Attendance at Russian service up by 50%!
Of course if attendance is normally 2, then all it takes is 1 more, doesn't it? But if normal attendance is 2, 1 more does make a big difference, after all. It is 50% more!
When we first began Russian-language services 5 or 6 years ago, we had up to 13 or 14 coming on most Sundays, and 8 or 9 was the regular attendance. Over time, the workers returned to their homes and families, generally in Ukraine, or in a few cases, Russia, Belarussia, Moldavia, or one of the former Soviet Republics, until we were left with just one couple, Petro and Lidiya, from Kiev. For over a year now, we still meet every Sunday to sing in Russian/Ukrainian, and have a short reading, and they get to pray in their own language.
Then, out of the blue this week, an e-mail from Svetlana ("Sveta"), saying she had moved to Madeira from St. Petersburg and had found out there is a Baptist church here. She speaks English, but feels more at home in her native Russian, of course. She saw on the blog that we have Russian services, and wanted to know if it is every week. I replied to her e-mail, and yesterday she came to the meeting. I understand her mother, who is also a believer, will be coming for Christmas and New Year, and will come to visit us, also. Sveta's presence is an encouragement to us in the Russian service (including Abbie, who doesn't speak Russian, but I suspect understands more than she lets on to the rest of us---and she does play the piano in Russian!).
One other "small" ministry of the church is the prison meeting each Monday. Attendance varies there, too, and what was at one time a group of 12-15 is now 5 or 6, four of whom are Ukrainian. None of those who attend have made a commitment to Jesus, as we evangelicals understand it. The Ukrainians all have an Orthodox background, so I have continued to mention the importance of a life-changing experience of the new birth by faith in Jesus Christ to them. Week after week, in the short time we have together, linguistic and cultural barriers (not to mention spiritual ones) notwithstanding, here a little, there a little: one wonders how much is penetrating into their hearts. Then today, a question by one of the Ukrainians: "But if I make this decision, how do I know it is real? How can I be sure I have a new life?" I don't know how much of my answer he and the others understood today, but the fact he even asked the question is a sign that something has registered: "Understanding up by 50%!" -- well, that's not as easy to measure as counting heads for attendance, and not something we can chart statistically. But when the Spirit moves, as Jesus said, we know it like when we hear the wind blowing, even if we can't measure it or chart it. The wind is blowing.
When we first began Russian-language services 5 or 6 years ago, we had up to 13 or 14 coming on most Sundays, and 8 or 9 was the regular attendance. Over time, the workers returned to their homes and families, generally in Ukraine, or in a few cases, Russia, Belarussia, Moldavia, or one of the former Soviet Republics, until we were left with just one couple, Petro and Lidiya, from Kiev. For over a year now, we still meet every Sunday to sing in Russian/Ukrainian, and have a short reading, and they get to pray in their own language.
Then, out of the blue this week, an e-mail from Svetlana ("Sveta"), saying she had moved to Madeira from St. Petersburg and had found out there is a Baptist church here. She speaks English, but feels more at home in her native Russian, of course. She saw on the blog that we have Russian services, and wanted to know if it is every week. I replied to her e-mail, and yesterday she came to the meeting. I understand her mother, who is also a believer, will be coming for Christmas and New Year, and will come to visit us, also. Sveta's presence is an encouragement to us in the Russian service (including Abbie, who doesn't speak Russian, but I suspect understands more than she lets on to the rest of us---and she does play the piano in Russian!).
One other "small" ministry of the church is the prison meeting each Monday. Attendance varies there, too, and what was at one time a group of 12-15 is now 5 or 6, four of whom are Ukrainian. None of those who attend have made a commitment to Jesus, as we evangelicals understand it. The Ukrainians all have an Orthodox background, so I have continued to mention the importance of a life-changing experience of the new birth by faith in Jesus Christ to them. Week after week, in the short time we have together, linguistic and cultural barriers (not to mention spiritual ones) notwithstanding, here a little, there a little: one wonders how much is penetrating into their hearts. Then today, a question by one of the Ukrainians: "But if I make this decision, how do I know it is real? How can I be sure I have a new life?" I don't know how much of my answer he and the others understood today, but the fact he even asked the question is a sign that something has registered: "Understanding up by 50%!" -- well, that's not as easy to measure as counting heads for attendance, and not something we can chart statistically. But when the Spirit moves, as Jesus said, we know it like when we hear the wind blowing, even if we can't measure it or chart it. The wind is blowing.
posted by EP | 10:53 PM | Permalink
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