Joel Burnell first came to Poland in 1980 with Campus Crusade for Christ to work with the Oasis renewal movement. In 1983 Joel, who was then in Polish language school, met Renata at a Christian Conference. They were married in 1987.
After attending Western Seminary from 1989 to 1993, Joel and Renata returned to Poland to join the faculty at the Evangelical School of Theology (formerly the Biblical Theological Seminary) of Wroclaw. Joel teaches courses in systematic and historical theology, and chairs the theology department. Renata taught principles of communication at the school before taking leave to give birth to their daughter Amelia in July 2004. Renata plans to return part time to the school in 2006 to teach theological English.
Joel and Renata helped start New Hope Fellowship, the church where they now minister. Renata organized the children’s ministry, and Joel served for years as an elder on the board. He is currently taking a two-year break from this role, in order to complete his doctoral studies by the end of 2005. Yet the Burnells stay active in this young, growing church, co-leading a home group, ministering to children and Joel preaching occasionally. In September 2005 they will host a third short-term team from their supporting churches, which is coming to help New Hope remodel their church building.
As a member of the Polish Section of the International Bonhoeffer Society, Joel helped organize Bonhoeffer Conferences at the Evangelical School of Theology in 2002 and 2005. He is on the local committee that is planning an International Bonhoeffer Congress in February 2006 to mark the 100th anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s birth in Wroclaw (then known as Breslau). This involvement has led to excellent contacts within the Polish academic community, and brought many Poles face-to-face with Bonhoeffer’s question: “Who is Jesus Christ for us today?”
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