Poland
To commemorate your 35-year ministry as partners with us, we’re publishing stories from our ITMI Monthly newsletter archives. We’re praying with each article, you’ll be reminded of all God has done and moved to give Him glory and praise.
Rev. Piotr (Peter) Zaremba (40) is senior pastor of the First Baptist Church in Poznan, Poland. It is the fastest growing congregation in the country. In addition, he deacons, a school for English language, and an International Church for English-speaking people. Other ministries include a charity fund, youth camps, and providing Christian literature for Christians and non-Christians.
Pastor Zaremba holds a graduate degree in Systematic Theology and Ethics from the Baptist Seminary in Warsaw. After graduation, the Baptist Union of Poland appointed him Youth Director, a position he held for seven years. His hearth was for the pastorate, and ten years ago he accepted the challenge to plan a church in Pozan – Poland’s second largest city.
Under his ministry the Pozan church emphasizes evangelistic outreach and preparing members for ministry. They have multiplied in recent years, planting two other churches in the city and a congregation in Gniezno, about 35 miles away. Poland’s is a post-communist country. It is predominately Roman Catholic (95%) and evangelicals are often looked upon as a cult.
Piotr Zaremba translating, 2001.
Pastor Zaremba is a translator,* writer, editor, consultant of theological literature and director of IN TOUCH MISSION in Poland. The Baptist Union of Poland appointed him as a Bible translator. He is still a much sought after youth conference speaker while continuing to teach Systematic Theology and Ethics at the Baptist Seminary in Warsaw. Currently his most ambitions project is translating the New Testament from Greek to Polish.
Piotr and his wife, Krystyna (a medical doctor and teacher of German) have three children: Karolina (15), Dorota (12), and Tymoteusz (9). They reside in a house shared with several other ministry people and interns.
Piotr and his wife, Krystyna
- Other works translated by Pastor Zaremba, include: Cgristian Theology by Milliard Ericson, Basic Theology by Charles Ryrie, Evangelism Explosion by D. James Kennedy, MasterLife Discipleship Couse by Arthur Willis, Church Dynamics (Biblical Education by Extension), Dogmatics (Biblical Education by Extension), Alive to God (Daily devotionals, co-author and editor for five year-round series), Crisis of Conscience by Raymond Franz, The Foundations of Biblical Preaching by Al Fasol and Explore The Book by J. Sidlow Baxter.
Compiled by Bill Bathman, January 15, 2001
In 1981, after 30 years of ministry in Europe, Bill Bathman founded In Touch Mission International in Tempe, AZ with the help of his wife Harriett. Under their leadership, ITMI established a reputation for integrity and effective ministry overseas. Beginning in England as an evangelist, Bill was later called during the Communist years to minister to Christians behind the Iron Curtain. Bill and Harriett did so from a mission base in Salzburg, Austria which provided convenient entry into the mission field of Eastern Europe. In 1981, the Bathmans further expanded their ministry to include restricted access areas in Africa by founding In Touch Mission International (ITMI) in Tempe, Arizona.
