What’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned after traveling 6,000 km by car to Perm Russia with a group of our students? I learned a lot of things but the greatest lesson God taught me was… well you’ll just have to listen to my report to find out exactly what it was!
This is a special edition of “Now is the Time” podcast where I share our experiences in Russia. Most of this podcast I recorded on the shore of a lake about 100 miles outside of Perm, Russia.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:49 — 20.0MB) | Embed
So what did we do in Russia?
We partnered with a local church just outside of the city of Perm to help plant a new church in the town of Vereshagino, about 100 miles West of Perm.
Evangelism seminar
Our group of about 25 camped on the shore of a lake about 7 miles outside of town. In the mornings I helped teach our “Good Soil” seminar, which focuses on accurately communicating the Gospel to an individual in any given culture.
I’ve never been in a situation where we can immediately put into practice what we were learning. This proved an ideal setting as we learned in the mornings and applied what we learned in the afternoons.
Outreach in town
After lunch we traveled into town and mingled with the locals. We played sports, did games for children in the park, started conversations with anyone and everyone who was inclined to talk with us. Most of those conversations led to spiritual questions about God, the Bible and Jesus.
Some people were closed to the subject and went their way. Others were open and continued to ask questions and go deeper. Some were hurting and seeking reason and hope in their lives. We shared the hope of Jesus with as many as we could!
Children’s program
We also did Bible stories for the children who came for games in the park. Unfortunately Russia has a law that prohibits teaching of religious material to children 14 and under without the express written consent of the parents. Thus, we had to ask some children to leave who did not have consent from their parents.
Thankfully our Russian brothers were very careful to do everything by the letter of the law and even though the police did come and question some of us, there was really nothing they could do to stop us.
Campfire fellowship
Another important part of our time was the evening campfires. This was a time for fellowship, worship and debriefing. We discussed the day’s activities and the conversations we had with people in town. We took time to pray and plan for the next day.
Results
As with any missions trip there are two desired outcomes.
1. A small Bible study has been started in the town of Vereshagino. Once a week a pastor will be traveling from Perm (100 miles away) to lead the study.
Pray that the new contacts we made would result in real spiritual fruit.
2. Our students were impressed with how great the need is for the gospel in Russia. There are far few churches in comparison with Ukraine.
Pray that God would raise up new missionaries who can bring the light of God’s Word to places that are still in darkness.
Thanks!
I want to thank everyone who prayed and helped sponsor our students for this trip. We couldn’t have done it without you! Please continue to pray for long term results!
Pictures
I invite you to check out a few pictures from our trip.
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:49 — 20.0MB) | Embed
David Sparks
July 22, 2013Wow – what a great story. As a U.S. citizen I cannot imagine some of the restraints you worked with to preach inside of Russia. The information you shared about culture, seat-belts, and the Orthodox church were very helpful. We’re hosting two children from Ukraine, and it’s great to hear what you’re sharing here. You’re absolutely right – regardless of country, life without God is nothing. And in many our culture in the US embraces this nothingness. Thanks for choosing to serve…
Caleb
July 22, 2013David, I’m glad you had a chance to listen to the podcast. I pray that you’ll have a great experience hosting the children from Ukraine!
Betty Draper
July 24, 2013Caleb, we did this kind of ministry in the states years ago, talking a team into a neighbor and playing games, providing music, teaching, preaching, giving out the gospel, it was an affected ministry back then. Years later serving in Bolivia, SA we also use the same method in the small villages out in the compo, even more affective. The teens from our boarding school came with us and would start a soccer game to draw a crowd. After the game the teens did mimes then sang in Spanish which drew tons of people then the gospel was presented. My husband and I both miss those kind of outreaches…love the face to face contact when presenting the gospel. God bless you my brother for your part in taking the sweet gospel to the Ukraine.
Caleb
July 25, 2013Sounds like you had some good experiences doing those outreaches. I find you really have to take every place and evaluate what would be most effective. We found that it really made a difference when people saw that you were genuinely interested in them. Anyway, we were able to make good contacts with a few people and my prayer is that a church will grow up in the town of Vereshagino!