Poland
Julia's family watched her sink further and further into mental anguish. Would anyone be able to get through to her in time?
Julia felt like she was drowning, though she stood on firm, dry Polish soil.
She hunched her shoulders forward and clutched at her chest as the rising fear within it gave way to a tightness so intense she thought she might burst.
Around her, the world hummed along ordinarily as people went about their everyday business calmly. But her mind wasn’t at peace. It was more like a war zone. The familiar accusations were coming from every direction like body blows.
“You’re worthless.”
“Your life is meaningless.”
She’d only just catch her breath after one before the next pummeled her.
“You aren’t good enough.”
“You don’t have anything to offer.”
Julia’s youthful, pretty smile could’ve lit up an entire ballroom. But she rarely did it. Her eyes usually appeared hollow, and dull - like the sunken eyes of a lifeless doll.
Her teachers and family could see the writing on the wall. The trajectory she was on didn’t end well. Those who tried to get through to her seemed to fail time after time, attempt after attempt.
There were, however, some people who could reach her by the power of the Holy Spirit in their own lives. And the Lord was about to cause their paths to cross.
No one expected it to happen the way it did.
Julia loves to sing. She has a show-stopping, beautiful voice. But all her life, she’d heard her inner voice criticize, “You can’t sing.”
She joined a local gospel music choir, where perhaps she was hoping no one would notice that she “couldn’t sing.”
That gospel music choir was ITMI’s Gospel Joy Choir.
A Gospel Joy Choir performance in Poland.
Then Julia’s turning point came.
Julia was with her choir one evening. Many of her peers were sharing their stories of how the Father had worked in their own lives, bringing them to the understanding of the Gospel.
In their various ways they were explaining that all their lives they’d known they were sinful and not good enough to please God on their own.
That’s a message that comes through clearly in Poland.
But many are blown away to hear the second half of the Gospel. To discover that the same God who condemns their sin has also provided a way to deal with it by sending His son, Jesus, to take the punishment for it.
As she listened to the testimonies, something broke. Julia felt a desire to follow Jesus and trusted him with her life.
What happened next?
ITMI’s Andrew Gorski, Director of Gospel Joy Workshops and Evangelism relayed, “God did what He usually does - turned her life upside down!”
ITMI's Andrew and Anna Gorski, Poland.
Today there’s a different Julia. The old one is gone.
Baca, the Director of Gospel Joy Choir and Andrew’s sister, describes the change this way,
“God completely changed her in every aspect of her life. She’s still this beautiful and talented young person, but now she’s smiling all the time and worshipping God with her mouth. Depression is gone, as are all the lies about her. She’s better and better in her singing, showing the world that it is God, not her, who changes people.”
Julia, who once believed she couldn’t sing, is one of the soloists featured on the new Gospel Joy album coming out soon!
Just five seconds in to this promo video for the album, Julia’s joy can be seen in a clip of her solo in “Joyful, Joyful, Lord We Adore Thee.”
Julia’s breakthrough is helping Gospel Joy reach others, too!
People like Julia find out about Gospel Joy through the choir’s albums, performances and events. The excitement in the music draws them in and raises questions, because it challenges their previous experiences with religion.
Many find the answers they are looking for through Gospel Joy’s other ministries like weekend workshops and small Bible study groups. But all who hear the Gospel Joy Choir, whether recorded or in person, have the opportunity to seek out the answers to their questions.
At Gospel Joy Workshops, participants spend a weekend learning gospel music and the truth that inspired it.
After attending a workshop, participants have the opportunity to sign up for a weekly Bible discussion group to learn more about what they've discovered during the workshop.
This is what partnering with ITMI’s godly national believers does. It puts people who want to make a difference in cohort with others who are in positions to share Jesus with those who have never heard they can have a relationship with Him.
Only a Polish national could have had their fingers on the pulse of their country to recognize the Gospel Music trend as a powerful medium to reach thousands with the Good News in a fresh and effective way.
But our godly nationals like Andrew need help to pull off a ministry with the scale and impact that Gospel Joy has. They simply couldn’t have done it without support.
They can’t reach people like Julia without faithful believers standing with them as they declare the Gospel to thousands.
“I know Julia will keep sharing her story and Holy Spirit will work through her, just like He did through us in her life. To see such a change is the most amazing feeling one can imagine!” says Andrew, “Dear friends, brothers and sisters, thank you for praying and supporting God’s mission around the world!”
