens with only a small percent attending Bible-based churches. MED’s chief goal is to evangelize and lead to spiritual maturity children and teenagers across Poland. This is carried out through children’s evangelistic meetings, Bible clubs for pre-school and school children, summer camps, training courses in children’s ministry, and free Bible lessons, missionary stories, music, teacher’s books, and other materials published and/or translated by MED in Polish.

While many MED ministries were put on hold during the Covid pandemic, in-person camps for children and youth as well as an annual camp for special needs were held this past summer of 2023, reaching more than four hundred campers. A band of volunteer musicians called the Daniel Band, which includes previous MED youth campers, ministers to children, families, and church congregations through a variety of MED events. The biggest is a summer evangelistic week in southern Poland for about two hundred children ages 7-11.

Another exciting MED program is entitled “Scouts on the Rock,” a Christian scouting program led by MED workers and volunteers and carried out through local church congregations. Scout troops hike into Poland’s beautiful forests, where they hear the gospel along with learning practical skills typical to international scouting programs. A top focus is discipling scouts in Bible truth and application.

Though moving technically toward retirement, neither BCM Poland director John Abramovich nor his wife Dasia are slowing down in ministry. Born and raised in Poland, Dasia has served as director of MED until recently, overseeing its eight full-time personnel and countless volunteers. She continues to work with MED as needed, including planning and directing the special needs camp. She also leads a counseling ministry to women and provides English-Polish translation for preaching and teaching.