Summer In Minsk
On Monday, July 16 at 9:00 am Priscilla and I left for Minsk, Belarus. We arrived, their time, Tuesday, July 17 at 1:00 pm. The weather was unusually hot and the hotel had no a/c, but other than that all was well. The purpose of this trip was to evaluate our role in Belarus. Our involvement is with a group of pastors. Vladimir is the pastor of the church in Gatava, which is located about half an hour south of Minsk. It is a village of about 15,000 folks. The church in Gatava is the strongest church that we work with in Belarus. Our time there was spent in hours of open forums with the men, ladies (Priscilla led these times) and the church as a whole. This is a church that embraces the doctrines of grace and new covenant theology and is seeking to minister to one another and to reach out to the surrounding villages. Vladimir has been the key man for me for a number of years. Our friendship has deepened and we look forward to ministering together for the years to come. Vladimir’s wife is named Luda and they have two grown daughters, Marina and Julia. Julia is a believer. One side note is that Vladimir is in the process of building a home in a village close by Gatava and he could sure use some financial help to finish the home. If you desire to help out with this need then just send money to IDS and say that it is for Vladimir.
Another church that we work with is in the city of Minsk. The pastors are Andrei and Anatoly. I have known Andrei for a number of years and my relationship with Anatoly has begun to deepen. Andrei’s wife is Natasha and they have two children Martin and Margaret. Anatoly is married to Anna. This is an unusual church in that it is made up of mostly those in their 20’s. Most of those that attend are single. This brings about a problem of their needing older believers to teach the younger believers. This is a church that is willing to think outside the box. My time with Andrei and Anatoly was very worthwhile. It also helped that both Andrei and Anatoly speak english. As a church they are headed in our direction theologically and have a desire to work together with me in the future. Both the church in Gatava and the church in Minsk are targeted for our future involvement.
We also met with Misha who lives and pastors in Krupkie, which is located on the way to Moscow. It is a village of about 15,000 and Misha pastors a small church which is made up of women. Misha’s wife is named Olga and they have two boys Mark and David. This is a more difficult place to minister but Misha is faithful.
Our final visit was to see Constantine who lives in Slonim, which is located on the way to Poland. It is a city of about 80,000 and Constantine is in the process of remodeling a home that he is planning to also use as a meeting place for a church. I love Constantine and we spent an afternoon together at his home. Our time together was spent discussing his ministry. It soon became evident that Constantine was overwhelmed with his situation and a bit depressed regarding the doing of ministry. As a result of our time together it was determined that Constantine has been struggling for quite some time. My desire is continue to work with Constantine and to seek to encourage him in the faith. But, with the lack of ministry, that seems to have been lacking for quite some time, we decided that we would no longer encourage folks to financially support him, as he is not doing the work for which he is being supported. This was a very hard decision for me to make but my prayer is that Constantine will bounce back and once again be in the thick of ministry for the King.
So, the trip went well, though it had its disappointing moment. But it did accomplish our goal, which was to reevaluate our role in Belarus so that we could make better decisions regarding our commitment of time and resources. I am looking forward to years of partnership in ministry in Belarus. I should note that Priscilla was a hit in Minsk. Everyone just loves her and they tolerate me. Bye for now,
Geoff
Category : Author: Geoff Volker 
Posts
Aw, Geoff … I bet you’re a “hit” there, too! The Vladimir/Constantine contrast is all too familiar; you did well to cease support for Constantine and to encourage support for Vladimir, of course.
I just read Mike Adams’ article regarding home churches; having read about how y’all “do church” (and having sorta’ sampled such in Smicksburg), I feel all the more out of place in my traditional church setting. Do the churches with whom you work in Europe emulate NCBF? How ’bout the ones stateside (where IS the NCT church is Wisconsin?!)?
For what it’s worth, upon clicking Submit Comment as to Steve’s post regarding Cultural Mandate, I realized that someone had commented to to a half-year-old post.
Keep up the King’s work, Geoff!