Dear partners in ministry,
Making an extended trip to both learn and teach in Russia during the international tensions that have been in the news almost daily could cause one to be worried. I have figured that we would know if the entire situation in Russia would move to another conflict between nations. So, I traveled right at the beginning of the crisis to a number of our Learning Centers in Russia. The trip began meeting with Dr. Peter Mitskevich, President of Moscow Seminary to better develop our relationship with him and the school. The first class was scheduled in Rostov-on-don, a place I had been to many times in the past. However, geographically it is very close to Ukraine. It is a beautiful area and is the location of a Learning Center which we provided much of the funding for the building. As I got settled the first night in the center I soon fell asleep as the many flights and time changes caused some fatigue. Around 11:00 PM I was suddenly awakened to hearing huge booms, like explosives going off, or worse, tanks shooting. My nice sleep was soon ended. My mind had me thinking the worst had happened. No one else in the building seemed to be disturbed, so I finally was able to go back to sleep. The next day, I asked about the explosions and learned that Russians love fireworks. Whew, that was a relief. Daily the class prayed for peace! It is a reminder of the uncertainty in the world today. The center is up and running and holding classes for pastors and leaders in the region.
The last half of my time on the first trip was to Chelyabinsk. It is in Siberia and you might remember the meteor that landed near the city last year. There I met with the leadership of the center, the director (Igor), and taught students at their center. These twenty men are preparing for or serving in their churches. The students come for two weeks, three times a year. They were motivated, they were open, they were eager to learn better how to serve their churches.
After a few weeks home I returned and taught in Leninsk-Kuznetsky. This is a mining region in Russia. Victor, the director is a dear saint, working diligently to help people prepare for ministry. The students were serious, prepared, and highly educated. Some had advanced degrees in medicine, chemistry and physics. They, like the students in the other centers, help with paying their tuition. Victor is amazing; he not only leads the work of the center, but also pastors a church and works in the mines about 40 hours a week. That is what it takes to make a living in much of Russia.
Then it was off to St Petersburg for the Russian Baptist Congress. Not only did I meet many important leaders in the Russian Baptist churches, it provided the opportunity to see how God was working all over this vast country. During Communism, this Congress was held every four years as an encouragement to the believers in the very dark time of the atheistic regime. Sometimes they met in fear of persecution. Now they rejoice in what God is doing all over the country
My last place to teach and to visit was Khabarovsk. This center is on the far eastern side of Russia. It is closer to California than it is to Moscow. I had taught there a year ago. The students in both programs were graduating the day after my class concluded. The graduating students and the teachers are pictured above (with a few children who came with families to celebrate). I saw God work amazing transformations in lives of some of the students.
Now, because of these important trips, I can better match the teachers we have available from many of our churches with the centers. I can better prepare the teachers for what they should expect as they go to the particular center. I will be able to pray for them better as they serve.
In the next few months we will have five teachers in Russia. In addition we will sponsor a marriage retreat for the directors of the centers. As I mentioned, the time pressures along with family pressures pose potential dangers to these men who serve at each center. We hope to build up the marriages with the retreat in December.
We should receive our requests from the seminary in Moscow for teachers to serve in 2016 in the coming weeks. Then we will begin arranging for our teachers to serve our students in all of Russia.
I encourage you to watch the video on YouTube of Dr. Mitskevich that will not only give you some history of the ministry in Russia but also his heart for Russia. It was produced by Dallas Seminary a few years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyosFQbGQ8U
Yours in His Service,
Gary Clatterbuck