Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
>> Well, Anatole, it’s wonderful to be together at this third Lausanne Congress in Cape Town.
In many ways this is a truly historic event since the last Lausanne Congress in June of
1989, the world has changed in many ways. One of the ways it has changed is that there
has been an emergence of a new region of the world we now call Eurasia.
In 1989 at Lausanne II, the delegates from that region of the world represented a single
country, the Soviet Union, and here in Cape Town at this third Congress we have over 120
delegates from 12 nations of that region. I’m from a different part of the world and
I would like to know, Anatole, what is it like to be a follower a Jesus, a Christian
in Eurasia today?
>> Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity on behalf of participants from Eurasia just
to say thank you to God, to his church, to Lausanne International Committee team and
to Cape Town people for making possible for our group to come and celebrate the whole
week what God is doing all over the world.
You can imagine 1989, just a small group came from the Soviet Union to the second Congress.
But after second Lausanne Congress, God has done something miraculous and it was collapse
of the Soviet Union. It was the end of the Soviet empire. It was no more power of atheism
over so many people who lived under persecution behind the Iron Curtain.
You know, I am very excited because today God is building his church and on one side
it is popular to be a believer in our part of the world. But at the same time, many people
are paying a big price. We have countries where pastors today are still in prison. We
have families that are persecuted. We have churches that are being burned. But at the
same time what God has done in the Soviet Union after the second Lausanne Congress,
we believe God can do the same in China, Middle East and many other parts of the world by
building his church.
>> Anatole you’re a Deputy Director of Lausanne for Eurasia and part of your responsibilities
is to encourage and mobilize the church across Eurasia, I suspect this has not been an easy
task for you. What are some of the issues and challenges that you’ve encountered in
your responsibilities in Eurasia?
>> I wish to say that it was very easy. It was not easy because geographically even though
we’re only 12 countries but we are working together in Russia and you can imagine 19
years ago Siberia was a prison, but today Siberia is a mission field where the churches
are planted and people go for a mission. So that’s what motivates us and I’m very
grateful to God that our people, they see other people saved coming to the Lord, filled
with the Holy Spirit, filled with joy and that’s what motivates us so much.
>> Sergey, you are from Moscow and our theme tonight is God is on the move. How has God
been on the move in that great land of Russia?
>> Las, if you would allow you like first to bring greetings on behalf of the entire
evangelical family from Russia and the former Soviet Union and I would like to do it in
Russian. [Speaking Russian] In English it would sound
like peace to you, dear brother and sisters in the name of our Lord Jesus. Thank you.
Now back to your question.
>> How has God been on the move in Russia?
>> By carefully observing what has taken place in the evangelical movement in the former
Soviet block, especially the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet union
in Eurasian territory have been directly involved in active, strategic developments in terms
of mission ministries, I can say that the evangelical church in the former Soviet Union
block is still on its way out of Soviet oppression, which tremendously impacted its mindset and
culture.
However, in the last 20 years, and especially today, we see that there is a new generation
coming on the scene who are on the fire for Christ, who are addressing new challenges
in a contemporary society on behalf of the evangelical church and who are continuing
to spread the Gospel and expand God’s kingdom all over the former Soviet Union. God is raising
up the next generation of missionaries for contemporary society in Eurasia, sending them
to the most difficult areas, including there where Islam is on the rise and creating strong
base of resistance, where moral challenges, new moral challenges such as ***/AIDS and
drugs and human trafficking are new threats to the foundations of society.
Despite of all those challenges, the next generation of national missionaries and leaders
who represent the faithful evangelical movement are taking the baton of faithfulness from
their fathers, taking it in a new initiative and creative new resources to expand the influence
of the evangelical church. Just like many years ago the Israelites, who reached the
promised land after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, this next generation of leaders
are now coming out of the wilderness of the Soviet regime and reaching beyond the horizon
to lead the evangelical church in reaching contemporary society in the countries of the
former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in a new and powerful way reaching those countries
with the Gospel.
>> Wonderful to hear how God has been on the move across Russia. I’m sure there are things
that make you rejoice in a very special way. What are some of those things?
>> I rejoice that despite all those false predictions of failure given by the nominal
church that is playing all those political power games with the government seeking the
religious monopoly in Russia and other former Soviet Union countries and Eastern Europe,
so the evangelical church has been led by the new generation of young leaders who are
trained and equipped to take the baton of faithfulness from their forefathers and develop
new strategies which can meet the challenges of a contemporary society today.
I rejoice that this young leaders, young pastors, young evangelists, and mission leaders are
ready to serve and as an influential minority in the fallen and immoral culture and can
regard threats from radical Islam and moral challenges such as ***/AIDS, drugs and human
trafficking as we’ll take this challenges as new opportunities for evangelism or to
transform the evangelical movement, reigniting its passion for the Gospel despite any of
those internal or external challenges.
I rejoice that the future of Russia today does not belong in the hands of KGB anymore
or a new president or prime minister or former KGB officer of Vladimir Putin. But the future
of Russia and the future of the former Soviet Union is in the hands of young and potential
Christian leaders who will take the baton of faithfulness and will lead the church into
the glorious future in a powerful way in the Soviet Union.
>> Thank you very much. How can we pray for you?
>> God is on the move in Eastern Europe, Eurasia and please pray for us that we would stay
faithful and follow him.
>> Let’s pray. Father, we thank you for the way you have moved across this vast area
of the world we now call Eurasia. Thank you for your faithfulness to the Gospel that you
have given to us. Thank you for your people, the men and women whom you have raised up
to provide leadership for the church across these nations. We commend them to you, we
lift them up, Lord, and pray in the name of your Son, Jesus, that you will support them,
encourage them, be with them. Grant them courage and grant them peace and grant them faithfulness
to the Gospel. We pray in the name of Jesus, amen.