Mingling toil with peace and rest

Six years after their last visit, Daryl and Julia Jones returned to Poland in April 2025 to see Andrzej and Monika Kempczyński and the church in Legionowo.

After Andrzej completed his studies at London Seminary in 2009, he and Monika were sent back to their native Poland by their church, Grace Baptist Chapel in Tottenham. The work in Legionowo is hard and slow, mainly due to the widely held belief that to be Polish is to be Roman Catholic.

There is also another factor which is unhelpful for church growth. Legionowo, a pleasant town of around 54,000, serves as a dormitory town for the many commuters who take the regular twenty-minute train journey into Warsaw for work. As you may know, in a small church there is no room for passengers. Some Christians in Legionowo also choose to commute to church, where less might be expected and everything—such as children’s and youth work—is provided. Thinking back to our last visit, it was evident that not many who were in the church then are still investing in the work alongside Andrzej and Monika. Yet they, and the church as it now is, seem to be in good heart. One cause for great thankfulness is that they have seen some coming to faith and testifying in baptism in the past couple of years.

The heart of the church

We saw, and had the opportunity to get to know, the heart of the church on the Saturday evening of our visit. We joined with the members as they gathered in the building that is used for Andrzej’s office and for other smaller meetings. They had come together for their monthly celebration of the Lord’s Supper—doing it in a way that reflects something of how it was first established by Jesus when he shared a meal with his closest followers.

A few members were unable to attend, either being unwell or having other commitments. But each one who was able to be there brought a contribution of food to be shared. Andrzej began the time together with a reading from 1 Corinthians 11, then he prayed and said a little about what we were doing. After that, the bread was passed around and eaten. Then we continued with the shared meal. We enjoyed some lovely Polish food, and they seemed to enjoy the mini hot cross buns that we had contributed. There was an hour or so of good fellowship, chatting together, hearing how the Lord had been at work in their lives, and of the challenges and needs that they face. They were interested in our lives and ministries too. For us it was very helpful that all except one spoke English fluently!

Then Andrzej read again from the Scriptures and prayed, and the cup was passed around and shared. This was followed by sharing the needs of the church and personal requests, with a time of open prayer, in Polish. Continuing around the table, we sang together, with Monika accompanying us on her guitar. Since their song books are, naturally, in Polish, we were glad to be able to quickly find the lyrics in English on our phones and so join in this part of the worship too. One of the songs was unfamiliar to us, but expressed so well what had been spoken of both in our conversation and in the requests for prayer. Here is how it begins:

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure,
Gives unto each day what He deems best,
Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

                                    Lina Sandell

The evening ended with good teamwork as everyone tidied the room and left, looking forward to meeting together again the next day.

A better venue

For many years the church had met in a building that had served it well, until the landlord decided to increase the rent. They took this as the opportunity to pray and look around for a new venue. The church have now found somewhere much better than they had before—and it couldn’t be more central to the lives of the many Legionowo residents who commute regularly into Warsaw. The church now meets in a room at the railway station, and they have a poster advertising their meetings where hundreds of commuters pass each day. The church uses the second floor of what is a community hub—meeting in the well-maintained main room with its interesting domed roof and comfortable seating. This is often used as a theatre and for other events. Other rooms are off to the side, one is full of computers which educational groups use—so it is a venue that many from the town will have already been to—and it has a lift, which is a real bonus. Both the rent and the management are favourable to the church and the manager is very helpful, even allowing them to have a large cupboard in which they can store their equipment. Yet the gathering remains small; it was the same people who had been there the previous evening, plus a young man called Boris who has been attending for a couple of years but hasn’t yet professed faith.

During our visit we had the opportunity to share a meal with Marek, the head of the Baptist Church in Poland. He serves around one hundred churches, of which Legionowo is a ‘mission station’ (it is officially deemed a ‘church’ once it has fifteen members). It was clear that Marek stood exactly where we did theologically and on today’s ethical issues. The extra fellowship with likeminded pastors and churches is great encouragement to Andrzej.

Working hard

Andrzej and Monika continue to work hard so that the church functions well, though Andrzej is the only church officer. Monika is glad that there are now other musicians to share that task with her. There are only three children who regularly attend with their mother. Andrzej and Monika would love to have more children, and workers, and to be able to start a Sunday School. Andrzej is constantly coming up with new ideas to reach the people of the town and the surrounding villages. He’s thankful for the skill of a member who enabled them to put out short evangelistic videos on social media around Easter, and for Bartek, who is now beginning to preach and so can cover for Andrzej when needed.

Please continue to pray for Andrzej and Monika and this small church: that they would not become weary or lose heart but rejoice in the peace and rest they have in Christ; that people would respond to their evangelistic initiatives; that commuters would see their poster and choose to go along to a service—and that the Lord would grow his church in Legionowo, making it shine ever more brightly in the town as a beacon of the true hope and peace that cannot be found by observing a formal religion, but only by knowing the Saviour.