Words from the President	August 2020
2020-08-15

Words from the President August 2020

We haven’t had the opportunity to hear the heart of the Russian Baptist President in a while, with Covid-19 taking a major hit to our lives, work and communities. Today we will reconnect with Him and hear his thoughts on a few matters.

What has been the general feeling about the state of the Baptist Union with the Coronavirus? Are you nervous or worried?

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord. I’m so glad that we know God, who is alive and hears our prayers and gives answers in His time and sovereignty. He will will be done in our lives. Our Baptist churches are not separated from Russian society and the difficulties that our country is going through. So our reaction to all the challenges is that the Lord is allowing us to go through this pandemic with the rest of the world. We accept that as a special test of our faith, like the Lord led the Israelites through the wilderness. It was really a test, and humbled them so they would not rely on themselves, but rely on God. So we need to ask ourselves the right questions: “Lord, what do you want us to learn in this situation? How can we be light and salt to our society?”

Give me some examples of what that has looked like?

We react different ways with different people. We cry with people who lost loved ones, we rejoice with those who went through the sickness and have been healed. We want to comfort those who are confused and lead them to the comforter; to the Lord of lords and King of kings. I’m so glad we don’t want to hide from big problems, and the Lord worked in such a way that many of our church members decided to be part of a movement to serve and comfort neighbors and community members, bringing them food, buying medicine and praying for them. This is probably the most important need that these people have: prayer. People have come to us and wonder why we do what we do. It gives us the opportunity to share the gift of Christ with them. And praise God, He has been working.

How has the Baptist Union adapted to the restrictions of meeting and gathering in large numbers?

Have we closed everything or stopped services? No. Our churches continue to worship God and have adapted and continue to gather in different ways. Of course we believe that we worship God everyday, not just Sunday. We listen to sermons, sing and pray together, gather online, and use new technologies, social networks to share our faith. People need to know the treasure of Christ. We will continue keep our doors open, and to share our faith.

What is next? What does the future hold? What are the plans for the Baptist Union going forward?

It’s the same as the Apostle Paul said, and when I read his words as He is in prison (Philippians). He is rejoicing, teaching us to focus on Christ. After this, all other secondary issues and priorities will be taken care of. The future is in God’s hands; only he knows. We pray that people will find God and put their faith in Him, continuing to pray for the leaders of all countries, so we will not have wars, but have peace, so our children will grow up in security and with food on the table. Now that we are here, we must be responsible, respond and protect ourselves from the virus. And in the same way, we have to protect our souls from sin, and only in trusting God can we be safe. This is our message to others.

Praise God for His wisdom and greatness and may He bless all of His children throughout the world!

 
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