This Week in AG History — October 11, 1970
By Ruthie Edgerly Oberg
Originally published on AG-News, 12 September 2024
In the Oct. 11, 1970, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel, David Robert (Bob) Mackish (1928-2003) reported to the Locarno, Switzerland, missionary conference that “encouraging progress is being made in the Pentecostal churches in Eastern European countries.” Bob and Bonnie Mackish had no idea just how true their report was or that the next years of their ministry would lay a foundation for a work of God that no one at the 1970 convention could have begun to anticipate.
Mackish’s family had roots in Eastern Europe. His father was born near Minsk, White Russia (now Belarus), and his mother near Warsaw, Poland. Their families immigrated to the United States and Mackish was born in Kansas. He accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior in 1953 after a brief stint in the U.S. Army and married Bonnie Cornelius in 1955. The following year they both receiving the infilling of the Holy Spirit and sensed a call to ministry.
Mackish moved his family, which soon numbered four, to Springfield, Missouri, to attend Central Bible Institute (now Evangel University). He received his ordination with the Assemblies of God in 1962 and began pastoring churches in Kansas. Each time they had a guest missionary fill the pulpit, both Bob and Bonnie felt God was calling them to join the effort for world evangelization. Because of his background, Mackish desired to reach the people of Eastern Europe.
The Mackish family received missionary appointment with the Assemblies of God in 1968, as the “representative” to Eastern Europe — giving them the opportunity to serve as a liaison between the American Assemblies of God and churches in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union. Resident visas were not allowed in any of these countries, so the Mackishes settled in Vienna, Austria.
When they made short-term visits into their assigned countries, they were required to receive government permission to address meetings and were limited in the number of times they could meet with groups. Much of their ministry took place one-on-one, building relationships with believers and other church leaders. From the beginning, Mackish was very careful to work within government regulations.
In 1971, President Nixon prompted a trade agreement with the Soviet Union that opened new doors for ministry. Presses were set up in Moscow to print Bibles that were inscribed, “Printed on a State Press of the Soviet Union.” Mackish donated the first $1,000 to the effort to print these Bibles that could be transported anywhere in the Soviet Union without fear of confiscation or arrest.
In 1974, on a trip into Romania, Mackish was invited to a dinner with a member of the Department of Religion. The man asked Mackish bluntly, “Why are you here?” Earnestly, Bob Mackish replied, “The Assemblies of God is here to help. We are not interested in politics, but only in the spiritual well-being of the Romanian people.” The official was impressed with him and gave permission for an Assemblies of God presence in Romania, allowing Mackish to channel funds and supplies to Romanian churches.
In 1984, God began opening more doors into Eastern Europe. Western speakers, like Billy Graham and David Wilkerson, were allowed to hold meetings. The Hungarian government approved the opening of a Teen Challenge Center and, in 1986, Mackish was named area director for all of Eastern Europe. Sadly, in 1989, Bonnie Mackish died from cancer, only a few months before the eyes of the world turned toward Eastern Europe.
Still in mourning, Bob breathlessly watched the news coming out of the Soviet Union in 1989. Communism was crumbling and, suddenly, doors to Eastern European nations — and to their churches — were flung wide open to the Western world. Mackish quickly boarded the first available flight from Austria to Romania in January 1990. When he arrived just days after dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was killed, the church rented a 950-seat auditorium for public evangelistic meetings. It was like a dream for Bob Mackish to stand in that building packed with Romanian people freely sharing the gospel, without fear of government suppression.
When he arrived in the city of Irkutsk, Russia, the believers rented out the auditorium previously used by the Communist party. Before the meeting, someone hung a “Jesus is Lord” banner over the bust of Vladimir Lenin. The next morning a picture of the banner-covered statue appeared on the front page of the morning paper with no pushback from the government. It was truly a miraculous moment in history.
In September 1990, Mackish met with Russian government officials. They told him, “We have been carefully observing you for more than 10 years. You are one of the few people who have come here and done what you said you would do.” Mackish was granted a resident visa, making him the first Pentecostal missionary to live and work in the country since 1930.
In 1996, Mackish returned to the United States for retirement. However, even in these latter years he continued to make trips into Russia to train and encourage believers. When he passed away in 2003, letters poured in from the former Soviet Union recalling his far-reaching influence. Bob and Bonnie Mackish could never have imagined the breadth behind their 1970 report: “Encouraging progress is being made in the Pentecostal churches in Eastern European countries.” Surely God set before them “an open door.”
Read the report on the Locarno missionary convention on page 8 of the Oct. 11, 1970, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.
Also featured in this issue:
• “Brandmarks of a Christian,” by Noel Perkin
• “Prayer Broke the Barrier,” by Maude Johnson
And many more!
Click here to read this issue now.
Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.
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