Summer Camps in the Czech Republic

Written on October 6, 2009 at 6:26 am, by jdyck. Category Featured. -->

Across the Czech Republic IMB personnel and Czech Baptist Churches took part in summer camps designed to reach people with the gospel.  The Western Czech Team had the opportunity to be a part of four of these camps this summer.

In July they held their own English camp in Plzen.  Sixty-five Czechs attended the camp.   A mission team, consisting of ten people from FBC Forney, Texas came to teach English.  FBC Forney has been sending teams to Plzen two or three times a year for over two years.  Most of the camp participants had some existing relationship with the Forney team. Czechs are usually reluctant to discuss spiritual things, but because of these relationships, the team was able to openly share the gospel with the participants.  One young lady accepted Christ, and everyone heard the gospel multiple times.  One of the Czechs commented,  “you’re not just telling us about Christ, you’re living it in front of us.”

The team also took part in two other English camps, one in Central Czech that is in it’s seventh year and one reaching people from Prague which is in it’s second year, as well as a youth camp put on by Czech Baptist churches.   At all of the camps there was an increased openness to the gospel.  After singing a song about eternal life, one Czech lady said, “I want to know more about what that song means.

More than 60% of Czechs claim to be atheist and those who claim to be religious are mostly nominal.  It is a long way from where they are to a belief in Jesus Christ, but God is working through committed Christians to show them what a relationship with Jesus looks like.  Many are beginning to move in that direction.