What comes to mind when you hear the words “If you build it…”? Most likely you have answered with the second part of the famous line from “The Field of Dreams” movie – “If you build it, they will come.” Over the last 8 years or so this line was associated in our church with a different imagery, and last August we came back to it as we gathered together with our leaders for a one-day retreat.
Timothy Keller drew parallels between Elijah building an altar on Mount Carmel (cf. 1 Kings 18) and our actions as we prepare for revival. Keller said that just like Elijah could not draw fire from heaven, neither can we do anything about the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of people around us. But we can do everything to prepare for God’s work.
So approximately 8 years ago we gathered our leaders and told them that during the next 5 years we would be focusing on youth ministry in our church. We were 4 years into a renovation of our church. It was obvious that if we did not focus on our youth ministry right then, 5 years later we would have to start shutting down our various initiatives like youth camp because the church would be growing too old to handle them. At the time we did not know how God would answer this call. Humanly speaking we could not even find a youth leader that we could hire for this task. But we could do a lot of other things like continue ministering to our youth and prioritizing them. In a way, we were building an altar and waiting on the Lord to send His fire. And He did! 8 years later our youth ministry is thriving and growing. It is one of the healthiest youth ministries in Moscow.
Then 5 years ago, we decided to tackle a problem that was historically a weakness for Moscow Bible Church. We wanted to address our small groups. Even at its peak, the church did not have a strong network of small groups, so it was no small task. Once again, we felt called to build an altar not quite knowing how God was going to honor our efforts. 5 years later, we have finally reached a point where our small groups are adequate for the size of our church. God raised up leaders and then grew one small group after another, allowing them to split up and to keep multiplying.
So, what are we focusing on now? I did not want this e-mail to be too long so I broke it up in two parts. But next week I will share with you about what we decided to focus on this year and how we have seen God blessing our efforts.
To be continued…
Yours in praying and hastening the day of revival in Moscow and Russia,
Constantin and Alexandra
THREE THINGS TO PRAY FOR:
Please join us in praying for God:
- To bring peace to Ukraine and Russia. Moreover, ask God to use this conflict by bringing reconciliation and revival to both countries.
- To bless our Advent season. This year our sermon series will be dedicated to the second coming of Jesus. We will look forward towards the return of the King and will draw parallels with His first coming. Christmas is a great season for outreach and it would be wonderful to see many new people come to church and put their faith in Christ during this season.
- To provide the necessary resources for us to finish up remodeling our new place. We have moved in, but could not purchase a coat closet for the entryway, book shelves, or shelves for the closet.
