Slovakia

Brief History

The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the close of World War I allowed the Slovaks to join the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a Communist nation within Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe. Soviet influence collapsed in 1989 and Czechoslovakia once more became free. The Slovaks and Czechs agreed to separate peacefully on January 1, 1993. Slovakia joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.

Demographic Profile

With a population of around 5,400.000, Slovakia’s modern evangelical church is a very small minority. Together, the membership of all modern evangelical churches is only about 10,000 people. This means that less then 0.2% of the population are part of these churches. Historical Evangelicals (Lutherans) make up 6.9% of church community and represent the largest Protestant denomination. Together, these two groups make up the majority of the 11% total Slovak Protestant population.

Ministry Outlook

As in all the former Eastern Bloc countries, the fall of communism brought enormous cultural and spiritual change to Slovakia. A surge of spiritual interest and hunger from 1989 to 1995 resulted in many students coming to Christ. As great as this was, the growing number of young inquisitive Christians exposed the absence of trained youth leaders who could provide guidance and encouragement. In addition to this, the religious climate of existing churches continues to be one that emphasizes what a person does for God rather than who a person is to God.

Training Center Kompas exists to train, equip, and inspire the next generation of leaders in Slovakia to forge a new path of grace for the youth following behind them. We believe that as we invest in the leaders, we are serving not only the youth, but also the churches, and even the whole country of Slovakia. It is our hope that more and more people in Slovakia will be forever changed by God’s pursuing grace. It is a huge task, but we are motivated to invest our whole lives to it.

The Lord has enabled us to establish a one-year internship program for youth leaders throughout Slovakia. This internship is designed to be more than academic learning; each student is paired with a staff member from Kompas who coaches him/her through the practical application of lessons taught in the school. In addition to the internship, we provide a 3-day annual conference for youth leaders and we help churches reach the youth of their cities through evangelistic English camps in the summer.

Please pray with us that the next generation of leaders in Slovakia will be deeply rooted in the knowledge of Christ’s love and grace. Pray that they will be agents of inspiration and that a movement of God will sweep across the nation, forever changing individuals, churches, and communities.

More official information about Slovakia at http://www.slovensko.com/

Peter & Eva Hrubo
Peter and Eva met while attending college in Zilina during the communist era. Together they were involved in pioneering the youth ministry in their local church. more...

Maruska Kozlejova
Devoting her heart, time and energy to young people in Slovakia. more...

Peter & Katka Michalcik
With over 13 years of experience as a youth leader in a local church, Peter and his wife, Katka, are working with high school and college age youth in Presov, Slovakia more...

Drahoslav & Zuzana Poloha
Draho and Zuzana have been serving with TCKompas since September of 1999. more...

Ed & Wendi Rumbold
Ed and Wendi Rumbold came to the Czech Republic as newlyweds during the summer of 2000. more...

Zac & Kim Shepperson
Zac and Kim have been working in Zilina, Slovakia since October of 2001 more...

Mike Sullivan
Mike worked in corporate America for seven years and served as a volunteer in his church college ministry, before taking his first short-term trip to Slovakia. It was there, he received his calling to leave the States and serve as a youth worker in Slovakia with Josiah Venture. more...