Members and friends of Lisburn�s Polish Mission Church pictured at their second birthday party in the Kingdom Life City Church, Lisburn.

A special celebration service in the Kingdom Life City Church, Lisburn on Sunday 21st September marked the second anniversary of Lisburn�s Polish Mission Church. Szczepan (Stephan) Cackowski assisted by translator Kamila Nowicka led the service and Lukasz Nowicki accompanied by members of the talented church band led the lively worship. During the evening a video was presented recalling memories of all the trips, sports, fun and fellowship enjoyed during their second year. Following a quiz where the Polish members pitted their wits against local well-wishers, some members of the congregation shared how God had changed their lives through the Polish Mission Church. Brian Agnew, Pastor of the Kingdom Life City Church gave an interesting account of how with the help of Hillsborough couple Mervyn and Elizabeth Gilpin, the Polish Mission Church came into being and spoke of the events leading up to their first service in Lisburn on 3rd September 2006.

Following the anniversary service, the congregation enjoyed a taste of Poland as they tucked into a delicious selection of Polish food and mouth-watering desserts.

At the beginning of next month, Lisburn Polish Mission Church leader Szczepan Cackowski will take up an appointment as full time Polish Evangelist reaching out to the Polish community which consists of about 30,000 in Northern Ireland and 150,000 in Southern Ireland; his job will also include offering help in filling in forms and applications etc. Speaking of his appointment, Szczepan said that he was looking forward to building bridges within the community of Lisburn and beyond.

Szczepan and Kamila Cackowscy Polish Mission Church leaders.	At Lisburn�s Polish Mission Church second birthday party are L to R. (seated) Monika and Przemyslaw Feliga, Szczepan and Kamila Cackowscy and Lukasz and Kamila Nowicki. (back row) Brian and Mary Agnew (Kingdom Life), Slawomir and Katarzyna Cichy and Elizabeth and Mervyn Gilpin (Founder members).

Brief history of the Polish Mission Church
The Polish Mission Church was started in Lisburn in September 2006. Since the very beginning, the Kingdom Life City Church (Lisburn) took them under their wings and allowed them to use their church building and experience in building a Christian fellowship. Because of its unique character, PMC is an ecumenical church and does not belong to any denomination. There are people from many Christian churches in Poland who are involved in the creation and development of PMC including Baptist Church, Catholic Church, Church of Evangelical Christians, Church of Free Christians, God�s Church in Christ, Pentecostal Church and others.

First steps
In the beginning a cell group of about 15 people met at different homes. The home group, which had an informal character, concentrated on studying the truths of the Bible and building relationships between its members. As time went by, the people who initially came to the UK to secure their financial well being, desired to organise meetings so that others could become part of the fellowship. With this in mind on 3rd September 2006, Polish Mission Church started meeting on the first and third Sunday of each month. Because of its interdenominational character the services are not always the same. They believe that Church is not only about religious practices and rituals (different in various churches) but also most of all about fellowship of believers who meet together to worship God together and share their faith with others. Therefore during their services there is time for studying the Bible, worshipping with songs, prayer as well as for a fellowship over a cup of tea or coffee.

PMC activities
The principles of PMC underline the importance of relationships with other Christians as a visible reflection of their Christian faith in everyday life. Therefore the life of the church does not only restrain to Sunday services. Very often they organise a range of activities including bowling, ice-skating, visits to a gym, swimming pool or trips to various places. This helps them develop the existing relationships and establish new ones. Other events included: Polish Picnics, Polish Christmas Eve and even �Smingus-Dyngus� (a traditional Polish way of celebrating Easter by pouring water on each other). The desire of PMC consists of not only �religious activity� but also meeting the needs of Polish people who live here, far away from their families and loved ones. Therefore PMC is actively cooperating with the local community, as well as different churches and organisations and as a result of that, the following undertakings were possible: collection of furniture for people in need, taking part in a Polish mass, services of many Irish churches, Festival of Christian Music, help in teaching English, Polish-Irish New Year�s Eve, Polish-Irish services and any others.

What a church means for us
PMC wants to break the stereotype that a church is a building. On the basis of Biblical teaching they teach that Church is a body, the Head of which is Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23) and the members of the body are people who believe in God, no matter what their denomination is. Everybody who wants to put Biblical teaching into practice and fulfil the will of God for their life can find their place in PMC. It is also a place for those who are still seeking for something more in their lives, someone whom they could truly trust and dedicate their attention, time and life to. They believe God is the one they are longing for. As people who come from different Christian backgrounds and churches, they respect all of them. However, as people with different experiences they try to discover the truths of the Bible together, not necessarily following a doctrine of one particular denomination but rather focussing on the essence of Christianity, which is found in the Bible. This approach does not come from a willingness to disrespect the teaching of any of them; they want to focus on what brings us together rather than what draws us apart. Therefore, as the foundation for their faith they consider the truth, that there is one God, �who so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal live� (John 3:16).

Contribution of others
An undeniable role in building the unique fellowship of PMC was played by the Kingdom Life Faith Centre (Lisburn) who opened their hearts and doors for them. Without their support, the new fellowship would not be able to enjoy what is probably the first Polish Church in the UK. Their help and involvement is God�s answer to many of the prayers of PMC leaders who feel that as Polish people living in a foreign country, they should not live apart from the local community.

For more information on the Polish Mission Church go to www.pmc.info.pl or contact Szczepan (Stephan) Cackowski on 07940709241.
 
23/09/2008