David Novak is the President of the Evangelical Brethren Denomination in the Czech Republic.
When did you trust Christ?
I grew up in a Christian home. My struggle wasn't to 'believe' that God is real but to trust Him. My crisis of faith came when I went to the communist army at the age of 19. I realised then that my belief in Jesus was quite shallow. During that period, my walking with God changed, and my faith became personal. I realised that 'to become Christian' meant not only to confess my sins but to give Him all I have and trust Him. Since that time, my faith has become personal.
What have been the defining moments of your Christian walk?
The most important times in my life were the times of problems. I say this because I was then pushed to pray more and search for God’s will. Those times when I was weak and struggling brought me closer to God and convinced me of His power and love for me.
What do you hope to gain from participating?
The Forum is a very good place to connect with others in similar positions as mine, talk with these leaders, and learn from their experiences. The Forum also offers many valuable resources—great and wise speakers, books, study materials, and so forth.
What is your ministry?
I am a pastor of one of the largest evangelical congregations in the Czech Republic. I am also the president of the denomination. Additionally, I teach homiletics and ethics at the Evangelical Theological Seminary. Lastly, I write books and articles, and I have published several podcasts.
What is your leadership role or what were your past leadership roles?
Before my current ministry, I was the Denominational Leader of a young adult ministry, which meant I prepared the youth leaders for their youth ministry. I also helped publish their materials and acted as a mentor to them to prepare them for outreach. Additionally, I went on radio programs (both Christian and secular) to talk about issues related to apologetics.
Why should someone invest in your ministry?
The longer I am in church ministry, the more I see how much I need to educate myself. The more experience and knowledge I have, the more I see how much I don't know and how many mistakes I make. I am in a key position in my ministry and need inspiration for how to lead and what I should change.
