AFWIS Joins Operation World in Prayer for the Republic of Poland in Europe

Published on Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org)

Home > Oct 06: Poland

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Oct 06: Poland

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Poland

Republic of Poland

Europe

See Prayer Information

Geography

Area: 312,683 sq km
Central European plain with Baltic coastline.
Population: 38,038,094    Annual Growth: -0.08%
Capital: Warsaw
Urbanites: 61.2%
HDI Rank: 41 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples

Peoples: 24 (13% unreached) All peoples
Unreached Peoples Prayer Card

Official language: Polish    Languages: 20 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Christian

Religion		Pop %	Ann Gr
Christians	34,093,544	89.63	-0.4
Evangelicals	95,416	0.3	1.5

Challenges for Prayer

Evangelical Christians have always been a very small minority, but some positive development is evident. Unfortunately, the growth immediately following Communism’s fall was replaced by relative stagnation in the new millennium.
a) Evangelical unity is progressing well from the divisions of years past, but genuine cooperation is still new territory for most churches. The Polish Evangelical Alliance now represents over 90% of evangelicals. Pray for the ministry of the Polish Ecumenical Council which brings together many Christian groups outside of the Roman Catholic Church. Pray that the Holy Spirit may bring reconciliation, fellowship and unity of vision in Jesus’ name.
b) The multiplication of foreign sects and religions brings confusion. Jehovah’s Witnesses outnumber evangelicals two to one. Pagan, Wicca and especially New Age groups steadily gain followers, with many practitioners comfortably combining these with Catholicism. Pray for the defeat of every ideological assault on biblical truth and a demonstration of the power and lordship of Jesus Christ.
c) The large Polish diaspora consists of millions who live and work elsewhere in Europe, particularly in the UK (peaking at up to one million). Of these, a large number are exposed to the gospel in a new way and in a more open environment. Pray for their responsiveness and for host cultures to take the opportunity to reach out to them.
Bible training for church leaders, a much-needed ministry, developed quickly but has recently fallen off the pace. There are about 25 Protestant institutions ranging from seminary level to part-time or correspondence Bible schools. The current shortfall in students could spell trouble for several of these schools as well as intensify the current lack of evangelical leadership. Well-trained, experienced pastors are in short supply, and many who complete their studies leave Poland for other lands. Pray for a new surge of students and for biblical faithfulness, spiritual power and missions vision to be hallmarks of graduates’ ministry.
     For an additional 6 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.

More Information

The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of Poland.