May 12, 2024 (IBA) - On May 12, 2024, a joint Sunday service and annual assembly of the Baptist Church Zagreb (BC Zagreb) were held in the hall of the Academia Hotel, Zagreb, in which the faithful of both Sunday morning services (Croatian and international) participated. The service was bilingual with English translation.
The opening prayer and greeting was given by Pastor Željko Mraz, Secretary General of the Union of Baptist Churches in the Republic of Croatia (SBC RH), who read the words of Psalm 133, and after that groups of children performed an appropriate program and gift giving to mothers on the occasion of Mother's Day..
After a time of worship, which was led by the music team of BC Zagreb, Filip Grujić, the pastor of BC Zagreb, said that this service begins a new series of sermons entitiled "To the ends of the earth" from the book of Acts.
Reading the text from the Acts of the Apostles 1:6-11, Pastor Grujić announced that today's sermon is entitled "The Mission". Jesus Christ, regardless of the disciples' expectations about the re-establishment of the kingdom in Israel, indicates that it is the heavenly authority that determines the time and date, while he directs the disciples to receive the Holy Spirit in order to be fulfilled for the mission of spreading the Good News.
After Jesus Christ ascended and was enthroned in heaven, he came to the end of a previous way of life, but also begins a new beginning, Pastor Grujić pointed out, emphasizing the words in line 11 "why do you stand and looking into heaven". "Our gaze is directed upward and we have mastered well where to look, but perhaps we can feel that the life of a witness should be more than that." We should be ready to surrender to God's guidance in life, be ready to use our talents and thus be a blessing and a testimony to the people around s, to our neighbors.
"Being witnesses - we don't need some special permission or mandate for that, and it's not reserved for special people - it's a mission that all of us who have believed in Christ as his disciples have already received! Moreover, it is a responsibility that comes with the power of the Holy Spirit," Pastor Grujić concluded.
BC Zagreb elder Momir Blažek spoke about the booklet Christ 365, where one can find experiences of the Holy Spirit's action in the lives of individuals and how God has acted through them in the lives of others.
At the end of the service, the annual assembly of BC Zagreb was held, where members of BC Zagreb adopted the Report on Church Work in 2023.
Pastor Grujić spoke in particular about the work of the team "Naš dom" (Our house), whose activities are concerned with the restoration of the church building in Radićeva street after the earthquake, solving the question of ownership of a part of that space, and the need to search for a new location, which is connected with the process of reconstruction of the current church premises.
After a brief chronological review of the various historical locations of the Baptist Church in Zagreb in the period from the 1890s to the present day, Pastor Grujić emphasized that this is now a unique moment for the community.
Due to growth due to the arrival of new people in the community, the growth of international worship, and due to the natural increase that the church has experienced in the last few years with the birth of over 30 children, it is quite apparent that the current space is becoming too small for the needs of the community, but also a limiting factor for the further development of BC Zagreb. Along with the problems of lack of parking and accessibility, as well as the recent construction project of complete renovation that will force the church to move out of its current space for a long period, "we recognize that this is the right moment that calls for bold action" - Pastor Grujić pointed out.
After a short introduction to potential spaces in the wider city center, pastor Grujić especially invited the faithful to unite in prayer and ask the Lord to open the door while solutions are sought in the real estate market as well as in discussions with representatives of local and state authorities, and he invited the faithful to prayer services in the church and encouraged those present with the biblical words "what is impossible for man, is possible for God!". The project to collect funds and search for an alternative location for BC Zagreb was called the "Kairos project" - from the Greek: the right moment that calls for bold action.
At the end of the assembly, pastor Ivica Horvat, president of the SBC of the Republic of Croatia, and an elder of BC Zagreb, Ivan Vučetić, led prayers for the expressed needs, and the fellowship of the faithful continued with a reception.
