HOW DID WE GET HERE?
On our first date in our freshman year at Ozark Christian College, I (Mac) looked across the table at Olivia and asked, “Is there anywhere you wouldn’t go and anything you wouldn’t do for the Gospel?” “No,” she replied without thinking. Little did she know that God would put both of our hypotheticals into real-time. As a newly married college student the summer before our final year I had the opportunity to go with Sunnybrook Christian Church to check out a ministry in Poland. Excited about the idea of going to Europe and having time off from work, I did not foresee how that trip would affect me. As it turned out, the European vacation I was expecting ended up being a grueling service project in the basement of a nursing home in a not-so-pleasant city scraping plaster and paint (which I am convinced contained asbestos) off the walls. Sitting in a hotel room after the day’s work I saw in my mind’s eye the word “Here.”
Roughly a year and a half later we were saying goodbye to our families and boarding a plane to Poland. In the Spring of 2019, we moved into our apartment in the city of Piotrków (Piotr-koov), along with one other couple to begin the tedious work of getting to know the city and building relationships from the ground up. We began by offering free English lessons to people of all ages. Within two weeks of opening, we were full. Our ministry in the city would continue to meet people and build relationships, all the while working in other areas of Proem’s ministry.
PROEM MINISTRIES
Proem was started shortly after the fall of Communism in 1989. Originally focused on providing summer camps for kids, it has since grown into what we consider to be the four umbrellas of our ministry: Zako, Edu, Tomy, and Help.
Proem Zako represents the summer camp located in Zakościele (Za-ko-shchele). Every summer we focus our attention to the camp. For 8 weeks we move into the hotel and serve in a wide range of capacities. Through this ministry, thousands of kids from Poland and neighboring countries are able to hear and respond to the Gospel. Many students who attended in the first years of the ministry have remained faithful and are now sending their children.
Proem Edu represents a school we run in Tomaszów (To-ma-shoov). Originally started to provide after-school/daycare for kids, it eventually evolved into a preschool and the preschool evolved into elementary, adding one grade as the original preschoolers would “age out.” In 2020 the original preschool class graduated from our high school. Currently, the school has roughly 300 students (virtually all from non-evangelical families).
Proem Tomy represents churches and church planting. As a result of the Proem staff living alongside non-believers, the Spirit brought people to faith. The need arose for a local church. Although Poland registers as 90% Catholic, justification in Polish Catholicism still holds to pre-Reformation principles which are fundamentally antithetical to the Gospel. I often compare the spiritual landscape to the religious legalism of 1st-century pharisaism. Polish Christians (In Poland people consider the transition from Polish Catholicism to Christianity as a conversion) are considered to be standing in opposition to their culture, tradition, and families. And as a result, virtually everyone who is a part of our churches is a 1st generation Christian and face similar social and religious pressure as the 1st-century church. Yet in spite of this opposition, the churches have grown. The original church plant is in the city of Tomaszów with a second church plant in the city of Łódź (Woo-dge) and a church in Piotrków in the near future.
Proem Help represents our service efforts, both with international and national partners. It also represents our tech and media team that weaves in and out of the other areas of ministry.
In the Fall of 2021 we began hosting monthly worship services, and a weekly Bible study. Looking ahead we will continue to offer English, worship services, and Bible study in Piotrków as well as various workshops ranging in topics from mental health and parenting to macrame and coffee. Our hope and desire is that as we continue to share the message of the Gospel that many would see the perfect character of God on full display and respond with joyous affection in faith.
WAYS THAT YOU CAN PRAY FOR PROEM, POLAND, AND THE JOHNSON FAMILY
- Pray that the ministers of Proem would both live and speak with boldness concerning the grace and freedom that we possess.
- Pray for the people of Poland to be prepared by the Holy Spirit in preparation for hearing the Word.
- Pray for peace for the region as tensions with Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus, continue to rise; that God would prepare his people in Poland to respond regardless of the circumstances.
- And lastly, pray for our family to continue to experience the joy of relying on God for every good thing.
Mac & Olivia Johnson
Mac & Olivia Johnson serve with Proem Ministries and have two daughters, Heidi, and Hallie. They have been living in Poland since February of 2019 in the city of Piotrków Trybunalski. As evangelists and church planters they serve through various programs and projects to connect people to the hope and freedom that can only be found in Jesus.
Impact Initiative
Partnering with church planters and organizations to establish churches around the world.
