Baptistic Theologies, 2009

born in 1833 in Nagyszalonta, into a devout Reformed family. He was trained as a mechanic, and moved to Budapest to work in a factory that produced weapons for the army. In his free time he liked reading, especially the Bible. Upon returning to Nagyszalonta in 1869 he io was employed by a local battalion as a professional weapons mechanic. Janos Lajos was asked by Antal Novak to lead the Bible study group in Nagyszalonta. When the Novaks were baptised in Vienna, Lajos also wanted to be baptised and he considered selling his house to pay for his travel to Vienna in order to receive baptism. It was Anton Novak who stopped him, explaining that even the price of his house would not be enough to travel to Vienna. Disappointed but not discouraged, he and his wife waited until the first group of believers could be baptised by Henrik Meyer in 1875 at Bekes. The determination of these early Baptists to put into practice what they believed to be right is crucial. The influence not only of Rottmayer and Novak, who worked through the BFBS, but also of those who might not have seemed to have the same opportunities, such as Lajos, is central to what took place among Hungarian Baptists. After his baptism, Janos Lajos became a devoted church planter. It was his strategy to move to different locations in order to plant Baptist churches. He would buy a house in the area. When the church was planted, he sold his house and moved again. This happened about ten times during his life. His vision was determinedly evangelistic. Through this strategy s Baptist congregations were planted in Borosjeno, Ujvidek, Domsod, Dab, Pesterzzebet, Tauc, Lugazo Budapest and Korosbokeny. 40 In 1883, for example, Janos Lajos moved to Domsod, where he opened a blacksmith’s workshop. In a short time he made good friends, and a service of baptism took place at which Henrik Meyer and Mihaly Kornya officiated. In October of that year severe persecution began. A group of people - who had been hired - attacked the church where Janos Lajos was preaching, destroyed the furniture and injuring several members of the church. They inflicted the most severe punishment on the leader and owner of the building - who was Janos Lajos himself. For weeks he could not walk and the trace of the wounds he received during this attack were seen until the end of his life. 41 In spite of these persecutions Lajos remained committed to the work of church planting. 38 Kiss, Lajos Janos az elso baptista zaszlohordozo, pp. 1-5. 39 Ibid., p. 7. 40 Geza Kovacs, A Baptista misszio kibontakozasa Magyarorszagon, 1873-1894 [The development of Baptist Mission in Hungary], in Krisztusert Jarvan Kovetsegben, p. 69. 41 Laszlo Kiss, Az erdelyi magyar baptistaek tortenete [The History of the Hungarian Baptists in Transylvania], unpublished material in my personal library, p. 28. Revival among Hungarian Baptists in Transylvania 65 The authorities, instead of protecting