Three weeks ago, I was called into a meeting with the Lutheran bishop who informed me that after 12.5 years of partnership with St. Peter and Paul's Lutheran Cathedral our lease will not be renewed, and we have 3 months to find a different place of worship. Needless to say, this was a bit of a shock to me. It was completely unexpected, and I do not understand the logic of this decision even three weeks later.
The passage of Scripture that came to mind shortly after I heard the news was Matthew 16:18, where Jesus says that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church that He is building. I often focused on the second part of that verse and the word "prevail," which almost suggested to me that we are on the defensive against the spreading influence of hell. But this time around I focused on the word “gates,” which suggests that Christ’s church is the one on the offensive and even the gates of hell will not be able to withstand its onslaught.
I am not going to lie. The news of us potentially losing our building was more than deflating. The church is growing. We are steadily expanding our evangelistic efforts, and to look for a new place at such a time is most certainly not something I want to do. Moreover, finding a place of worship for a protestant church is not an easy task in Moscow, to say the least. Three weeks after I found out about this decision, we are still in the dark about our future, and thus we need your prayers right now for our church. But one thing is for certain – it is God’s church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
Yours in praying and hastening the day of revival in Moscow and Russia,
Constantin and Alexandra
STEPS THAT WE ARE TAKING
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SEE IF LUTHERANS WILL CHANGE THEIR MIND: The leadership of the Lutheran Church changed recently. Therefore, I do not really have a good working relationship with the new bishop who resides in Kaliningrad (between Lithuania and Poland) and only occasionally visits Moscow. I did try to talk to him after his sudden decision to see if we could find common ground. So far, I have not made much progress in this area.
However, my relationship with the new archbishop is much stronger. We have spoken since the decision, and he raised the question of partnership with us at a recent Lutheran council meeting. I did not want to focus merely on our remaining at St. Peter and Paul's though, so we discussed the potential partnership of planting new churches similar to MBC across Russia in other Lutheran cathedrals. Why not use this positive experience of over 12 years across the land?
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SEEK TO ESTABLISH A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ANGLICAN CHURCH: St. Peter and Paul's Lutheran Cathedral is an incredible location. It is a historic building in downtown Moscow. The only other building which is comparable to it is St. Andrew’s Anglican church. So why not swing for the fences and see if maybe we could move to that location if we do have to move? St. Andrew’s also recently changed leadership, with the new pastor having arrived in October of last year. He has agreed to meet with me, but after Easter, which is only one week before we need a new place, since he is busy during the next week and then will be away on a month-long holiday.
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STRIVE TO FIND AN ALTERNATIVE: That is not to say that we are passively waiting for the resolution of steps 1 and 2. We are actively looking at other properties and venues right now. No stone will be left unturned, and we are asking even in those places where we are almost certain that the answer will be “No.”
THREE THINGS TO PRAY FOR:
Someone said that if you are a step ahead of your team you are a leader. If you are three steps ahead, you are a visionary and if you are five steps ahead you are a martyr. I shared that statement with our leadership team when I shared the news of us potentially losing St. Peter and Paul's. But maybe we will be able to somehow retain this cathedral AND will be given a chance to rent St. Andrew’s also. What if God is leading us to launch a new campus and this is His way of pushing us out of our comfort zone? Our team did not let me know, though, whether I am a leader, a visionary, or a martyr so the question is still out there. But this question is not as relevant right now as the question of finding a place for us starting in May. So would you please join us in praying:
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For God to grant us favour with the new Lutheran leadership that would allow us to stay at St. Peter and Paul's.
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For God to open doors for us at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church that would allow us to meet there.
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For God to lead us to a place where we are going to grow so deep in love and knowledge of Him that the church would grow wide, increasing greatly in number.
Mondays are our days of fasting and prayer right now and I would love if you could join us in that.
