"Do not be afraid, speak and do not be silent" - missionary conference in Vladimir

It is missionary not because it gathered exclusively missionaries, but because it was completely devoted to questions of mission and evangelism. The purpose of this fellowship was to motivate, inspire, equip brothers and sisters to gain courage to boldly testify of their faith in Jesus Christ.


Roman Goncharenko, Ivanavo and Vladimir UECB Regional Pastor opened the conference with a welcoming word and prayer. The motto of the day was the call to the Apostle Paul in Acts 18:8-9. The ministry of missions and evangelism often scares us today. We are afraid of both external influences and internal experiences that can fetter us. But they are all resolved when we realize that behind our testimony is the power of the Lord Jesus Christ and His word.

The main preacher of the conference was Yury Poltavets, coordinator of the evangelism ministry in the UECB missionary department. During the day he preached, showing through the Scriptures the essence of God in the matter of mission. Yuri recalled that at all times, God blessed people so that they would be a blessing to those around them. The Lord sends us today to be a light to this world, to be those who deliver the word of Christ through personal evangelism.

The program of the conference included vivid testimonies about the most diverse and modern methods of street evangelism, about the faithful and long-term experience of spreading the printed Word of God through the Gideon Ministry, about the simplicity and effectiveness of personal evangelism through St. Andrew's Ministry. The brothers and sisters fervently and with faith prayed that “workers would be sent to the fields of the Lord,” that new churches would be formed in Vladimir and Ivanovo, especially in regional cities where there are no ECB communities yet. There was a prayer that the power of personal testimony would not fade, but would grow stronger and stronger, especially over the Christmas holidays.

At the end of the day, decisions were made to give regularly to the cause of mission and evangelism, to participate in unified evangelistic projects, and to pray tirelessly for the mission, missionaries, new congregations, and personal evangelism. We ended the meeting with a pastoral prayer and blessing.

About 80 people attended the conference. Among them were pastors, deacons, evangelists, preachers, teachers, children and youth ministers, and other faithful brothers and sisters. The oldest participant was almost 90 years old, and the youngest was about 14. They all left inspired and determined to devote themselves more to the work of evangelizing for the Lord Jesus Christ!