Poland Update #5

Celebration!  
“Soft” opening of Sweet Surrender in Krakow, Poland!

Krakow Sweet Surrender Coffee Shop

Sweet Surrender opened its doors in Krakow last Saturday night for a party for the people of Krakow, Poland. This is the day the Partners have been praying for and giving sacrificially to over recent weeks. Because some official inspections are yet to be completed, we cannot call this an official opening yet. But you can see from the pictures below that the event was a rousing success.

We’re sharing two first-person accounts of the weekend’s two primary events. The first is from volunteer Katie Fitch. The second is from volunteer Dr. Dennis Johnson.

First, Katie Fitch:

“Hi!

Katie Fitch

We had a great opening weekend!!! We had about 200 people Saturday night for the opening. The shop was so packed we could not fit anyone else in! Brian & reGENERATION came down from Poznan and did an amazing concert for us. …

Today we did a combined service with reGENERATION. There were about 60 people here. Dennis preached a great message about the prodigal son and the character of God. People were moved. And we had great fellowship afterward.

The best thing for me this weekend was to see the families of the church. They were so blessed by the opening and the service. During the opening and the service you could feel the presence of the Spirit. I don't think we could have had a more perfect weekend.

Thanks for all of the prayers!

Katie R. Fitch”

Thank you, Katie, for this glowing report of the work God is doing in Krakow. We are grateful to you for the hours you have given in order to make this spiritual vision a reality. We hope that all our volunteers in the future have your drive and commitment to do God’s will. You are a great blessing!

Second, Dr. Dennis Johnson:

“Good evening,

Dennis Johnson

An estimate of nearly 200 people, jammed together, filling every available space in Sweet Surrender Coffee Shop was the culmination of months of planning and preparation and a final week of intense work that led to this grand opening event last Saturday. An actual head-count was impossible, and the celebration with Brian Fentress and reGENERATION Gospel Choir resulted in a weekend attendance far beyond our expectations.

Sunday morning sixty people gathered for worship. Members of Krakow Church of the Nazarene were involved in every part of the service as Brian Fentress and reGENERATION led in praise and worship. Several of those attending said they would be returning next Sunday.  We have planned a spaghetti dinner following the service and expect to have a great time of fellowship.  Church members will be speaking and leading the services for the next four weeks, and we will plan a special Easter Sunday celebration. 

There have been several requests for meetings in the Coffee Shop by a variety of groups.  We're expecting great days ahead! With the participation of the church members, the Sweet Surrender Coffee Shop (and church) was dedicated as a place where the presence of the Lord would be evident:  a place of peace, love, grace, hope and joy. 

Take care,

Dennis”

Thank you, Dennis and Jamie, for the blessing of your service to our new ministry in Krakow! Your willingness to give months of your hard-earned retirement years to mentor the development of this new work is a standard for those who will follow you. Your encouragement, your personal hard work, and your optimistic and fruitful ministry are laying a solid foundation in Christ Jesus in Krakow. We look forward to more news of all that God is beginning to do in this ministry.

Our special thanks go to all of you, our Partners. You prayed and God has answered. You saw the need and you gave. You trusted God on our behalf, and He has answered resoundingly.

We will continue to share what God is doing as He leads us in future days. For now, enjoy the activities of the weekend vicariously through pictures that Katie and Dennis have sent.

We pray God’s rich blessings on you all and offer grateful praise for your faithful prayers! Continue to pray for the final official approvals for the shop’s official opening for regular business.

Saturday Night Opening Party

Sunday Worship

Poland Update #4

Historic Day for Nazarene Missions in Poland!

Sunday, March 6, 2011, was an historic “first” in Nazarene Missions in Poland. The first families to become members of the Church or the Nazarene live in Krakow, Poland, the location of the newest Sweet Surrender Coffee House ministry center. Here is the report as given by Dr. Dennis Johnson, volunteer serving in Krakow:

“Sunday was an historic day as we received the First Members into the birthing Polish Church of the Nazarene--thirteen new members!  As is the practice in other parts of Europe, children were received with their parents. Over our first few weeks here, I had taught the membership material, anticipating this day of celebration. Ev and Rhonda Tustin were with us for the week-end, joined in the worship/celebration.”

For our Poland Partners, these are sweet words that mark what God has been doing in Poland as our work grows. Here is a picture of the three families along with missionaries Ev and Rhonda Tustin and Volunteers Dennis and Jamie Johnson.

With all our hearts, welcome to the Church of the Nazarene: Maciej, Barbara, Kacper, and Emilia; Izabela, Slawomir, Kamila, and Sebastian; Jaroslaw, Agnieszka, Eliza, Jonatan, and Luiza! May you know the grace and peace of the One who loves us all!

March 19, 2011.

Krakow Sweet Surrender Coffee Shop Grand Opening! 

As of this writing, the opening date for the Sweet Surrender Coffee Shop ministry center will be March 19, 2011. This has been made possible by the generous responses of our Partners, both in their prayers and in their giving of the funds necessary to complete the project. We now turn our attention in prayer to all that God wants to do through this creative ministry. Let us join in prayer for the worship services and the outreach efforts of this ministry. Here are some pictures of the finishing work and the fixtures your gifts have made possible.

Kitchen area

Serving bar

Dishwasher in progress

We are all excited about the Grand Opening of Sweet Surrender Coffee House on March 19, 2011. We hope to have pictures and descriptions and a report of this grand event. This week our challenges are:

     completion of the complex official paperwork necessary
     completion of the shop itself
     the Grand Opening event.

Poznan Sweet Surrender Coffee Shop Faces Problems!
(Good Ones!)

One of the challenging aspects of serving God is that when you pray for His help and blessings on a ministry, He gives you what you ask. And that generates new kinds of problems. They are good problems, but they are challenging and we need to join with the Tustins and Volunteers in Poznan that they will be able to cope with what is happening. Here is a communication from Rhonda Tustin to Field Strategy Coordinator Rev. Philip McAlister on March 3:

 “Good morning,

It is very early here in Poznan, Poland. I wanted to write and tell you about last night’s happenings. The Sweet Surrender Coffee Shop sponsored last night the third worship service off campus and away from the shop. It was held at the Sheraton Hotel here in town.

We are honestly SHOCKED that OVER 160 people attended this worship service. The room was packed and people were standing because we ran out of chairs. The Holy Spirit came on that room and people were moved by the word of God.

After the service, we held an after-party at the coffee shop. Over one hundred people came to be part of that time as well. I was approached by a young woman who asked if I would pray with her. After twice attempting suicide and an addiction to drugs, she was looking for the answer. She prayed to accept Christ, and she is a new creation!*

Something BIG is happening in Poland. After praying about this, we feel that if we had the ability to rent a bigger facility we would have the makings of a large congregation here. We KNOW that this is a time when finances are low for the Nazarene Church, and yet we see that God is pouring out his spirit on Poland just now and reaching into the lives of young people, calling them. So, we are calling on God and asking him to send the way to do this. His storehouse is full and we know He has a way to do this! We need a way to meet together regularly. Will you pray with us?

Today we drive to Krakow, where the church also has had a promising start. God is moving in Poland. We could never have predicted that this could happen in such a short time in Poland. We wanted to share the good news with you.

Rhonda”


*In the next Poland Update we will publish this young woman's testimony!

Here is a short video of the third Outreach Event in Poznan:

Don't you wish you could have been there?

Prayer Needs

Please join us in focused prayer for the Poland ministry!
God will help solve the practical problems of His ministry, but we need to join together of one mind and trust Him for solutions! Let’s pray in a focused way in the following ways:

*Pray for the continued effectiveness of ministry outreach events and worship services.

*Pray for a suitable location for outreach and worship that will house this growing ministry.

*Pray for the necessary funds to meet this need.
*Pray for official paperwork approvals for Krakow Shop--they are necessary for opening.
*Pray for the Grand Opening of the Shop in Krakow on March 19.

Practical Suggestions to Support Poland Ministry

1. Pray that God will continue to pour out His Spirit on the ministry.

2. Sponsor an outreach event. (The cost is several hundred dollars for each event.)

3. Join with others who have decided to give a specific amount to this ministry monthly. This would help the ministry know how to plan as they search for a more adequate worship location.

4. Reach out to prospective “Poland Partners” or others who would be interested in supporting this ministry. 

Instructions for sending funds are found below, at the bottom of this blog page.