Bryansk Summer Congress Report

“...we went out of the city to the river, where, as usual, there was a house of worship…” Acts 16:13

“And they continued daily with one accord in the temple, and broke bread from house to house, and ate their food with gladness and sincerity of heart.” Acts 2:46

For 4 days, the Christian base “Pines” situated under the vast expanse of pine trees and the large tent which housed all those who came to give honor, glory and praise to our Lord. They also received instruction from pastors, communicated with brothers and sisters in Christ, experienced the great joy of unity and being in one Spirit, filled with uplifting melodies performed by choirs and orchestras.

Participants arrived daily from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orel, Sochi, Lipetsk, Pskov, Kursk, Ryazan, Saratov, Samara, Novocherkassk, Stavropol, Novosibirsk, Rostov, Togliatti, Smolensk and other cities, as well as from Germany, Tajikistan, Belarus. They settled in tents, summer houses, hotels, or whatever else they could find or desired.

The ministry gallery presented spiritual literature, Christian children's books, board games, and all kinds of creative items. Every day was served hot lunches, tea and sweets, and every moment - shared testimonies, talked about the gifts of service that the Lord provides, and about the grace that is immeasurable and unchangeable by the grace of God.

The joy of the meeting was emphasized by the first hymn “Our Great Lord” performed by the combined choir of the Bryansk region, accompanied by the combined orchestra of the regions of central Russia. The service began with prayer. The Bryansk Regional pastor, Sergei Plodushchev recalled that the Bible speaks 130 times about the Kingdom of God and the central person of the gospel is Jesus Christ: “The Lord is waiting for your heart to burn!!! There must be a need for God. May everyone be filled with the desire to build the kingdom of God for themselves.”

UECB President, Director of Moscow Theological Seminary, and pastor of Calvary church, Peter Mitskevich commended everyone to “put aside all malice and all deceit, and hypocrisy, and envy, and all slander, like newborn babies, love the pure milk of the word, in order to grow from it unto your salvation" (1 Peter 2:1-2). “Dear brothers and sisters! I wish you to be nourished and grow in the Spirit these days! We are now in the tent, this is our tabernacle, and as it is written, “and the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34). May the Lord bless our congregation!” Then the Lord’s Prayer inspired and filled the tent with the Holy Spirit.

Those gathered were also greeted by the Pastor of Grace Church in Berdsk, and vice-president of the Novosibirsk Biblical Theological Seminary, Pavel Togobitsky : “as it is said in the book of Isaiah 63:18-19, “for a short time the people of Thy sanctuary possessed it: our enemies trampled down Thy sanctuary. We have become such over whom You never seemed to have dominion and over whom Your name was not named,” and so, imperfect, we are preparing for the moment when the Kingdom of the Lord will come. Let us focus on the cross awaiting the second coming.”

The head of the UECB administration, Vladimir Miskevich, recalled, “for the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). According to a survey, only 2% of Russians are truly born again. So let this council be a renewal of our faith. Let us allow Jesus Christ to work in our lives, families, and homes.”

“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62) So Vyacheslav Green, the Sverdlovsk regional Pastor called on all those gathered to experience joy and grace.

“Don’t leave here the same way you came! Remember Zebedee's wife, who asked to place her sons on both sides of Jesus Christ? This is how the Kingdom of Heaven seemed to her, but for Jesus it is different. Do not sit in honor, but forgive, submit for the sake of Jesus Christ - that will be the Kingdom of God for you!” - welcomed Viktor Levashov, Southern District Regional UECB Pastor.

UECB Vice President Viktor Ignatenkov conveyed greetings from the unions of the Eurasian Federation of Evangelical Christian Baptists and from the churches of Israel to the participants of the Bryansk-2023 Council. “All our brothers and sisters are with us with all their souls and hearts, rejoicing at this celebration!” Pastor from Germany Pavel Hagelganz, Tajikistan - Vladimir Gorbunov, and Armenia - Asatur Nahapetyan joined the opening remarks.

The first day was filled with the joy of meeting new faces and seeing old ones as well, and ended with evening youth fellowship. Vyacheslav Green’s sermon led to reflection: “What would Jesus share on his Instagram?..” The pastor spoke about the pressing issues of girls and boys who find it more difficult to be in the world, since temptations lurk literally at every step.

Our God is a God of order. Every day invariably began with prayer at 9 o'clock. The schedule included constant saturation and praise not only with the Word, but also with music. The chamber choir from Ryazan, as always, impressed us with the extraordinary beauty of their performance, so much so that when asked “Which choir will glorify God in heaven?” The natural answer would be “Ryazan!..” The children’s choir of Bryansk churches supported the high standard of musical ministry - I counted about 200 children! The family choir of Alexei Ryzhachenko from Bryansk commended us with their performance, “so that the cathedral lights us up, let’s not be lukewarm!..”

Victor Levashov. “Sheep walk among wolves for 2000 years - a phenomenon! And the wolves will not tear them apart! In the eyes of the world, believers are weak, but they cannot take it! So with the bright faces of a virtuous life, preach the gospel of God. Our strength does not lie in eloquence or intellect, but in remaining in the world to bring God’s light to make transformation.”

Pastor from New Moscow Bible Church, Vladislav Treskin emphasized that “you cannot criticize or condemn neighboring churches, or your own church: the pastor, the choir, those redeemed do not act like that... You need humility and knowledge of the Heavenly Father. For the power of the Holy Spirit is not to tear down, but to love!”

From the two year old church plant in Samara - Gospel of Grace Church, preacher Pavel Kazakov recalled that “every person is valuable to God. In the world, “the army will not notice the loss of a fighter,” but Jesus Christ will not say, “let the lost sheep suffer for a couple of days, then I’ll go get it.” God seeks men! And the greatest discovery is made every day, when he finds a lost sheep, he doesn’t skin it, but rejoices at its salvation and holds it close!”

Pavel Togobitsky: “ Revelation. 19:11-21 - this is the Kingdom of God that we ask for. We must understand what kind of king will come: a judge, a ruler, a revelation, a conqueror - is this what we think of him now?  The Kingdom of God will expose our misunderstanding of Him. The confusion will be resolved when He comes to us. We are waiting for the kingdom, but in what form are we waiting for it? And we do not want to be in the winepress of God’s wrath, but in white robes ready for his coming. When He reigns, kings will no longer be needed. Gathering an army against God is a death sentence for humanity, but still the world will respond with a senseless war. It will only try to resist him.

Thematic seminars were a great blessing and learning. “Development of missionary service in the church” (responsible Vitaly Moroz, pastor from Volgograd ) presents the unique experience of missions. In the North of our country, for example, residents still ask, “What is the Bible?” The central truths of the meeting: “God needs the faithful more than professionals,” “Every Baptist is a missionary,” “One-day trips to nursing homes are also missionary journeys.” The Word of God is in dire need of being spread - today there are not enough evangelical churches in 1,000 Russian cities! It is better, of course, to work as a team, but up to 15% of missionaries work effectively alone.

In a Seminar on children’s ministry, “How to find an approach to each student?” Olga Mitskevich claims that “children love a teacher-friend, not a mentor. And as soon as a Sunday School teacher stops learning himself, it’s time for him to stop teaching.”

At the seminar “Evangelism in Modern Realities,” Konstantin Somov showed how you can tell about Jesus Christ through world-famous paintings.

Important points and accessible areas for evangelism are revealed at the seminars “Music and spiritual and moral education of children in the church - the foundation of a future minister” (K. Goncharenko), “Mentoring in the church” (S. Naboychenko), “Ministry among the disabled” (M. Vosnyatin), “Organization of small groups” (V. Gorbunov), “Evangelism in a secular society” (Z. Bardina).

Concluding the Congress, Peter Mitskevich turned to Romans 12:2, asking those present: “Is Jesus Christ the Lord of your life? City officials now go to church - it has become politically correct. But does Jesus reign in their hearts? Modern Christianity reminds me of Relax FM radio" If I don’t like it, I’ll criticize it or change the station. The awakening must begin with me! If there is no personal meeting with the Lord, it is only knowledge. Offer your bodies as living sacrifices to renew your minds. Don’t just return home, but be even more transformed into His image. Surrender yourself to the Lord so as not to become a prodigal son. If there are no godly parents, look for spiritual parents. The world will continue to try to influence you, and you need to “remain” with a soft heart. Always ask yourself - what would Christ want me to do? We must rely not on knowledge, but on the Lord, the King of kings in our lives.”

The disciples of Jesus Christ saw victory over death and since that day the church has lived by this faith! The Kingdom of God has broken into this world, and he has become our main joy! At the end of the congress, more than 60 people repented! Both old and young, from 8 to 80 years old, admitted their sinfulness and bowed their knees before the Lord. “...praising God and being favored by all the people. But the Lord added daily to the church those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).

We ended our time with the hope of a meeting exactly a in year, again in Bryansk.

Alla Stambolidi