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Verse:But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may accomplish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. —Acts 20:24, RSV
On Sabbath evening, October 22, 2016, I participated in an inspiring program in the town of Tramelan, Switzerland, celebrating the 130-year anniversary of the dedication of the local Seventh-day Adventist meetinghouse.
However, the Adventist presence in this beautiful country had begun many years earlier, on February 7, 1866, when Michael Czechowski baptized Louise Pigueron and Jean David Goymet in Lake Neuchâtel. It was the first Adventist baptism in Switzerland and perhaps the first (or at most the second) in all of Europe.
Michael Belina Czechowski was born in Poland on September 25, 1818. After becoming a Catholic priest, he went to Rome for an interview with Pope Gregory XVI. Disillusioned with the Roman Catholic Church, Czechowski gave up his vows and got married. In 1851, he and his wife moved to North America, where he worked as a Baptist evangelist. Then in 1856, he met a group of Sabbath-keeping Adventists and became a preacher in this newly forming movement. As time went by, Czechowski felt a burden to preach the Adventist message in Europe. With the newly organized Seventh-day Adventist Church unable to support him, he convinced a group of Sunday-keeping Adventists to sponsor his missionary endeavor. So, on May 14, 1864, he with his wife and Annie Butler sailed to Europe and preached the Seventh-day Adventist message in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, Hungary, and Romania. Upon request of the Swiss Adventists, J. N. Andrews was sent ten years later to Europe as the first “official” Seventh-day Adventist overseas missionary. Having planted the seeds of the Adventist message in Europe, Czechowski died on February 25, 1876, in Vienna, Austria. He left a legacy of dedicated service.
Several of his converts and their descendants served as Adventist missionaries in different areas of the world. His efforts proved once again that small seeds could generate large harvests. Even as volunteers (without any official sponsorship), you and I have the privilege of being committed missionaries sharing the Adventist message.