Prijedor is near the border with Croatia. It has a population of about 100,000 people, of which 40% are Muslim. There is also a strong Orthodox presence, so it is not difficult to imagine the opposition to any evangelical church!
However, Jesus promised to build His Church, and Danko has been spreading the gospel in Prijedor now for 25 years. This ministry began in his apartment, but for the past 15 years the church has met in it’s own building. This was renovated and adapted for the needs of the church and also for some “Bread of Life” ministries carried on in the building, including the provision of regular meals for poor people.
A positive impact has been made on the community, and Danko shares that ‘many contacts with people in our local community were made, which opened the door for us to share the truth of the Gospel.’
In 2012, Danko began a project called ‘New Beginnings’, which seeks to provide help for those struggling with addictions. The aim is to help them overcome their addictions, and point them towards getting their greatest need met – a ‘new beginning’ with Jesus Christ.
Danko writes:
‘Although most of them go back to their communities after rehabilitation, we try to connect them with local churches so that they can stay in the truth and run the race to the end’.
Praise God that recently two were baptised! One of them is Refik, a Bosnian, born in 1985 into a Muslim family. The family later fled the Balkans war to Croatia, and then to Hungary. After his father’s death, he and his mother relocated to the USA, where Refik sadly became involved in a life of crime and drugs. He was consequently expelled, and repatriated to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He tried unsuccessfully to get off heroin in several rehabilitation centres. There were periods of abstinence that lasted a year or two, during which Refik got married and had two children, but he again fell into his old way of life.
At the beginning of 2020, Refik attended the ‘New Beginnings’ programme. During his 20 month involvement, with great determination he overcame his addiction and was able to start a new life. Danko helped him find a job. He hopes at some point to rejoin his family who have settled in Austria.
Despite all he has been through, he discovered the best ‘New Beginning’ of all, by trusting Jesus Christ for salvation.
Pastor Danko is thankful to God for giving him encouragement and strength to continue working with people like Refik, and he is deeply appreciative of and thankful to SGA for the support given for his ministry.