After a few days of immersing ourselves in Hungarian culture, making new connections at the Debrecen Baptist Church, and familiarizing our ears to the sounds of the Hungarian language, our team has now spent several days in the classrooms of Eastern Hungary. This is the primary function of our mission team: to help the Hungarian students with their English language studies.

Hungarian is a rather isolated language. The entire nation of Hungary is comparable in size to the state of Illinois. Hungarian is not generally spoken beyond this country’s borders. So in order for the Hungarian children to interact with their European neighbors, English has become the common language of academics, medicine, and business in this region of the world. In this age of global commerce it is, therefore, vital for the Hungarian children to learn English in order to interact with their nearby peers across Europe and elsewhere around the globe.

more “Iskola (School)” …

Monday evening our team was excited to attend the English language Bible study group at the Debrecen Baptist Church. Pastor Jon Good leads this monthly group, composed mainly of students from the nearby university as well as other friends and guests from the neighborhood.

Our Bible study Monday evening would be a new experience for many of the regular attendees. Since our team was in town, Pastor Jon asked Pastor Patty and me to lead the teaching time. It was a humbling and challenging experience to lead a Bible study for a group we’d never met, not knowing their level of Biblical literacy or their proficiency with the English language.

Some volunteers from our team helped make waffles for those who attended – a real treat! Waffles were served throughout the Bible study. Which normally wouldn’t have been a problem. But then, waffle batter also doesn’t normally explode.

more “Exploding Waffle Batter” …

It’s essential for missionaries to learn the culture in which they minister. In the American Baptist Churches, pastors and missionaries are trained to learn and honor the history and customs of their ministry contexts. We are very deliberate to avoid ethnocentrism – the practice of inflicting our cultural tastes and preferences onto other peoples. So, as the saying goes, “When in Hungary, do as the Hungarians do.”

more “Hello, Debrecen” …

When the team arrived to Budapest on Saturday morning, an airport transfer service was standing by to bring us to Debrecen (about a 2.5 hour drive). Our group of 10 was divided into two minivans. But the second minivan would have two additional passengers: Ahmed and his mother.

more “It Really Is A Small World (After All)” …

The first day of any mission trip is often the most stressful. Any travel has the potential to be stressful. Traveling as a group can be stressful. Making it through TSA checkpoints can be very stressful. Traveling to an unknown place where English is not the common language can be exceptionally stressful. Exchanging money to an unfamiliar currency can be downright confusing. Add together all this stress with the near crippling effect of jet-lag-induced exhaustion, and you’ve got a glimpse of our first day in the mission field.

more “Anticipated Stress, Unexpected Blessings” …

For Immediate Release – 5/29/19

Highland, IL, 5/29/2019 – Several members of the First Baptist Church of Highland are traveling to Hungary later this summer to volunteer in local schools there.  The group, including retired educators from the Highland area, will provide general professional support to classroom teachers and English language workshops to elementary school students in the city of Debrecen.

“The Baptist Church in Hungary operates several schools where English is taught as a second language,” explains Rev. Rob Kirbach, pastor at First Baptist Church of Highland. “The students are eager to learn English as it equips them for academic success in a global context.”

Kirbach’s daughter, Ella, represents the youngest member of the group.  The younger Kirbach, who will begin 6th grade this fall, says, “I’m excited to see what school is like in Hungary, to tell them about school here and to learn about their country.”

The Highland group will spend 10 days in Hungary (August 30 – September 10) and will be working alongside teachers and pastors of a mission church in Debrecen, 140 miles east of Budapest.  

In addition to volunteering in local schools, the group will participate in worship services in the Hungarian Baptist Church and visit historic sites in Debrecen and Budapest.

More information about this effort can be found on the church’s website.  The church is also seeking donations to help fund this trip; information about giving can be found online at fbchighland.org.

# # #

If you would like more information about this topic or about the Highland group, please contact Rev. Rob Kirbach at (618) 654-4145 or by email at pastor@fbchighland.org.  

We’re excited to announce we’ve been awarded a mission grant from the American Baptist Churches – Great Rivers Region! This grant, available to congregations engaging in a new ministry or mission effort, gives us a significant boost in our fundraising efforts! The total grant award is $1,500. That’s 25% of our fundraising goal!

---

Here is part of the grant proposal narrative written by Pastor Rob…

Every so often God’s Spirit makes its presence known in profound ways, nudging and tugging a congregation to step out of its comfort zone and expand its impact.  Such is the case with the First Baptist Church of Highland. After much prayer and discernment, it has become clear to us that God’s Spirit is leading us to Debrecen, Hungary, for a mission trip of discipleship and evangelism in support of IM Global Servants Jon and Amanda Good.  

Our congregation has a long history of local, regional, and global mission support.  In fact, we’re pleased to share that, in 2018, $0.15 of every $1 received by our church treasury went back out into the mission field in some capacity.  Our members routinely volunteer with local neighborhood missions and outreach projects as we recognize the mission of the church extends well beyond the walls of our building.  However, never before in our congregation’s 70-year history have we answered God’s call to go into the mission field in the form of a short-term mission trip.  

Beginning in the spring of 2018, we began diligently praying, discerning if it was within God’s will for our church to organize its first-ever mission trip.  God answered clearly through the affirmation of both our IM Global Servants and our congregation’s membership!  

An identifying element of our congregation’s membership is a significant number of retired school educators.  A core aspect of Jon and Amanda Good’s mission in Hungary is working in Debrecen schools operated by the Baptist Church there. Sometimes God’s will is made especially clear; such was the case for us.  Why not take our retired teachers to Hungary to support, encourage, guide, and help the Goods in their efforts to provide English language classes and discipling workshops to Hungarian children and families?  From this purpose, our congregation’s new mission was born.  This summer (August 30 – September 10, 2019), our congregation will send a group of ten dedicated individuals to Hungary to minister in a way our congregation has never previously experienced.  We will be teaching in the Hungarian schools and discipling in the Hungarian Baptist Church. We will be sharing God’s love by giving our time and talents to a people we’ve never before engaged.  Not only will this be our congregation’s first-ever mission trip, this will also be the first foreign mission trip for each member of our mission team! Following the nudging of the Holy Spirit, God is leading us to new ministries in new places!  

On Saturday morning, May 18, our team met for its first pre-trip orientation and training. This session was lead via video-conference by Rev. Sandra Dorisainvil, director of short-term missions for our denomination’s International Ministries.

At this session participants engaged the biblical concept of being a “stranger,” recognizing the cultural sensitivities of traveling to a foreign land. We were reminded of the ethics of being a guest in another country; this serves as the foundation of our journey.

In the American Baptist Churches, our global servants (missionaries) are trained to identify the needs of the people they serve, then work to generously and lovingly provide for those needs. We don’t presume to know what’s best for those we serve, and we recognize that we will grow in our knowledge and faith by setting aside out own cultural and personal tendencies to meet the needs of another.

We also began discussing some practical considerations for traveling such a great distance. One of our team members said of this training, “The trip is beginning to feel very real now.”

Please pray for our team as we prepare for this journey. Pray for our safety and effectiveness in ministry, but also for our own spiritual growth. It’s very often the case that those who engage in this type of ministry return with a new sense of God’s presence in life. Pray that God would begin molding the hearts of all involved in this effort. And pray for our church; that we might do all we can to support those from our midst who have answered God’s call to serve in this way.

Planning for this mission trip began roughly one year ago – long before anyone had committed to traveling to the far edge of Eastern Europe. Guided by faith, this trip began with a prayer: “Lord, what can this congregation do to serve you in the world?” Over time the answer became clearer.

We’re already a mission-focused church. In fact, last year our congregational missions giving exceeded 14% of our annual operating budget. To be precise, in 2018 $0.15 of every $1.00 received by our church treasury went right back out to the mission field – both locally and globally. In an era when so many churches are struggling with self-preservation, I’m overwhelmed with this congregation’s commitment to missions.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

Isaiah 6:8

Once the details of the trip began to emerge and it became time to recruit team members, I was overcome with enthusiasm at the response. It takes faith to say to the Lord as Isaiah did, “Here I am. Send me.” Yet several did.

more “A Willingness to Serve; A Team is Formed” …