In Bosnia-Herzegovina, faithful preaching brings reconciliation

Slavko Hadžić prayed for the first time when his home, Bosnia-Herzegovina descended into civil war. He was desperately searching for guidance about whether to stay or flee the violence. 

The Bosnian war began in 1992, part of the bloody breakup of the communist Yugoslavia. There are three main ethnic groups living in Bosnia: Bosniak (44 percent), Serb (31 percent) and Croat (17 percent). The war pitted them against one another. Bosnian Serbs revolted against the idea of a state with a Bosniak majority, launching a devastating military campaign against Bosniaks and Croats that would include ethnic cleansing.

For many families, including Slavko’s, the dividing lines weren’t that simple. Slavko’s father was a Serb, his mother a Croat and Hadžić itself is a Bozniak name. Taking a side would have meant fighting against half of his family. Slavko eventually escaped to Cyprus, a story filled with moments of miraculous protection, but his hometown of Mostar was devastated. 

Listen: Hear a conversation with Slavko on our podcast

A call to serve

Slavko recalls a prayer in 1992 that started his journey toward Christ—the first time he acknowledged God might exist. He came to Christ a few years later, in 1996, a year after the war ended. Scarred by the violence and wanting a different future for their children, Slavko and his wife, Sanja, promised themselves they would never return to Bosnia. Then they felt God calling them to do just that. 

After a period of wrestling with God, Slavko and Sanja went home to Mostar. They moved into his family’s old apartment, where shrapnel holes still dotted the walls. How would God heal and redeem this place so damaged by war and conflict? 

“In this region, there is a lot of hatred, a lot of unforgiveness, and I believe that only restored relationships with God can bring love and can bring forgiveness,” Slavko said.

Slavko, Sanja and the tiny community of believers in Mostar began caring for thousands of people with food and other humanitarian needs. Slavko started to pastor a church, but like many pastors in the Balkans today, he had no formal training. Eventually, he heard about Langham and went to Croatia for one of Langham’s preaching seminars.

Learn more: Langham’s 2024 year in ministry

Reconciling old divides

“I really fell in love with Langham because Langham is a great tool to equip preachers to communicate the Word of God in a better way,” Slavko said.

Today, Bosnia is still healing from the wounds of war, and the church is one of the rare places where peace and reconciliation is at work. 

“The church is one of the few places where you can see different people with different nationalities coming together, loving each other and worshiping God together,” Slavko said. “We have people who were fighting in the war and were hating the other national groups but when they experience a relationship with Christ, when they experience God’s love, their hearts were softened and now they love those whom they hated before.”

Langham Preaching seminars equip pastors like Slavko all over the world to bring the reconciling power of God’s Word to communities that desperately need it. “The Word of God is alive. It’s bringing change to our lives.” Slavko said. “And then when our lives are changed, we affect those around us and our society can be changed, too.”