Representing the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of RussiaAntioch Initiative
Photo: Church service, Volgodonsk, Russia
Partnering Western churches with Russian churches to meet a tremendous spiritual need, the Antioch Initiative is a biblically-structured, pro-active strategy which seeks to develop key regional impact churches capable of training, sending, and equipping their own to produce multiplying-daughter churches throughout their region.
With eleven time zones, vast Russia extends nearly half-way around the world. Spread throughout her 88 states, the 1,600 churches of the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists constitute an average of only 18 churches per state. Half of them are praying for an ordained pastor and about the same number are praying for a house of prayer for worship. Nevertheless, these faithful brothers and sisters in Christ have the zeal and resolve of the Apostle Paul. Their goal is to see a Bible-preaching church accessible to all of the 100,000 communities of Russia.
The Antioch Initiative is a strategic vision modeled after the church at Antioch, Syria, described in the book of Acts. A church marked by its passion to reach the whole world with the Gospel, the original Antioch church trained its own pastors and missionaries to send them out to proclaim the truth wherever they could reach. The impact of this church was perhaps greater than any other local church body in history. Having studied the scriptures carefully, the UECB has been praying since the 1980s for the Lord to raise up Antioch churches throughout Russia to reach their people with the Gospel.
The Lord has blessed SGA to have a key part in this sweeping vision for reaching the lands of Russia. The UECB leadership identifies a church that meets the high standards required for development as an Antioch church. Then SGA leadership helps to connect that church with a mission-minded group of North American churches that have a proven track record ministering in Russia with SGA. Such regional coalitions of churches are a critical factor in realizing the enormous potential of the Antioch Initiative. Working together and led by one of their pastors, these churches commit to do whatever it takes to help their developing Antioch church reach their entire state for Christ. They provide vital prayer support, advanced training for existing pastors and missionaries, and resources necessary to help equip the developing Antioch church for the high-impact, region-reaching church planting ministry set before them.
