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    Published: 2024-02-221
    Vol. 65 No. 4 (2023)

    Institutional Education of Pentecostal staff in Poland in the years 1930-1938

    Piotr Nowak

    https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1802-6463
    https://doi.org/10.36124/rt.2023.29

    Abstract

    The Pentecostal movement, originating in the early 20th century in the USA, quickly reached Poland, creating two religious groups, identifying themselves with the Pentecostal doctrine. In 1910, in Cieszyn Silesia, Union of Committed Christians was created and in 1929, Union of Christians of the Evangelical faith with headquarters in Łódź, uniting local Churches from all over Poland, especially Eastern Borderlands. The quickly growing Pentecostal movement needed qualified personnel, ready to take care of emerging local Churches and to continue evangelism. For this reason, already in 1920, Gustaw Herbert Schmidt arrived in Poland – the first Pentecostal missionary officially sent to Poland by the Assemblies of God USA. After a few years of fruitful benevolent, missionary, and teaching activity, Schmidt began making efforts to start a biblical school, preparing ministers for already existing and many emerging local Churches. In 1927, G.H. Schmidt’s efforts led to the creation of the registered in Chicago Eastern European Mission (EEM). In its constitution, the EEM clearly stated the intention of creating a biblical institute in Eastern Europe. Due to organizational and financial support from the US, a Biblical School was opened in Gdansk. In 1935, it became a Biblical Institute, which existed until 1938. During its existence, this first Pentecostal theological school in Central-Eastern Europe trained c. 550 men and women from Belarus, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia.

    Keywords:

    Pentecostalism, theological education, Pentecostal seminaries, Bible school, theological institute

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    Nowak, P. (2024). Institutional Education of Pentecostal staff in Poland in the years 1930-1938. Theological Yearbook, 65(4), 797–821. https://doi.org/10.36124/rt.2023.29

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