Poland 2017 - Trip Report
Anabaptist Teaching Ministries conducted a Bible conference in cooperation with the Anabaptist International Ministry in Minsk, Poland on May 14-16, 2017. Philip and Linda Beiler traveled to Poland for this conference. Two different translators served as interpreters.
Lavern Hershberger and his family have been in Poland for 16 years and he organized the event. Other personnel there are Shannon and Joella Lehman, Matt King, Lyndon Beiler, Sharon Speicher, and Wendy Yoder. They all work together in operating a school to teach English in a rented building in the city. Their clients include the town mayor, school children, professional people, and many individuals from the town who simply wish to improve their English language skills. The school has been an excellent means of interaction in the local community.
An integral part of the ministry is a church plant. They have about 60 in attendance every Sunday. Lavern serves as pastor with the brothers from PL also contributing. They distribute 4000 copies of the Seed of Truth magazine in the Polish language each month. They advertise the conference in the magazine and once a year they gather in Minsk for the event.
At the peak on Sunday morning there were approximately 110 persons. The conference began on Friday evening and continued through Sunday morning. The theme this year was Knowing God using Philippians 3:10 as the theme verse. The titles for the conference were as follows:
Knowing God personally-Dt 6:4-6
Abiding in Jesus Christ-John 15:1-11
Helping our children to know God-Matthew 17:5
Passing on our passion for God to others-Matthew 16:18
The sessions were lively with easy interaction during the presentations. Some questions and discussions we had included the following. “Is everything that happens God’s will?” “Does God change his mind?” “How could it have been God’s will to kill every man, woman, and child in the Old Testament cities?” “What can we do about pain in people’s lives when we know that God is still in control?” “What does one say when God has a plan but we complicate it with our own disobedience?” The discussion included some wonderful testimonies of God answering prayer and also some questions why God does not always answer prayers that seem to be so much in God’s will. It was inspiring to have them ask questions and then have them answer them to each other. God was with us. It was a fulfilling and inspiring experience.
by Philip Beiler