May- July 2026

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• For the health of my family

• Safe travels, especially to and from the USA

• For Maciej, Samuel, Jehan, and Grzesiek - for their spiritual growth and knowledge of God (more info below)

• For the newly born again participants of the family camp (more info below)

Tomorrow (July 22nd) , we're flying to the US for three weeks to visit family. Immediately upon our return, we'll be moving to a new apartment. Please pray that our travels and the move with our two small children will go smoothly.

Songwriters camp

The Garden

Tu w ogrodzie pierwszy raz (Here in the garden for the first time)

Otworzyłeś swoje oczy (You opened your eyes)

Widząc niepojęty blask(Seeing unfathomable light)

Tego który Ciebie stworzył (of the One who made you)

Jak to było twarzą w twarz (Talking face to face)

Mówić z końcem i początkiem (with the Beginning and the End)

I bez lęku przed nim stać (to stand before Him without fear)

Tak bezpieczny jak niemowlę( Safe like a newborn infant)

Gdy z owocu wszystkich drzew (when out of the fruits of the trees)

Wziąłeś jeden nie dla Ciebie(You took one not meant for you)

Czy wiedziałeś o tym że (Did you know that)

Cały świat okryjesz cieniem (You will cover the world with a shadow)

Gdy to się stało zadrżała ziemia (When it happened the earth trembled)

Nie ma powrotu kroku w tył (there's no turning back)

Teraz już wszystko będzie inaczej (Now everything is going to be different)

los wszystkich zmienił jeden czyn (The fate of all changed was changed by one deed)

 

Tu w ogrodzie byłeś sam (Here in the garen You were alone)

Chociaż wielu szło za tobą (Even though many followed You)

Stwórco świata czułeś strach (Creator of the world you felt fear)

Na kolanach krwią się pocąc (On your knees sweating blood)

Jak to było widzieć twarz (How was it to look into the eyes)

Tego który Ciebie zdradził (of the one who betrayed you)

i do końca wszystko dać (and to give everything )

dobrowolnie wolność stracić  (lose freedom freely)

Kiedy spośród wszystkich drzew (When among all the trees)

Niosłeś jedno nie dla Ciebie (You carried the one not meant for You

Ty wiedziałeś o tym że (You knew that )

Niesiesz nasze ocalenie (You are carrying our salvation)

dy to się stało zadrżała ziemia (When it happened the earth trembled)

Nie ma powrotu kroku w tył (there's no turning back)

Teraz już wszystko będzie inaczej (Now everything is going to be different)

los wszystkich zmienił jeden czyn (The fate of all changed was changed by one deed)

Christian Family Camp

Two years ago, Piotr from Olkusz invited me to participate in a family worship camp where I was to lead worship. That's why we had to leave the songwriters' camp early.

About 130 people participated in the camp, including some non-believers. Honestly, I didn't have high expectations when we went to the camp, but our God is so good! Leading the singing turned out to be just one of the activities I was involved in. Every day, all participants had time to read and discuss the Bible. After a week of Bible discussions, worship, and testimonies of God's work, about 15 people decided to entrust their lives to Jesus! It's very, very encouraging for me to have had a hand in such a work. It's even more exciting that all these people are in relationships with other Christians. For example, Bartek, whom I met at the camp  - piano player. I know he was already in the weekly Bible study group that meets in Olkusz!

Pastoral - mentorship meetings

Currently, I meet regularly (on average once a week) with four men. I've written about Samuel and Jehan before, but recently these two men you can see on the pictures above also joined us at church. Maciej is a believer who was baptized three years ago. I suggested to start meeting with him after he came to me to share his problems. We're currently working on giving him a clear understanding of the foundations of his faith. In the meantime, we're also touching on topics from his daily life. 

Gregory, on the other hand, has just started reading the Bible. We're talking about what it means to follow Jesus and the Bible's credibility. Gregory comes from Ukraine and carries a lot of grief and hurt related to the war and the treatment he experiences from Poles, who show a lot of contemptment toward his nation. It's sad that he has many such experiences. Gregory recently sent me a message after our meeting. I asked him for permission to share it here. That's why I share it here: 

"Hi, Pastor Mateusz!

First of all, I wanted to thank you for everything you do. I truly appreciate it.

From the first day I arrived at church, you made a huge impression on me with your openness and kindness. You immediately offered to talk and dedicated your time to me. This was very important to me and showed me that you truly care about people.

I also greatly value our individual meetings. You have a wonderful, very human and at the same time psychological approach. You treat everyone individually, with respect and as an equal. You show a tremendous amount of empathy and a genuine desire to help others.

I also admire how your church functions. This is the first church where I've seen such a strong and engaged community. People don't just come to services, they truly create the life of the church. You organize meetings, take care of the atmosphere, and there's always time for a conversation over coffee or refreshments. You also introduce new initiatives, such as praying together before services, and encourage people to engage in various forms of service. This truly builds community.

I especially admire your determination. It's clear that pastoring isn't just a duty for you, but a true passion and calling. You always make time for others, you're flexible, you adapt the meeting place to the other person's needs, and you never expect anything in return. You simply give your time, attention, and support.

I am so grateful for all our conversations, for the knowledge you impart, for your patience, and for helping me get to know Christ. I wasn't raised in faith, so your support is especially meaningful to me. Thanks to you, it's easier for me to understand the Gospel and develop my relationship with God.

I wish you that the Holy Spirit will constantly guide you, give you strength and wisdom, and that your greatest dreams will come true. I hope that many more people will have the opportunity to meet you and experience the same support I experienced.

Thank you for everything, and I wish you many blessings from God. Keep it up!

It was a bit awkward for me to read this. Whatever good Gregory sees in me, I know it's because of Christ. Glory to GOD forever! I hope that Gregory will decide to follow Jesus wholeheartedly soon.

What really inspires me

Podcast!

Wedding and a family update

During Natalia and Julien's wedding, I was overcome with a profound feeling. I felt immense gratitude for what was happening in my life. I am a happy husband and a father. My work is serving God's church, which is my passion and privilege. I thought to myself, "God, I don't deserve all this." And it's true, I don't deserve to be such a fulfilled person – I know it's all thanks to God, whom I serve with all my heart. I owe my happiness and life solely to Him. It's His merit – everything in my life I see as solely and exclusively due to how good, gracious, wonderful, beautiful, majestic, powerful, and holy our God is. As long as I have breath left in my lungs, I want to know Him, run to Him, and go wherever He leads me. Thank you for being with me on this journey. May God bless you!

The new year started with a difficult journey for our family. For over two months, we struggled with various illnesses. In January, our family got sick with influenza A  and Julian ended up in the hospital for five days, due to a high fever. Fortunately, he returned home without any complications.

Leadership Team in our Church

Working on the leadership team isn't just about discussing pressing issues in the church and crises, but above all, about the direction of the community. It's a constant search for God's will regarding where our Lord is leading us. I wanted to share what we've been working on in recent months in the church leadership team. During our discussions about the direction the church should take, we arrived at four values:

1. Christ at the Center: We build our lives on a living, personal relationship with Jesus, striving for daily transformation into His likeness.

2. Discipleship and Calling: We create a culture of purposeful growth that challenges and helps everyone discover spiritual gifts and fulfill their individual calling.

3. Spiritual Home: We are a community committed to God and each other, where no one lives for themselves, and everyone finds a safe place to grow.

4. Mission: We make proclaiming the Good News a way of life, demonstrating courageous initiative toward new people and reaching the world in a way that makes sense.

We see that we've already managed to implement some of these things in our community. However, we want to be more intentional, ensuring that everything we do in the church is subordinated to these four values. We're currently working on the structure and continue to seek answers to questions about how best, with our current resources, to help people grow in their personal relationship with Jesus, in discipleship, so that they feel that "Christ the King" church is their spiritual home from which we are called on mission.

Jehan's Testimony

I hope you remember Jehan. I wrote about him last year. At our last community meeting (a gathering after Sunday service), Jehan shared his testimony of how God had already changed his life. With his permission, I share this testimony: 

Hello, my name is Jehan, and I want to share how God changed my life.

Before I knew God, I believed that money was the thing that would bring me happiness. I was told this was the goal at a young age. I chased it, prioritized it over everything, and thought that if I could just buy what I wanted, I would finally feel fulfilled, but every time I got something new, the happiness was fleeting, and the emptiness inside me only grew. I realized the goal post kept moving endlessly and I was never satisfied.

At the same time, my relationship with my family was broken. Things got so bad that I was kicked out of my home and became homeless. I was also struggling with serious anger issues. I couldn’t control my emotions, and that kept leading me into bad decisions and consequences that just dug the hole deeper. I was insecure and never accepted myself, so I was always pretending to be someone that I wasn't just to fit in with people. At the end of the day, I didn't feel the relationships were real. 

My life turned around when god spoke to me through my partner, Larysa, and helped me find this church and God. I found peace and a sense of purpose that I never had before. I began to discover a new strength in myself to face challenges, to control myself, and to grow through the same kinds of situations that used to break me. I found fulfillment in my life through sacrifice and doing things for others other than myself. 

There were a moments when I was completely filled with anger, and instead of exploding like I always did, it just… went away. I didn’t suppress it or pretend it wasn’t there, it was like God took it from me. Because of that, I started to learn from my mistakes and think more clearly instead of being ruled by my emotions. My whole outlook on life has changed. My family is Islamic, and when I told them that I had become a Christian and that I read and believe the Bible, they condemned me. But instead of the old anger rising up, now I pray for them and ask that they would also find salvation.

My journey is still at the beginning, but I know that the peace, strength, and hope I have now are because of Jesus and this church, not money or anything that I can buy. All the glory goes to God.

My testimony

My recent sermons

The longer I've been in ministry, and the recent meetings, crises, and conversations with people at church, make me feel completely incompetent. This pushes me to pray, fast, and seek God more than ever. I don't know if it's because of this, but the last two sermons I preached in our community particularly touched the listeners. I thought I'd share them here—perhaps they'll encourage you, too.

Agnus Dei Gloria - I am learning here

As a member of the songwriters, I joined the "Agnus Dei Gloria" (Glory to the Lamb of God) project at the end of 2024. Agnus Dei Gloria is a program conducted online and during in-person meetings for graduates of the New Psalm Study and members of the songwriters who are involved in the ministry of so-called worship leaders. During these meetings, we covered four formation modules: theology (soteriology), spiritual disciplines (how to encounter God in daily life), emotional health as a leader, and theology of worship (as applied to ministry in the church). We are currently in the final module, on the theology of worship, for about 15 weeks.

I must admit that this entire program has been very fruitful for me. I learn something new at almost every meeting and it inspires me to delve even deeper into the Scriptures. Together with worship leaders from many locations in Poland, we not only learn but also have time to meet in person and discuss our experiences. I thank God for this, because it is a place where from time to time I can be with people with a very similar emotional structure.