SLAVIC GOSPEL ASSOCIATION

Innercircle Perspective

Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits . . . Psalm 103:1-2

I am writing from a Russian pastors’ conference at a rented, snow-covered, wooded facility two hours west of Moscow. Gathered here are 52 faithful men of God. Each of them serves as the senior pastor of their church, and in addition, each of them is charged with the care of all the Evangelical Christian-Baptist churches in one or two states of Russia. Their weights of responsibility are great. Moreover, the doors of opportunity are steadily closing. It is a vital time for them to come together to be refreshed from the Word, and to work on strategies for overcoming new barriers and taking the Gospel to the thousands of waiting communities.

This is an especially blessed time for the pastors, since through the assistance of SGA partners, their beloved wives were able to accompany them. The ladies are sharing meals with their husbands, but have separate Bible-teaching sessions taught principally by Mrs. Kris Goertzen, wife of Dr. Rick Goertzen, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Hutchinson, Kansas.

While much of the freedom for preaching the Gospel is already gone, there is little discussion of the opposition that grows by the day. The sessions are instead directed at how to be more effective as a pastor, how to grow their churches to be stronger, and how to speed up the process of evangelizing unreached communities. At the UECB board meeting, however, sadly much of the time had to be spent dealing with the latest unbiblical movement that has come from North America, and how best to combat it.

Being in Russia as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday serves to intensify my deep gratitude to the Lord for all the remarkable things that He has done here in the former Soviet Union since 1990, when He brought the Iron Curtain crashing down for the Gospel to go forth. Since then thousands of pastors have been trained. Thousands of church planters have been sent. Thousands of new churches have been established. And many of these wonderful things that the Lord has done have been done through the faithful prayers and material support of faithful SGA partners.

From Thanksgiving Day in America we rush right into our celebrations commemorating the miraculous birth of our Savior. What an exciting time it is. With the joyful Christmas activities come special opportunities for sharing the glorious Gospel with friends, classmates, neighbors and co-workers. And so it is in the lands of Russia. Here Immanuel’s Child offerings from partner churches across North America will make it possible for hundreds of churches to hold special outreach events and invite un-churched children and their parents. Join us in praying for these special evangelistic Christmas celebrations.

And thanks to the Lord and to generous SGA partners, hundreds of pastors and their families will soon receive presents and be able to have a special Christmas dinner. Pray with us that the Lord will provide resources sufficient for the blessing of at least 1,000 faithful pastors and their families.

In the meantime, may the Lord richly bless your family’s Thanksgiving gatherings. We are constantly thanking Him for you, and for our other precious partners in the Gospel. But we can never thank you enough! It is your faithful prayers and your material sacrifices that make all of our ministries possible.