By: Dr. Jürgen Bühler, ICEJ President

ICEJ Welcomes Rev. Mojmir Kallus

Dynamic Church Leader and Activist from Czech Republic Joins the ICEJ

We are pleased to welcome Rev. Mojmir Kallus to the ICEJ leadership team in Jerusalem, where he will serve as the new Vice President for International Affairs.

Mojmir has been the national director of ICEJ-Czech Republic since he founded the branch in 1994, and in recent years, has served as a member of the ICEJ’s international Board of Trustees. Mojmir has a background of great dedication to faith in Christ even during times of Communist oppression and brings many valuable skills to his new position.

Mojmir was born in 1962 into a nominal Christian family in Czechoslovakia when it was still under Soviet domination. In 1983, while studying mathematics at Charles University in Prague he accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior in an evangelical church. He completed his math degree in 1985 but was soon called into ministry. He first served as a lay minister in the Czech Brethren church and later became a full-time assistant pastor. In the years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the fellowship grew to be the largest congregation in the country, with about 1,000 members.

In the post-Communist period, many well-known evangelists were visiting the country and Mojmir often served as interpreter at their rallies. Thus, he had the privilege to assist such respected ministers of the Gospel as Billy Graham and Reinhard Bonnke. In 1998, he planted a new church associated with the Vineyard movement, while also holding a secular job as a freelance translator and interpreter. Soon, Mojmir started working as an official translator for the Czech government, accompanying the Prime Minister and other cabinet ministers on their travels around the world.

Mojmir became aware of the Christian Embassy in 1990 and made his first trip to Israel in 1992 to attend the Feast of Tabernacles. Two years later, he was appointed to head the new Czech Branch, our first in a former Communist country.

Over the years since, Mojmir has become one of the ICEJ’s most resourceful and effective national directors. In one innovative project, he managed to secure Czech and EU government funding for the Czech branch to teach Holocaust education in public schools. He has championed the fight against anti-Semitism and pushed for bans on neo-Nazi groups in Eastern Europe.

Mojmir has leveraged his professional contacts as an official government translator into successful lobbying efforts for Israel in the Czech parliament and cabinet, including the parliament’s recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He also has taken the lead in launching several new ICEJ branches in Eastern Europe, giving him valuable experience as he moves into opening new branches in other regions of the globe. Meanwhile, Mojmir has continued his pastoral role for many Czech Christians who greatly respect his grasp of biblical Hebrew. For many years, he has led a Friday night Bible study of the weekly Torah portion.

Mojmir will move to Jerusalem this summer to take up his new position, and will be accompanied by his wife, Lucie, and their 12-year-old daughter, Matylda.