Gospel Advance team members and pastors Ed Reed (Christian Bible Church) and Ken Prater (Durkeetown Baptist Church) recently completed a weekend of equipping work in Russia. Ken has provided the following report:
The Apostle Paul encouraged his protege Timothy that although he was in chains, the word of God could not be "chained."
Russia is a place that is often misunderstood in large part because of our inability to understand how the Russians themselves view their own lives and the opportunities before them. Are there some restrictions to evangelize? Yes. Will the believers use those restrictions to maximize their opportunity? Yes they will.
Ed Reed and I came to the Baptist Church in Podolsk not quite sure what to expect and left with an incredible amount of joy and encouragement. We were welcomed with a remarkable level of hospitality and excitement about the seminars on biblical exposition.
Ed taught the first two sessions which focused on "staying the line" of Scripture. I presented two talks on framework and text. We think these talks were helpful to many of the men who do the bulk of their preaching in a "lay" capacity. There are two sermons each Sunday in most Russian Baptist churches. The Pastor preaches weekly and a fairly large group men preach on a rotating basis.
We averaged about 15 per session with men attending from three different churches. The discussion was stimulating with many good questions and follow up to clarify.
On Sunday Ed preached from the John 3:1-21 text and I taught an afternoon session to a mixed group of men and women who are involved in teaching or being trained to teach.
We want to thank you for your prayers and encouragement. Please continue to pray for the brothers who carry the load in Podolsk to remember the principles we taught and to put them into practice.
With regards in Christ,
Ken Prater
The Apostle Paul encouraged his protege Timothy that although he was in chains, the word of God could not be "chained."
Russia is a place that is often misunderstood in large part because of our inability to understand how the Russians themselves view their own lives and the opportunities before them. Are there some restrictions to evangelize? Yes. Will the believers use those restrictions to maximize their opportunity? Yes they will.
Ed Reed and I came to the Baptist Church in Podolsk not quite sure what to expect and left with an incredible amount of joy and encouragement. We were welcomed with a remarkable level of hospitality and excitement about the seminars on biblical exposition.
Ed taught the first two sessions which focused on "staying the line" of Scripture. I presented two talks on framework and text. We think these talks were helpful to many of the men who do the bulk of their preaching in a "lay" capacity. There are two sermons each Sunday in most Russian Baptist churches. The Pastor preaches weekly and a fairly large group men preach on a rotating basis.
We averaged about 15 per session with men attending from three different churches. The discussion was stimulating with many good questions and follow up to clarify.
On Sunday Ed preached from the John 3:1-21 text and I taught an afternoon session to a mixed group of men and women who are involved in teaching or being trained to teach.
We want to thank you for your prayers and encouragement. Please continue to pray for the brothers who carry the load in Podolsk to remember the principles we taught and to put them into practice.
With regards in Christ,
Ken Prater
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