Centennial Corner: Igatpuri to Gdansk

The flag of Nazarene Missions was planted in 1898. Pearl Simmons and four missionary colleagues arrived via oxcart in the heat and dust of India at a small town called Igatpuri. There they began work for what would become the Church of the Nazarene. Even before the official founding of the Church of the Nazarene in 1908, missions was planted at the heart and in the soul of the denomination. The sponsoring Board of Missions began to send missionaries and develop the church in other new areas, such as Guatemala, Swaziland, and China. This board was folded into the General Board of the Church of the Nazarene in 1923. Fast forward 105 years to northern Poland in the beautiful city of Gdansk on the Baltic Sea. David and Simona Berdowski have arrived and are living in a flat (apartment) purchased with Alabaster and World Evangelism Fund overpayment monies. There, at the end of December 2004, they began services in a growing suburb with young families who have lots of children. They are digging out the work of the church just as Pearl Simmons did so long ago. David was born in Poland but spent his teen years in Germany as a wild nonbeliever. As Providence would guide, he met Simona, a young Christian lady from Romania who was part of an evangelistic team. They fell in love and eventually married. David came to the Lord and they both came to the Church of the Nazarene in Romania. After graduating from European Nazarene College, both felt a definite call to return to Poland to plant the Church of the Nazarene. And there they are today, expressing the deep meaning of holiness evangelism. These are days of incredible challenge. During the last 106 years, and especially the last 15 years, the Church of the Nazarene has exploded into 148 areas, planting itself as missionaries were sent, as new leaders emerged, as incredible opportunities arose. World Mission is in the business of developing the church—all the way from Igatpuri to Gdansk. Louie E. Bustle is the director of World Mission for the Church of the Nazarene. Holiness Today, March/April 2005

 

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