From Budapest to Salzburg: Watching the Church Flourish without Restriction

BY PHILIP C. PARSONS

This past August, my wife, Mary, and I visited CMML missionaries serving the Lord in Hungary and Austria. After our week at the European Christian Workers’ Conference in Annecy, France, we took a bus to Geneva, Switzerland, and then flew to Budapest, Hungary.

Passionate evangelism

On Saturday morning, Paul Meehan (Missionary Prayer Handbook Day 11) and his assembly coworker Jóska Szabo greeted us in Budapest. Paul has been serving the Lord in Hungary’s capital since 2003. He went there at the invitation of the late Dr. Frank Sréter, a CMML missionary who founded Jó Hír Hungarian Literature Mission. Its purpose is to translate, print, and distribute evangelical tracts, leaflets, and books throughout the Hungarian-speaking countries of Eastern Europe. Since Frank’s passing in 2012, Paul has led the ministry. This work complements his heart for evangelism. Armed with literature and boldness from the Lord, he engages in street evangelism and a prison ministry.

After a busy Sunday, we spent Monday visiting Paul and Jó Hír. Our travel to the office included a short walk in the subway. There, Paul pointed out spots where he conducts street evangelism using sleights of hand to attract a crowd, share a gospel story, and pass out tracts.

Above ground, we took a street car and then toured the office. We met Paul’s coworkers, Veronika Kiss and Kati Jenny. Veronika gave up a lucrative career in banking to manage the Jó Hír office, and Kati is a part-time employee. Following lunch, Paul took us on a bus, streetcar, and walking tour of Budapest. The city is marked by historic churches, monuments, and the neo-Gothic House of Parliament.

Our host, Jóska, and his wife, Vicus, are commended to the Lord’s work at the local Dunakeszi assembly. They are also involved with Living Hope Foundation, a practical ministry to people needing a fresh start. On Sunday, they drove us to Biblia Centrum where, annually, the 14 Budapest assemblies gather to remember the Lord, followed by a baptism. After the morning services, more than 170 men, women, and children followed a path to the Danube River and observed the baptism of six new believers. Then, a delicious meal of authentic Hungarian goulash with bread brought our day to a wonderful end.

A growing church

The next day, Leslie Walt (MPH Day 9) met us at Vienna Central Station in Austria, and together, we boarded a train to her home in Pfaffstätten, Baden. After we arrived, Leslie and her husband, Scott, served a delicious meal on the patio, where we reminisced about how we first met. Our relationship began when Scott and I were speakers at Emmaus University’s Christian Ministries Seminar. Scott and Leslie were helping develop a newly formed Christian school in Vienna, so Scott sought my advice due to my experience at Faith Academy in Manila, Philippines.

The next morning, Scott and Leslie took us on a walking tour of their village that ended at their local assembly, Evangelikale Gemeinde Baden. The large building previously housed a manufacturing center. Over the years, as funds became available, the believers renovated rooms to accommodate the Sunday school classes and a teen ministry.

During our walk, the Walts told us about their work. Besides ministering in the local assembly, Scott preaches and teaches at a Ukrainian church in Vienna, where the congregation includes war refugees. He and Leslie also conduct seminars on family and marriage, and Scott teaches at a nearby seminary, TCM International Institute, which equips church leaders in Austria and Germany.

A cultural highlight of our visit was hosting the Walts at a local buschenschank, where we enjoyed schnitzel and a fruit drink blended with soda water. These rustic restaurants are owned and managed by vineyard or orchard growers and must comply with strict regulations. With so many vineyards and orchards in Austria, these restaurants might only be open for a few weeks each to spread out business.

Vibrant children’s outreaches

As an added blessing, we spent a day with Carolyn Oates (MPH Day 28) in Vienna, Austria’s capital and largest city. With Leslie Walt’s help, we navigated the local trains and met Carolyn at the main station. From there, she took us on a walking tour of the notable buildings and told us about the kids’ outreaches and camps she helps with in Vienna and Houston, Texas (she splits her time between locations).

Our day with Carolyn concluded with a children’s outreach, Kids’ Team, at an apartment complex where many Muslim families live. More than 20 children participated. Games followed by Bible teaching quickly consumed the two hours. Then, it was back to Vienna Central Station for us. The next day, Carolyn informed us that we had walked 18,000 steps during our trek in the capital.

Thriving church plants

While on the train to Salzburg, Austria, Mary and I learned that, due to delays, we would not make our connecting train. It was no coincidence that our train conductor once lived in New Jersey and had an uncle who lived near CMML. He offered us several alternatives and assured us that we would reach Salzburg within one hour of our original arrival time. We had no trouble finding Fred and Peggy Colvin (MPH Day 9) among the throng at the station. After a quick tour of the downtown, we went to their home for a light dinner and a good night’s sleep.

The Colvins have served the Lord for about 45 years in Europe, with significant ministry in Austria. Today, although limited due to some physical constraints, they seek to encourage believers and train church leaders. On Sunday we visited several assemblies that they had a hand in starting. Over the years, they planted several, and many continue to thrive. After the morning services, we were treated to a delicious lunch at the home of the Colvins’ daughter Suzanna and her family. Later, we went to an assembly that gathers in the afternoon, which the Colvins’ son Hans and his family attend.

Praise and prayer

All in all, we enjoyed wonderful, mutually encouraging visits. Praise the Lord for the ministry of Jó Hír and its staff. In a country where many have little confidence in the church, Jó Hír serves as a bridge to making Christ known. Pray, too, for the Dunakeszi assembly, Living Hope Foundation, and Jóska and Vicus.

Thank the Lord for the 50 assemblies in Austria, a country where fewer than 1 percent of its 9.1 million people are followers of Christ. Praise the Lord that there are no government limitations on spreading the Gospel there. Pray for the ministries of Scott and Leslie Walt, Carolyn Oates, and Fred and Peggy Colvin.

Philip C. Parsons, CMML missionary care and security

Originally published in Missions magazine, December 2024. For more content, sign up for a free subscription (US and Canada) to Missions at CMML.us/magazine/subscribe.