A half century of Communist regime and a millennium of Catholicism have created shuttered hearts among the Hungarian people, making it difficult to reach them with the gospel.
Nonetheless, missionaries from the United States are finding that a partnership with national Baptists allows them to reach the people with the good news of Jesus.
Mark Aderholt, International Mission Board (IMB) missionary in Budapest, said, “We (IMB) have a rich, historical relationship with the Hungarian Baptists.”
Aderholt continued, “Our hearts beat very similarly when it comes to exhausting all efforts to reach the lost of this city and country.”
Although the government of Hungary no longer prohibits evangelicals from working within the nation, the Hungarian Baptist Union makes the process easier by issuing official “letters of invitation” to the IMB missionaries.
According to Aderholt, this makes it possible for the missionaries to obtain long-term visas needed to enter and remain in the country.
The Western Hungary team also works alongside Hungarian Baptists. Strategy coordinator Ron Brown said, “We recognize that it is essential to work together whenever possible.”
Crucial teamwork
“Our team members attend Baptist churches and intentionally model evangelism and discipleship and involve members in the process,” he said.
The team’s focus is on starting churches, and Baptist nationals are crucial for this. Brown explained the strategy they are working on.
“We will have IMB missionaries in strategic cities and towns to pursue multiple church starts using house churches,” Brown said. “They will develop and equip local leadership for new church starts, quickly turning leadership over to national believers, then moving on to the next strategic town or city.”
A lack of workers fluent in the difficult Hungarian language makes the work proceed slowly. The Baptist church in Hungary is small in number and struggling for survival.
Brown compared it to a doughnut with sprinkles. “Baptists and evangelicals in Hungary would be a doughnut with only a few random sprinkles here and there compared to a doughnut that has a generous spread of sprinkles spilling over the top.”
One example of the close-knit relationship between the IMB workers and Hungarian Baptists is the Zakor family. The Zakors have been living and working in Sárvár for five years, slowly building relationships with the population.
The Zakors are working with IMB journeyman missionaries Aubrey Billingsley and Cindy Gavin to present English As a Second Language classes, children’s programs, and musical concerts.
Successful venture
A volunteer group from Colorado recently spent a week with the Western Hungary team. Volunteer Jay Moyers described one of their projects. “In a true partnership, we joined the missionaries and the Hungarian Baptists to put on a nightly coffeehouse. Young people and street people came in to share American snacks, hear Christian music, talk and laugh. Members of our team shared testimonies.”
Ten to 12 people came to the coffeehouse every night, and a Bible study has started as a result. The coffeehouse was so successful that the local youth group plans to continue the ministry.
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