New Hope Church, Tuzla

Shoreham Baptist Church is establishing a partnership with New Hope Baptist Church in Tuzla, Bosnia Herzegovina, in conjunction with Living Hope Ministries through their work in Central and Eastern Europe.

The objective of the partnership is to enlarge our vision God's work in the world and to mutually encourage and support each other in our ministry to our respective communities.

Bosnia, one of the poorest countries in Europe, is heading for severe economic problems unless the International community takes action. Much poverty is evident, unemployment is high and there is still tension between ethnic groups. The EU controls the country; Paddy Ashdown is the current EU High Commissioner. The military presence, though much less evident these days, is EUROFOR, consisting of troops from Britain, France, Italy etc. Bosnia has a tri-partite presidency following the Dayton Agreement in 1996. It consists of a rotating presidency by Bosnian, Serb and Croat. Currently the Serbs hold the presidency.

Private visits are not that easy - someone with country and local knowledge is advisable. Landmines are still an issue in many country areas.

Tuzla is one of the largest cities (pop.150000) in Bosnia. It has an old and new town, a university and a major hospital. The town is lively with markets, restaurants, many shops, a large new Slovenian-built shopping mall, even a Tesco! Tuzla has an Orthodox Cathedral, Catholic, Pentecostal, Baptist churches and many Mosques. Tuzla, built on old salt mines, is slowly sinking in places causing frequent localised flooding and buildings to tilt and sink.

New Hope Church, was established about four years ago, meets in a large apartment and in a number of house groups.

The congregation is now over 35 adults and young people.

Services: Sunday morning. Monday (an open forum for visitors) and Thursday evenings.

Former Yugoslavia was a communist country; therefore, Bible knowledge is very limited so Bible teaching has to be very basic. Christian Church is not easy in Bosnia; it has to endure many problems, persecution and little financial support. This makes working in the community and with the people, often were there is great need, very difficult.

But despite the problems, the church is growing and new churches plants are becoming evident in various cities

John, a member of our congregation, has extensive experience of Bosnia following disaster relief, aid, and reconstruction work in the region during and after the Balkan war in the 1990s. John spent time in Mostar in 1993-1994 and lived in Sarajevo 1996-1997, gaining valuable experience of the country, the people and the culture. His wife, Julia had visited Bosnia during this period. John and Julia returned to Bosnia this year to establish links with New Hope Church. They were warmly received everywhere they went and have a deep concern for the people in Bosnia and to serve the church there.

The Pastor of New Hope, lives with his wife and his grandparents in Tuzla. They started the Church about four years ago with four a five people and church growth has been steady under their leadership. They work in the community with the townsfolk, the poor, sick and the young people. They are very happy to be there and, despite the ongoing difficulties, are seeing their labours rewarded with a growing church.

What can we do to help our brothers and sisters in Tuzla?

Support: We can encourage and support the church in Bosnia through our giving, as they have very limited funding and need ongoing financial support

Prayer: We can encourage and support New Hope Church in prayer for:

• Jesus to show His love to the people; bring peace, freedom and healing from the memories and terrible loss caused by the Balkan war
• Jesus to protect the church, the Pastor and his family through persecution, and for the people - for courage, provision, and for individual needs
• The young people - the future of Bosnia and God's church

God is building His church and it is humbling, challenging and a great privilege to work in partnership with God and in unity with our church family in Bosnia.

For further information, please contact John at Shoreham Baptist Church