The Call to Poland Stage One: Joining God in His Work.
In July 1998, Tom served on an IMB mission team from Nashville that went to the Baptist Seminary in Warsaw, Poland. There the team presented a VBS Clinic for young Baptist pastors and their families. During that first trip, Tom fell in love with Poland. He also fell in love with the Polish children. The children, the first generation too young to remember the oppression of Soviet communism, displayed such a wonderful blend of humility and gratitude. They also exhibited a fresh sense of hope for their futures unknown to previous generations. In July 1999, Tom returned to the Seminary and helped lead the VBS Clinic a second time. During the project, Tom met the pastor from the Oasis Baptist Church in Wisla, Poland. The pastor told Tom about the unfinished church and its vision for it becoming a conference center. Before he left Poland, Tom felt God’s call to bring help to the Oasis. 

The Call to Poland Stage Two: Reach the Children and Build the Oasis.
In July 2000, Tom led his first IMB/First Baptist Nashville sponsored mission team to the Oasis Baptist Church and  Conference Center in Wisla. During the project, Tom presented the first-ever VBS in the area. Just over thirty children attended. The team also worked on the Oasis construction. Tom led four more annual mission trips to the Oasis. The VBS Day camp grew to over 100 children attending. Many children accepted Christ during the mission projects. The teams focused their construction efforts on the upstairs guestrooms, bathrooms and hallways.  

In 2003, Tom’s mission team presented a “mini” music festival at the Oasis, featuring praise groups from several local churches. During the concerts he met his wife, Beata, a native of Wisla. After Tom returned to Nashville, he and Beata emailed for a year. In 2003, Tom also formed Wisla Ministries, his non-profit ministry based in Nashville

In 2004, Beata served with Tom’s team as they helped with the first Wisla Festival of Life; a Christian Music Festival, partly inspired by the 2003 mini-festival. Thousands of young Poles attended the four-day event. Hundreds accepted Christ! While serving together, Tom and Beata saw how their giftedness matched. They also discovered God’s purpose for their lives as a Kingdom couple. Tom returned to Nashville engaged. 

The Call to Poland Stage Three: Full-time Ministry in Wisla, Poland.
In December, 2004, Tom made the move to Wisla, where he and Beata married. He arrived in time to support Beata in her successful battle against breast cancer. Together they witnessed God’s mighty deliverance! Over the next 3 ½ years they served together in a variety of ministries. Tom coordinated mission teams from America and England. The teams worked on the Oasis construction. They also helped present the VBS Day Camps, English Camps for youth, and other evangelistic events Tom and Beata helped plan and direct. The Bakers also helped plan and present conferences and concerts at the Oasis, including their annual Community Christmas Concert. They helped lead the Oasis youth group and grow it through the VBS camps. Many of their youth who attended the children’s VBS, were now serving as helpers in the camps. In 2007, Tom and Beata helped promote the Oasis in Polish Christian magazines. As a result, more and more Polish church groups have come to the Oasis for their retreats and workshops, while enjoying the year-round beauty of the nearby mountains. With Polish groups paying rent to stay at the Oasis, the church was now in a position to keep the construction funded. In June 2008, with the Oasis auditorium and three conference rooms completed, God spoke to Tom’s heart that the call to help build the Oasis had been fulfilled.  

Many of the Polish children Tom encountered in Warsaw in 1998 are now young adults. Many are getting married and starting families. They have become westernized in their thinking and attitudes. More and more are deciding to stop attending the churches they were raised in, finding no relevance there for their lives. But they are not hardhearted, like their contemporaries in Western Europe. They are open to change and ripe for the revolutionary concept of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ! 

The Call to Poland Stage Four: Expand to Other Churches.
In June 2008, God gave Tom and Beata Baker a new vision for expanding their Polish ministry. The vision is to reach this generation of Polish young adults and young families, through children’s VBS and through music evangelism. The new vision calls for the Bakers to transition from working with the Oasis Baptist Church and Conference Center in Wisla to helping churches all across Poland. The new vision included relocating their family from Wisla to Murray, Kentucky. They made the miraculously fast move to Murray in August 2008. The new vision requires their ministry to transition to a “sending” organization, similar to the other member organizations of the Fellowship of Baptist World Ministries. The new vision also involves changing the name of their non-profit organization from “Wisla Ministries” to “Across Ministry” a name that better describes their working with churches throughout Poland. 

Children’s VBS. Part of the new vision for Tom and Beata is to reach young Polish families through Vacation Bible School. The Bakers are bringing four American mission teams to Poland in Summer 2009. The mission teams will partners with Polish churches to present VBS Day Camps. This will be these churches first VBS. The Bakers will use what they have learned at the Oasis to equip these Polish churches to reach their communities for Jesus through VBS and follow-up strategies.  

Music Evangelism. The second part of the new vision involves reaching students and young adults through music evangelism. Each winter, Tom plans to bring an American team, featuring a Christian music group and gifted young evangelist to tour several of these same cities, most of which have universities. Tom plans to work with the same Polish churches and help them promote the concerts, invite unchurched friends and follow up on those who accept Christ during the events.  

Each new stage of God’s call on Tom and Beata’s lives to serve Him in Poland has been a bigger step of faith than the one before. Each new stage has had more responsibilities and more challenges. Each new stage has provided more and more opportunities to experience God working in mighty ways, as they have trusted Him wholeheartedly. Every stage has been preparation for the next. The Bakers are excited about the new opportunities God has given them to serve in Poland. They are holding on to His love, His promises and His faithfulness to guide and provide for all their needs as they face the many challenges ahead! As Tom and Beata step out in faith to grow their Ministry in Poland, they will also need to grow their support base. Even in these uncertain economic times, they know God has believers who will answer His call to come along side them and support the ministry financially.

For more information on how you can help...

Across Ministry      P.O. Box 1653     Murray, KY 42071