The Goal For This Center

• To raise up and train leaders to reach Poland and the surrounding countries.

• To collaborate with other ministries in Poland, Germany, and Scandinavia to make disciples to the glory of God.

• To begin ministries with the goal to reach the city of Szczecin and the surrounding communities.

Szczecin Baptist Church History

In 1844 there was revival in the city of Szczecin, led by a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars, Jan Fryderyk Klauder through a small Bible study group. Klauder had an encounter with Christ while reading the New Testament. After this experience, he began to preach about the Bible truths he had discovered. In time, he began to wonder about the merits of infant baptism and shared his thoughts with his friends in the Bible study group. In 1845, Klauder read in a newspaper about the existence of a Baptist congregation in the city of Berlin that practiced believers baptism. After that, he got the address of Lehman - a member of the Berlin church, whom he inquired about Baptist beliefs. In response, the church in Berlin sent two delegates, Klinker and Steinberg. These two were surprised to find around 200 people willing to listen to their views. The two, together with the Szczecin group, spent some time talking and studying the Bible. The group from Szczecin was very encouraged and satisfied with the stay of the guests, but no decisions were made during their visit. After the departure of the Berliners, the inhabitants of Szczecin diligently studied the literature left by the guests and came to the conclusion that the Baptists' position was consistent with the Bible. Jan Klauder, Fritz Ehrke and August Haese went to Berlin, where on January 28, 1846 They were baptized by Hinrichs. After returning, February 8, 1846, the first Baptist baptism took place in Szczecin. It took place in Zalew Szczeciński and 8 people were baptized. Six months later, about 120 people had been baptized.

However, not everyone in the previous Bible study group took this step. Some were deterred by the persecution that befell the newly baptized.

Baptist meetings were banned by the authorities, and policemen were stationed in front of Klauder's house, who did not allow any visitors. In this situation, Klauder decided to take a bold step - he went to Berlin to the Prussian court to present his case to the king. Undoubtedly, the decorations he won during the Napoleonic Wars helped him to obtain an audience. The result of this meeting was a royal order to the Szczecin office not to interfere with Klauder's religious practices in recognition of his military merits.

In the same year, the second Baptist church was founded. The two congregations united in 1849. In July that year, the merged church hosted the 2nd District Conference of the Prussian Union of Churches. There is a note from that period in the archives about the extraordinary generosity of the inhabitants of Szczecin, who collected gold jewelry for mission purposes. Their missionary spirit was expressed not only in donations, but also in hard missionary work. This resulted in the establishments in Recz, Czarne, Barlinek, Miastko, Mieszewo and Dobra. The institution in Recz became independent the fastest, and in 1856 it became a congregation of 120 people.

By 1909, 942 people had been baptized into the church in Szczecin. Due to continued growth, another congregation was formed in 1905, with 235 members, increasing to 389 after 4 years.

The time of two world wars was a time of uncertainty for everyone. After World War II, the Germans had to leave this area. It seemed that this might end the presence of the Baptists in Szczecin and its vicinity, but God had other plans. After the war, Julian Kuryłowicz came and initiated the existence of a Baptist church in Polish Szczecin. He led the congregation with one break, spanning from September 23, 1949, until October 10, 1950, during which time the congregation was led by Marian Szajner. After Kuryłowicz, the office of pastor was taken over by Aleksander Kisiel, who worked in this church until July 9, 1958. After him, Bolesław Kołodziej came for a little over a year. There came a period when there was no pastor, however, the church continued to function thanks to Mikołaj Radyk and Henryk Zaremba. At the end of 1960, Aleksander Huryn became pastor and worked for several years. After his departure, brothers Piotr and Tadeusz Terefenko cared for the church. During this time, the church sent invitations to 3 pastors, and on September 6, 1970, Władysław Wakuła was elected pastor and served for over 30 years- the longest-serving pastor in the post-war history of the church. After him, Gustaw Cieślar, Lech Kłodziński, Bartosz Kaczorek and Janusz Zwierzchowski all served as pastors. Currently, the pastor is Robert Merecz.

The church has been meeting since 1855 in the building it built at 4 Stoisława Street. After World War II, the building was confiscated from the church and the Baptists had to pay for the use of its chapel for over 50 years. The rest of the building was converted into apartments and workshops. In the early 2000s, the church recovered the building, but it was in disrepair. In 2019, under the leadership of pastor Robert Merecz, the church began the renovation of the building with the desire to reach the city. In February 2023, the church held a service to celebrate what God had done. It was supposed to be the grand opening of the building. However, during the a few months after the church continued attempting to open the building to the public but was unsuccessful due to unmerited requests by the fire department, which stopped them from moving to the next step in the process which were the health and safety and final inspections. By the grace of God, in March of 2024, the church was able to open its doors to the public by having the grand opening of one of its desire ministries, the Fresh Start Café. Subsequently, the church obtained all of the permits necessary to open to the public and be able to host several city wide concerts and events to let the city know of the presence of a Baptist Church. Since communist times and after Szczecin became Polish, the protestant presence is below 2 tenths of one percent. That is to say, that is not widely known anymore that there is a Baptist church in Szczecin. It is the goal of the church to reach out to the community by spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ in the city and letting everyone know that we are here to stay.

In June 2024, the church building was nominated to participate in a nationwide restoration contest. Competing with recent castle renovations in other major cities in the country, the church building came in third place. This was without receiving any funding from the government. God has been using this distinction to bring people to see what has happened there and as a result hear what God is doing in the city.

Click on the link below to visit the church’s website and read more

http://baptysci.szczecin.pl/