The year 2025 was marked by numerous activities – from a series of Bible lectures and workshops, conferences, and the publication of interesting books to cooperation with churches across Croatia and the region. An overview of the year is available on the YouTube channel.
Education
Lecturers were available to participants at various locations as well as through online teaching.
Zagreb
Mini Bible School. A mini Bible school was held from January to May at the Christian association “Dunamis” in Dubrava (Zagreb). Ervin Budiselić covered the following topics: “The Bible as a Unified Story,” “Creation,” “Three Rebellions,” “Calling,” “The Kingdom of God,” “The Gospel and Discipleship,” and “The Church.”
Biblical Languages. In June, at the Center for Biblical Research (CBR), a department of the Biblical Institute, one cycle of courses in biblical Hebrew and New Testament Greek was completed with the awarding of certificates. A new cycle began in the autumn. The courses were led by Nino Brozinčević and Monika Bajić.
Workshops. At the Center for Biblical Research, Danijel Berković held a series of four workshops on the biblical book of Ruth (April–May).
Lecture Series on Interpreting the Bible. Ervin Budiselić held three lectures in Zagreb: “Why Do Christians Interpret the Bible Differently?” (on different approaches to the Bible in Christian traditions, January–February); “Reading the Bible as One Connected Story” (on the interconnection of biblical texts, September); and “Reading the Bible as a Literary Work” (on the different literary genres used by the authors of the Bible, December).
Lectures on Various Topics. Lectures were also held on various topics: Contemporary Ethical Issues (Danijel Časni, September), Faith and Science (Goran Punda, November).
Sarajevo – Advanced Bible Knowledge Program (ABK)
At the Evangelical Church in Sarajevo, Monika Bajić delivered lectures in Archaeology and the Bible (March) and Overview of the Old Testament (May), while Danijel Časni lectured on Church History (May) and Pastoral Theology (November–December).
Garešnica – Advanced Bible Knowledge Program (ABK)
The ABK program was launched in Garešnica in cooperation with EPC Garešnica and EPC Daruvar. Several lectures were held during the year: How the Bible Was Formed (Goran Medved, March), Introduction to the Pentateuch (Monika Bajić, April), Change of Mind, Change of Heart (Perry Stepp, May, online), How Not to Get Lost in the Bible (June and September), Who Are We Evangelical Christians (Goran Medved, October).
Istria – Advanced Bible Knowledge Program (ABK)
In cooperation with several evangelical churches in Istria, the ABK program began in the autumn at EPC Poreč. Lectures were held in two subjects: The Formation and Translations of the Bible (Goran Medved, October–November) and Key Biblical Themes (Ervin Budiselić, December).
Osijek – Evangelical Theological College
During 2025, our lecturers also participated in the educational programs of the Evangelical Theological College in Osijek with the following lectures:
Danijel Berković: Old Testament Exegesis: Psalms
Ervin Budiselić: Hermeneutics
Danijel Časni: Public Relations and the Culture of Speaking, Reading, and Writing
Goran Medved: New Testament Greek
Perry Stepp: New Testament Biblical Theology and Contemporary Approaches to NT Theology
Online Lectures:
Spiritual Growth – How to Develop Character and Faith (Monika Bajić, March)
Who Are We Evangelical Christians (Goran Medved, October)
The lectures were well received, and their contribution to biblical literacy in Croatia is reflected in the feedback received.
Scientific Work
Research Projects
Lecturers continued their research within one or more of three scientific projects:
(1) “Reformation Heritage Churches in Croatia (1990–2020),” project leader: Stanko Jambrek;
(2) “Narrative and Metanarrative of the Biblical Psalter and Biblical Psalmody: How Narrative in Biblical Poetry Serves to Convey Content and Message,” project leader: Danijel Berković;
(3) “The Concept of Discipleship in Evangelical Churches in Croatia,” project leader: Ervin Budiselić.
Scientific Meetings and Conferences
The conference “Narratives of Suffering in the Biblical Psalter” was held on January 25 at the Center for Biblical Research. In addition to our lecturers, presentations were given by Prof. Dr. Krešimir Šimić, Jasminka Domaš, Dalibor Vrgoč, Kotel Dadon, and Ratko Medan, M.Sc. Topics included suffering in specific psalms (39, 22, 42–43, 51), in the Book of Lamentations, comparisons with the Qur’an, in rabbinic literature and the Torah, as well as reflections on different renderings of the concept of “suffering” in contemporary Croatian translations of the Psalter.
Two conferences on musical creativity were held. On April 5, a conference titled “Musical Creativity in Reformation Heritage Churches in Croatia 1990–2020” was organized at BC Dubrava in cooperation with the Institute for Church Music and Worship at the Evangelical Theological College in Osijek. The conference provided an overview of church creativity in that period, along with discussions on theology and song translations. In November, the conference “Heart of Worship” was held in Osijek in cooperation with the Evangelical Theological College. It was preceded by a music competition “Hear a New Song,” aimed at selecting 15 original Croatian songs to be performed in local churches during 2026. The selected songs were presented at a concert at EPC Radosne vijesti, Osijek.
Visits
European Congress on Evangelism. Ervin Budiselić participated in May at the European Congress on Evangelism in Berlin. The conference focused on uncompromised preaching of the gospel and networking with pastors from the region.
Havurah Initiative. The fellowship of evangelical Christians in Croatia, focused on studying the biblical-Jewish roots of Christianity, was very active. In addition to regular meetings, a visit by Avi Snyder, European ambassador of Jews for Jesus, was organized in May. He delivered a lecture titled: “Why Did God Choose Israel and What Is Its Role in Salvation History?” (May, Zagreb and Split, EPC Radosna vijest). A recording is available on YouTube. The book Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel was also presented.
Srcokret FEST, Šibenik. At the end of June, a youth festival gathered 1,400 participants from Southeast Europe. Over six days, numerous workshops, musical and sports events, evening services with eleven speakers, and a large street evangelism event were held. Our lecturers led daily workshops: “The Bible – a Thick and Boring Book?” (Budiselić), “Lectio Divina” (Bajić), and “Bible Translations” (Medved).
Seminar. In cooperation with the association Nešto više, a seminar “Teenagers and the Challenges of the Modern Age” was held in October, aimed at better understanding the world in which teenagers grow up. The seminar was intended for parents and those working with youth in churches.
Publishing and Library
New Publications. Five new books were published: Psalms 42–106 (Berković, March; presented at ETC Osijek in October); Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel (Stern, May); within the Croatian Psalter project, Škarić’s translation of the Psalms (March). This translation, together with Grubišić’s, was presented in May at the Biblical Institute Reading Room. In cooperation with the Faculty of Theology Matija Vlačić Ilirik and the Evangelical Theological College, Introduction to Pentecostalism (Anderson) was published. In November, also in cooperation with ETC, The Lost World of Genesis One (Walton) was published; book presentations were held in Osijek (October) and Zagreb (December).
Book Presentations (2024 titles). Presentations were also held for books published in the previous year: Renovation of the Heart (Dallas Willard, March) and Foundations of Discipleship (April).
Published Dissertation. In May, Langham Publishing released Danijel Berković’s dissertation as a book titled Personal and Private Religious Experience in the Biblical Psalms.
Donations. Donations were collected to fund the printing of Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus (Tverberg), in cooperation with the Havurah initiative and the Biblical Institute.
Kairos in DOAJ. The journal Kairos published two issues in Croatian and English, both indexed in DOAJ.
Library Relocation. Due to renovation work, the library was moved to Kušlanova 21.
Departments
CBR
The Center for Biblical Research continued its work in promoting biblical literacy through courses in biblical languages and workshops based on Old Testament books. The Biblica Croatica series continued within the Croatian Psalter project. Head: Danijel Berković.
DCP
The Documentation and Research Center for Protestant-Evangelical History continued collecting, documenting, researching, and digitizing historical materials. Reformation Day was marked with a lecture on Balthasar Hubmaier.
Cooperation
Visits. Guests included Avi Snyder, John York, Erik Tryggestad, and groups from Southside Church of Christ and Cornerstone Church (Dallas, USA).
Institutional Cooperation. Continued cooperation with the Evangelical Theological College through teaching, co-publishing, and organizing events.
Church Cooperation. Support provided to churches in Zagreb, Garešnica, Slavonski Brod, Rijeka, Poreč, Rovinj, Sarajevo, and others.
Video Content. Stanko Jambrek wrote a script for a 12-episode series The Unstoppable Word, about the printing and distribution of the Bible. Additional video content is available on YouTube.
