God's Glory Church

The Location

Where on earth is Nowy Sacz!?
Click for official website (english) | Live Webcams

Nowy Sacz is a large town/small city with a population of about 85,000 around 100km south of Krakow, in the Beskid Hills, southern Poland. It is called the Polish 'Tuscany', highly popular with tourists all year round for summer activities or winter skiing.

Not only is Poland a predominantly Catholic country, but the South of country is the most strongly controlled. The culture is Catholic, with schools, government and most buildings owned by or under the influence of the Catholic Church, which stands against any non-Catholic voice. Protestant Churches are very few in number and are usually small, often due to cultural pressure, oppression or lack of a permanent building. Communism fell only 15 years and up until that time, large public gatherings of many non-registered religious group was prohibited by law. In order to survive and legally register and exist, a range of small independent groups worked together to form loose denominations. The current government would like to prevent any new, unassociated church groups starting.

As a recent member of the European Union, Poland is still relatively poor. The average GGC (Gods Glory Church) member’s income will be 6-10 times less than in the west (UK/US). Materials and foodstuffs, however are only 2-4 times cheaper, with many imported items costing more than in the UK. This has led to millions of people leaving the country for work, often leaving family in Poland. The knock-on effect has meant a lack of tradesmen, but as Poles and their funds slowly return, Poland is now experiencing a buildings boom with sharply rising costs for land, buildings and tradesmen. Despite this background, GGC continue to see many people born again and full of faith in this area. Each meeting sees them praying for the city, the government and the population.

As Poles return and foreign investment is sharply increasing, we are seeing very high rates of capital growth. Building projects (housing, shopping centres, motorways etc) are now a permanent feature of life in Nowy Sacz. A new motorway is being built from Krakow to Nowy Sacz which will further bring in commuters, investment and an increase in population. As a result we likewise expect an increase in church growth, and an increase in building costs in the future. Now is the time to invest!

Here is a quick selection of photos from Nowy Sacz and the surrounding villiages, towns and tourist attractions.