Bohall Ministry

I've been reading a fascinating book recently with a colleague of mine at the seminary in Osijek. The Drama of Scripture  follows the threads that connect the biblical books while also unpacking several main themes of the Bible such as Creation, Kingdom, Redemption and Salvation. Towards the end of the book, in Act 5, the authors notice that in Luke's telling of the story "Mission is first of all an act of the Spirit".  How could I argue with that?  And yet, I do feel that often mission is discussed in ways that depend on our initiative, our enthusiasm and our effort. Part of that, I think, is because the early church was both enthusiastic and devoted to being witnesses. We certainly don't see a passive church in the book of Acts. The book is called Acts of the Apostles after all. Which leads me to the question: how do we both allow the Holy Spirit to lead, while also being proactive as Christ's witnesses?  I believe the answer is found in a combination of h...

One of the exciting things we've been able to work on since coming to Zagreb is teaming up with Bible Project to translate their videos. Because watching them often makes the Bible easier to understand, it may seem like the videos are easy to make. They're not.  I haven't seen the original side of producing them in English but I have gotten a taste of what goes into translating, producing voice-over, graphic design for both posters and the video. There's a lot that goes into it. So, there are times when I sit back and am grateful for everything Bible Project has done, and all the work our team here in Croatia has undertaken in order to produce these videos at the highest quality. Today, on the release of 1st, 2nd and 3rd John on our Biblija365 app, is one of those days.  Thanks to the folks at Bible Project, and our team here in Croatia, for all the work you've done to help make the Bible easier to understand. Here's a glimpse of what the videos look like in Cro...

More than a year ago, we described a vision for our young church and made a request. Several of our friends and family responded by indicating they would like to support the project.  At the end of 2024 I (Jeremy) recorded a video showing what our new space looks like. While I shared this with several who were directly involved, I realize now that some have not seen how their gifts have contributed. Hence the video below.  We are so thankful to the Lord for his provision through people like you. If you are interested in continuing to support the work, please send me an email at jeremy.bohall@gmail.com  

  Just a quick update: The fall semester has just begun at the seminary and Jeremy has the pleasure of having 15 students in the classroom studying the New Testament!  Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are all represented. But there are also several Roma students, a student from Nepal and two Croats who grew up in Germany but decided to come back to Croatia to study theology.  Historically the  Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek  has been a hub for students throughout central Europe to be equipped to pastor, teach and serve in various capacities in the local church. This year is an exciting continuation of that tradition.

Petra here. On the last day of Family Camp, one participant said that camp was like a small picture of heaven. The coment made me smile because I've had that same thought myself many times. I often hear statements like 'Why can't the camp last longer?' or 'Why can't it be the way it is at home?' A student once asked me if it's possible to live like this all the time because it seems too perfect? I told her that I think this is a small foretaste of something even better. For 50 years, those of us who serve and participate in camps, along with numerous who came before us, have been able to taste that small part of what awaits us in eternity. There are certainly many different factors that cause camps to leave such a strong impression: praising God together through songs, serving in the city, studying the Word, going for walks, the sincere joy of swimming in the lake, encouraging conversations, changed lives, homecooked food, etc.  But I would say that ther...

I am so grateful for the two men of God that flank me in the picture below. Tom (my right) is making his biannual trip to Europe and preached in Đakovo yesterday. Danijel (my left) pastors the local church in Đakovo. I've written about both of them before so I'll limit this post to what I experienced yesterday.  The local church in Đakovo is growing. Danijel and his wife Tijana moved here 17 years ago and took over a church of fewer than 10 people - most of whom were older that 60 years old. This is a typical scenerio in eastern Croatia. Today, the church in Đakovo is teeming with children running around and babies being held during the service. It's truly beautiful to see the ways in which the Lord has blessed Danijel and Tijana's "long obedience in the same direction". Tom preached from Luke 8 and reminded the congregation about the importance of trusting the Lord in the midst of difficult times. He emphasized "marvel" and contemplation during ti...

It's not my responsibility to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Rather, it's my responsibility to join the Church in her efforts to make disciples of Jesus Christ. In other words, it was never Jesus' intention that we would make disciples by ourselves. The original commission on the hill in Galilee was to all eleven gathered in front of Jesus.  This is one of the reasons why your partnership with us is so important to what we do in Zagreb. It may go without saying, but Petra and I would not be able to devote full-time work to the local church, camps and the seminary if we had other jobs. Unlike the situation at many similar institutions in the U.S., the local church and seminary are still not in a position to pay us. This is simply the way things are in a country where evangelical denominations make up less than 1% of the population. Another reason why I emphasize the role of the whole Church in making disciples though is because over the last two Sundays, we witnessed signi...

What influenced Jesus' disciple making method? It's clear from the Gospels that the Old Testament played a key role in the content of Jesus' teaching. But what about his method? Is it possible that Greek pedagogical methods also played a role in how Jesus went about making disciples?  I gave a talk on this topic in Zagreb in April. It's not a topic I plan to get into much further. But the research I did scratched an itch I've had for a little while. You can view the presentation below. 

Here's a look at our new church sanctuary minutes before the first worship service on February 4th. 

We are both grateful and excited to share the following news with you! Through conversations or a visit with us, you have likely heard of our vision to open a Center for Faith, Ethics and Culture. The first step to this was purchasing a building.  To make a long story short, this past June, Pastor Ratko signed the papers and our church has become owners of a property on the most well-known street in Zagreb!  Ilica, the most well-known street in Croatia. Our new facility is the white building on the left. Over the last several years, the Lord has planted a vision in the hearts and minds of the leadership of Stijena Spasenja (Rock of Salvation). In thinking and praying for our local church and our city, we have often been inspired by Timothy Keller. His words:   " Christians should seek to live in the city, not to use the city to build great churches, but to use the church’s resources to seek a great, flourishing city" helped articulate a vision for how our church relates...

One of the most rewarding parts of our ministry in Croatia is the privilege Jeremy has of teaching at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek. Over the last year or so, the seminary has both celebrated a major milestone and undergone a significant transition. Last December was the 50th anniversary celebration of the seminary which began in Zagreb, moved briefly to Slovenia in the early 90's during the war, and has been in Osijek for the last 40 years.  The Beginning of the '23-'24 Academic Year at ETS in Osijek While the seminary is significant to Central Europe, it's also important to our family. Petra's father had a large part in planting the vision and founding the seminary. Peter just retired from his role as the Dean this past summer. Below he's pictured with the new Dean.  Former Dean Peter Kuzmič with New Dean Dalibor Kraljik ETS houses the largest theological library in the former-Yugoslavia.  ETS Library It also shares its campus with the local ...

Camp in Orahovica was the single biggest reason Petra wanted to come back to Croatia when I first met her at Gordon College. She has gone to camp every summer since she was eleven years old with 2020 being the only exception because of the pandemic. Even when she went to high school and college in the States, she came to Croatia every summer to volunteer at camp. This year marked the 50th anniversary of the first camp. Petra's been to the majority of them.  Our slogan is "a meeting place". "Encounter" would be another way to translate it. Camp in Orahovica is a place where thousands have encountered the Lord. Throughout its 50 year history, God has been faithful. He has used his people in this place to call campers to himself and renew their relationship with him.  It's also a place where valuable relationships with others have been fostered. This year we had a couple speak at our family camp from Belgrade, Serbia. While the husband had never been to this pa...

Despite the fact that it began in the U.S., I hadn't heard of Royal Rangers before I moved to Croatia. But as of this writing, I've been serving as the Croatian National Coordinator for 11 years. It was a role I was reluctant to take on at the beginning. In fact, I accepted only becasue it was the only way I could use Royal Rangers as a tool in our local church where there were a number of pre-teen guys I was discipling.  I also qualified my agreement by expressing my desire to hand it off to someone from Croatia one day. I didn't feel that it made sense for a foreigner to lead this ministry long-term.  That moment came in early November when my good friend Danijel officially became the National Coordinator of RR.  Danijel's been working with me from the beginning. Together, we attended our first training camp in western Serbia in 2011. He has been a trusted friend and advisor, always ready to help in whatever way he possible can. Handing this ministry off to Danijel ha...

August was a once in a lifetime experience. There have been various combinations of Bohalls that have visited the U.S. from Croatia. But this was the first, and perhaps the last time we went as a family of seven.  We began our trip in the Boston area, visiting Jeremy's family and seeing the Gordon College and Conwell campuses (where we met and were married), among other things. In front of Wilson Hall at Gordon College We then spent two weekends with Jeremy's relatives in Brooklyn. Experiencing the Big Apple was a highlight for the kids.  In between the two weekends we made a quick trip down to Washington D.C.  During these first three weeks, we were joined by our pastor and his family - also (and still!) close friends of ours. This was the first time his wife and kids had been to the States. It was quite the adventure for the 11 of us to travel around the northeast. But of course these will be memories we will never forget.  Towards the end of our trip we visited go...

" One generation shall commend your works to another ." - Psalm 145:4 Royal Rangers workshop at Kids Camp Orahovica 2022 Jeremy here. Although I wasn't at Kids Camp this summer, the picture above jumped out at me as I was looking through the highlights on social media. Besides the fact that it was taken in Orahovica, a place we lived for nine years and have spent most of the summers since, the man on the right is a friend of mine and a significant part of the time we spent in Orahovica. His name is Filip and he was six years old when we moved to Croatia.  Filip was one of the first boys in our baseball ministry back in 2007 when I invited whoever wanted to come to the local soccer field to learn how to hit and play catch. He was a young teenager when we began Royal Rangers in Orahovica. And this past week, he led the Royal Rangers workshop at Kids Camp. We're thankful for Filip and his desire to commend the Lord's work to the next generation.  To be clear, this is...

I'm convinced that, like masters of any other profession, if we're disciples of Jesus Christ, we need mentors.  Today wouldn't have necessarily seemed that special on the surface level. But going into it, I had made plans to get together with two guys whom the Lord has used in significant ways.  My mentor, Tom Foley, who I've known now for the last 10 years, was visiting Zagreb from the States. Throughout 2020 and 2021 he didn't visit as much as he had in the past so I've begun looking forward to these face-to-face visits even more. There's always the potential that he'll ask a tough question. Tonight it was a softball, "So what are you reading in the Bible these days?" But it could have just as easily been, "How are you and Petra doing?" or "How's your relationship with the Lord?" The questions themselves aren't tough. But he knows how to help me dig into territory that may not be addressed much. Everything's on...

In contrast to the ways in which we often fail to keep our promises, God keeps his Word. May we be encouraged by first narratives in Luke's Gospel this Christmas season. God indeed keeps his promises!  

 In late October we had the privilige of being part of a Gospel Coalition conference in Osijek, Croatia.  The Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek, Croatia As we've emphasized at various times, one of the things Petra and I are excited about in our work with our local church is its emphasis on the testimony of Scripture being central to our faith. That may sound obvious. But many Catholics (in this predominantly Catholic country) and many Pentecostal evangelicals (the denomination we work most with) have shifted their emphasis to tradition or charisma respectively.  This is one of main reasons we were eager to support the efforts of various evangelical churches in Croatia as they organized this conference. New Testament theologian D.A. Carson was the main speaker. Musicians from different parts of Croatia joined together to lead the congregation in worship. And participants joined from at least 5 different countries in Europe.  New Testament Scholar D.A. Carson...

Rather than give another report of camps from our perspective, take a look at what some of the teenagers said about this year's Teen Camp: Marina (18): "Being at camp was really nice, I'm glad I had the chance to see some friends I hadn't seen in awhile because of Corona. The best part of camp was the worship time, the evening messages and hanging out with my friends. One of the best memories I had was breathing fire and celebrating my 18th birthday. I'd recommend camp to everyone because through small groups and the evening sermon, the leaders were able to bring us closer to the Word of God in fun and creative ways." Denny (15): "Teen camp this year was amazing! The team, workshops, olympics, food and of course the leaders, service and worship get an A+! My favorite part was the music workshop (an interesting group that was a lot of fun to hang out with). I'll remember playing games at the lake with my good friends." Dora (15): "Being at ca...

Due to Covid restrictions, this summer's plans were up in the air until as recently as mid-May. Should we host camps even if cafes (a European and Croatian staple) aren't open inside? Will we be able to meet all the requirements for social distancing? But on the other side, we were already way past our normal deadline for finding volunteers and speakers to be at the camps.  In the end, we decided to hold Teen Camp and a modified version of Kids Camp - Royal Rangers Kids Camp. This would mean that Petra would work at Teen Camp and both of us would be 100% involved in the RR Kids Camp. In fact, it meant that 5 of the 7 Bohalls would be at camp while our oldest - Enoh - and youngest - Mihej - stayed with their  baka (grandmother) for the week. We had a fantastic team of volunteers who led small groups, planned various events and prepared various scouting activities like setting up tents, preparing bonfires and workshops. The theme for this camp was "Serving God, the local chu...