Eastern Europe

We weren't at all sure what we would find when we got to Eastern Europe. Since this sabbatical is all about experiencing what Christians are dealing with in different parts of the world, we wanted to see how the church is faring in a post-communist environment.

The effects of communism are still very much felt in the Czech Republic. Connie Patty, who along with her husband Dave, works for Josiah Venture, told us that openness to faith really varies with generations. Some elderly people are very faithful and passionate about the church. The age group that is the most closed are the 40 to 60 year olds who were deeply marked by the repression and cynicism of the communist era. Kim, an American who lives here with her husband Daniel, told us that there is deep mistrust of churches because under communism pastors would often inform on their church members to the government.

(Read any of Vaclav Havel's books of essays if you want a flavor for what Czech communism did to people's hearts, minds and souls.)

Younger adults (25-40) are not as closed as their parents, but they tend to have been sucked in more by the promise of western materialism. They tend not to have a very developed spiritual dimension to their lives and hope that if they work hard enough, they'll be able to buy lots of consumer goods.

It's the youth and the teens who are the most open. Connie said that they are beginning to wake up to the possibility that there's more to life than money, work and parties. Kim told us that every generation that is farther removed from the communist years is healthier and less damaged.

The English camp that's taking place in the hotel is for these teenagers. It's one of about 80 camps that JOsiah Venture runs throughout Eastern Europe.

Now, this may not sound like a good place for a couple of old fogies who need their sleep to spend a few days, but it's actually quite wonderful. The way the English camps work is that a team from a church in the US (or maybe Canada or Ireland) provides the leadership. The participants come from a Czech congregation. So it's not simply a free-lance, send-your-kids-to-camp kind of thing, but a real church to church partnership.

The leadership team is from an Evangelical Free Church in Denver, Colorado. There are 18 mostly young adults who have come for a couple of weeks. They lead programming and worship, and work with the Czech kids in 3 English sessions per day. It's amazing how young people look and act the same wherever you go. The kids who are here are wonderful, friendly, enthusiastic and open.

But it's slow, patient work here in the Czech Republic. Diane overheard one of the leadership team say that about 1 out of every 50 kids they work with becomes a Christian. But I expect that God is also at work in unseen ways. What is being shared with these young people is the promise of something more than materialism and good news they can build their lives on.