Nathanael and Elizabet Spicak were called to evangelise and plant a Baptist Church in a Roman Catholic region of Northern Croatia. They moved to Koprivnica in the summer of 1999 and have settled there, where God has blessed them with three children, Suzana, Nathan and Noah.
Koprivnica is a major town (35,000 people) in Northern Croatia and Koprivnica county (130,000 people) was among the only two counties in Croatia at the time with no registered evangelical, protestant church. There were only a few house groups in the region.
Stepping out in faith and in obedience to God’s calling, with family support and a financial backing from Northern Ireland, the church planting ministry was marking its beginning.
They started off with a house group. Then as numbers grew, they moved to a hotel to meet; then in to their own church building. Koprivnica Baptist Church was officially registered in 2003. Since then the church is positively moving forward.
Nathanael Spicak writes:
“We thank God for a positive numerical growth but we are encouraged with a positive spiritual growth even more! We see people meeting with Christ, people being baptised, people growing in faith. We have Christians willing to use their God-given gifts, take part in worship, children’s ministry and evangelism.”
As a church family in Muckamore, we pray that it could be said that the church planting ministry in Koprivnica is a ministry that gives God all the glory and honour, a ministry that strengthens and edifies the believers and a ministry that introduces and invites many to Jesus Christ.
