Tim and Renata met in Warsaw back in 2003, initially just with the idea of hanging out for a few days. That has turned into 17 years of hanging out, 3 kids, 3 countries, and tens of thousands of road miles traveled together.
How they got to where they are now started with a though during a staff meeting at their previous church in 2005: Warsaw needs new expressions of church. When they left to do their fundraising in Canada for a year and then an internship in the Netherlands for another year, their dream was to return to Warsaw and launch a new community of Jesus followers in the center of the capital.
For many years, it felt as though God was saying, “not yet” until they resigned themselves to the fact that this dream may come through another church in a way different from how they imagined it. Years passed with many different ministry initiatives, Bible studies led, community established through a hockey team, and dozens of relationships started.
Then in October 2014, Tim was told by the then pastor of International Christian Fellowship in Warsaw that he should be leading his own church within the next 2 years. They started an evening service at ICF and started the process of preparation. Five couples from ICF agreed to go and be a part of the new project.
On October 16th, 2016, City Church Warsaw held its very first Sunday morning service. It grew quickly, and the new community had to change meeting location 16 months later. It continued to grow right up until March 2020 when Poland went into lockdown. They say that one of the most amazing things has been to see how many of the people who came with them have stayed with them for more than 4 years and have really grown in maturity and skill. They have also been incredible personal support to this community all along.
In Poland, all roads lead to Warsaw. At City Church, Tim, Renata, and the team want to see that road continue to Jesus. They call City Church and church for people who don’t do church. Those kind of people are exactly who the church has been reaching since it started.
