Have you every seen something or someone in life whose impact far outweigh its size? For example I have just learned about the passing of one of my university professors. He was well in his 90s so it was not really a shock for anyone. But as I thought about his life I realized that his impact on my life and his place in my life was far greater than the amount of time we spent together.
Another example to me is Moscow Bible Church. The impact of this church on the broader Christian community in Russia is much larger than its relatively small size. The Russian Association of Evangelical Free Churches grew out of the ministry of Moscow Bible Church. During its entire existence, Moscow Bible was a trendsetting church pioneering various ministries which then were picked up by other churches across Russia. That is why as we are underway with our capital campaign I wanted to take the time each month and share with you about the rich history of our church and its bold vision.
Moscow Bible Church was founded in 1991 when a group of American missionaries started gathering for prayer with Russian university students, the small group soon outgrew the apartment in which they met, so Moscow Bible Church was formed and quickly grew to over 500 members. They began renting a meeting hall in a downtown hotel. Initially, pastors were called from the United States, and an affiliation was established with the Evangelical Free Churches of America. Moscow Bible Church was officially registered with the Russian government in 1994. The Russian Evangelical Free Association of Churches grew out of the ministry of Moscow Bible Church. Churches like Free Bible Church in Kazan and Kirov Bible Church were planted while heavily relying on the ministry vision of Moscow Bible Church.
Despite having to change locations four different times in its first three years of existence, Moscow Bible stayed strong and vibrant all through the 1990s. However, the new millennium brought many challenges that shrank the body to under 70 people. From its inception, the church closely partnered and heavily relied on the outreach of Cru Russia (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) and its missionaries. When Cru Russia began to experience difficulties in evangelism and discipleship, the church stopped growing and stagnated for over a decade.
In 2012 Moscow Bible Church was re-planted, relocating to St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s Lutheran Cathedral in downtown Moscow. It no longer relied on outside ministries but instead started its own evangelism and discipleship efforts. Mercy outreach ministries were launched while gatherings for teenagers and college students were re-opened. The church began to experience people coming to know the Lord, started baptizing new converts on a regular basis, and began hosting large evangelistic events that other Christian communities in Moscow also utilize for their evangelistic outreaches (for example, the candlelight Christmas Eve services and the Liturgy of Shadows on Good Friday quickly gained a good reputation among churches in Moscow). Moreover, these outreaches were adopted by other churches across Russia, with similar special services being held in Zelenograd, Kazan, Novosibirsk, and many other places.
Currently Moscow Bible attracts about 90-120 people each Sunday, with over 100 members, four Sunday-School age groups for infants to age thirteen, and a youth ministry for teens, college-age, and young professionals. While it is not yet a very large church, its impact is much greater than its size. It is a kingdom-minded community striving to make all its materials (gospel tracts, pre-marital counseling, small group study guides, Advent and Lent readings, etc.) and strategies (evangelistic events, mercy outreach programs, new member classes, discipleship, etc.) readily available to other churches. The influence of Moscow Bible Church is felt in many different churches across Russia.
Moscow Bible sees its outreach to youth, college students, and young professionals as potentially benefiting other churches in Moscow who may not be able to put together programs for this demographic. This also helps to unite young people with a larger group of believers, including potential spouses.
Similarly, Moscow Bible’s mercy outreach ministry to the cancer ward at a children’s hospital, visitation to a nursing home, and special events like the Christmas Market attract Christians from various churches in Moscow.
The Lord has been greatly blessing Moscow Bible Church recently. Although the pandemic, war, and military draft have produced huge obstacles in the life of the congregation, God is continuing its ministry and growth, blessing it with faithfulness and perseverance – like the church in Philadelphia, mentioned by John in Revelation. (Cf. Revelation 3:7-13)
However, losing the facilities at St. Peter and Paul’s cathedral was a huge blow to the ministry of the church, just when it had seemingly begun to turn the corner in making evangelism a lifestyle for everyone in the church. It is not easy for a protestant church to find a location to rent in Moscow. It becomes much more difficult when it is a church of over 100 people with a vibrant Sunday School that requires additional rooms. If the church seeks to meet in a somewhat central location, the price for renting a space is extremely high, not to mention that few spaces will rent to a church.
As a result of its recent move, Moscow Bible must now conduct various ministries and store equipment in five separate locations across Moscow, rather than gathering the saints together and conducting its ministries from a single church site. In the current Russian atmosphere, due to many uncertainties, potential moves, high rent costs, poor locations, and other factors, it is very difficult to maintain a healthy and a vibrant church without its own building.
Owning property in Moscow greatly increases a church’s evangelistic impact as people come back time and time again. Russians see the church building as lending credibility to a religious organization and distinguishing it from cults. Because Russia is a post-secular society, having a church building breaks down barriers and amplifies evangelism for many seeking traditional Christianity.
Our goal currently is to broaden the network of people that are familiar with Moscow Bible Church as much as poissible. Would you mind forwarding this e-mail to some of your friends to share with them about the rich history of God's faithfulness in Russia? Would you consider sharing this history with the missions pastor of your church? I would greatly apprecaite all the help we can get in spreading the word out.
Yours in praying and hastening the day of revival in Moscow and Russia,
Constantin and Alexandra
PS I remember that I promised to share about our Candlelight Service. That story is coming out literally later this week.
THREE PRAYER REQUESTS:
Please take a moment right now, after you fnished reading this e-mail, to join us in praying for God:
- To bless "Incubator for Church Planters." You may remember that I recently was certified as a trainer for "City to City's" ministry in Russia. We are in the early stages of launching this ministry which could be broken into three parts: education, faith and work initiatives and social projects. We are starting with education and will begin a two-year course for over 20 church planters from all of Russia at the end of February. The course is called "Incubator for Church Planters." Please join us in praying for the success and the impact of this program.
- To raise necessery funds for us to purchase our own building. I shared in my previous newsletter about our capital campaign that we just launched. Check it out if you have not yet and if you can please share about it with as many people as possible especially with the missions board of your church.
- To bring peace to Russia and Ukraine. Moreover, ask God to use this conflict by bringing reconciliation and revival to these countries.
