As conservative Christians, we are obviously concerned for making disciples of all nations. What is not that obvious is that many of these nations are actually not living in a land that is far away, but here on our own doorstep.
One such group of people are the Poles. Poland is often cited as the most religious country in Europe; in practice this may not be the case at all, especially in the light of priestly sexual and financial abuses. Others might be concerned for the state of Christianity in Poland, where it is estimated that less than 0.3% of the whole population are evangelical Protestants. That figure places Poland below most countries in the world. Yet around one person in 70 in the UK today is Polish. The Polish language is the most popular non-British spoken language in the UK. How are these statistics reflected in our churches?
Hard to reach
Polish people have proved hard to reach by British churches. Poles are proud of their identity and history and find it hard to accept being treated as a second-class people or economic migrants in society. They also find their British neighbours to be cool and reserved, when compared to their own warm, open, welcoming nature and plain-speaking. That translates into their reluctance to engage with British churches, as they don’t expect to be judged differently to how the wider public might judge them.
Suspicious of Protestants
Culturally, reinforced via schools and churches, they understand that to be Christian means to be Roman Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox, and they can articulate the basics of the gospel on an intellectual level. They are taught that anything else is a cult like the Jehovah Witnesses, therefore because we declare ourselves ‘Protestant’ we must be a cult and avoided as ‘brain-washers’. Besides, to be Polish means to be Roman Catholic. Abandoning that equals betrayal of history, family, country, etc. That of course does not mean that Poles are religious – more than two-thirds are nominal Catholics, who after years of struggling with economic hardship are now intoxicated with money and much easier life in Britain. Finally, many do not speak good English.
Having explained the problem, I would still like to encourage you to consider reaching out to them with the gospel. John 10:16 is also applicable in this situation, as John Piper reminds us in his sermon ‘I Have Other Sheep That Are Not of This Fold’ (to be found at www.desiringgod.org).
If your church wants to understand more about Poles in your area and how you too can reach them with the gospel, please feel free to get in touch.
