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  Maylin Hartwick

God's Plan for Koszikla

By Jonathan Haskell 2/10/03

"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps."
Proverbs 16:9

Have you ever had a burst of inspiration so clear that it seemed only a matter of time before your dream became reality?  As you develop the vision, the details flow so quickly-even effortlessly-that you could never imagine the venture would be unsuccessful. That's how it seemed to us in 2000.

The Plan

Two good friends from our church in Budapest, Laci and Eniko, had just purchased a home in the community of Budaörs-a rapidly expanding suburb of Hungary 's capital.  They knew several Christian families who might be interested in starting a new church.

Laci was experienced in evangelism and discipleship and seemed an ideal leader. However, Laci was already committed to a full-time ministry.  After consultation, he decided to lead the church plant in his spare time until the new church could fully support him. I was hesitant to proceed without his full commitment, but I trusted the Lord to work out the details.

Together, Laci and I drafted core values, a mission statement and a membership covenant. We met the other interested believers once a week for planning, prayer and fellowship. Everything was proceeding ahead of schedule.  Our mother church was excited, word was spreading throughout the Christian community, and our first short-term ministry team had purchased their plane tickets to come and help.

Crash Landing

Then one night Laci told me the demands of his full-time ministry and young family were just too much.  He still wanted to see the new church planted, but could no longer accept the burden of leadership. 

We were devastated.  It felt as if the dream had just crash landed in the parking lot of the Budaörs Holiday Inn.  The group still wanted to meet weekly for fellowship and Bible study, but without any clear leader or direction, we felt it was time for us to pursue other opportunities, and moved east. Despite the distance, Laci and I stayed in close contact over the next two years.  

New Hope

Then, several months ago, I received a letter from Laci about a youth pastor named Istvan. God had been burdening Istvan's heart for church planting.  Budaörs was one of several cities that he was prayerfully considering.  During his research, he came across the small group of believers meeting weekly in Laci's home.  He began to talk and pray with Laci about the possibility of working together. 

In October, I met Istvan at a church planter's conference. He put his arm around me and thanked me for laying the foundation for the new church-he never dreamed of "stumbling" on a group that had already made so much progress.

A Celebration 

Recently, I received another email from Laci, an invitation. The house group in Budaörs had officially called Istvan to be their pastor and he had accepted. In January 2003, we had the privilege of joining the house group for the official commissioning of their new church.

During the service, Proverbs 16:9 kept running through my head: "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps."  It's a hard lesson to learn through disappointment or failure. But, as Psalm 18 teaches, "As for God, his way is perfect.  All the Lord 's promises prove true.  He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.  For who is God except the Lord ?  Who but our God is a solid rock?" 

In Hungarian, the word for rock is "koszikla." The new church in Budaörs-Koszikla Baptista Gyülekezet-is named in testimony to our God, the Solid Rock who determines our steps. At the service, Istvan presented the church's vision for the future-the same vision Laci and I had worked so hard to develop. What a joy to witness God honoring our labors together, in His time and according to His plan.