The work isn't finished yet, but they're getting closer. Some 300 Seventh-day Adventist Global Mission pioneers and their families are planting member-led congregations across the countries of the former Soviet Union.
The work isn’t finished yet, but they’re getting closer. Some 300 Seventh-day Adventist Global Mission pioneers and their families are planting member-led congregations across the countries of the former Soviet Union. The so-called “300 Churches Project,” launched in the spring of 2001 at Zaoksky Theological Seminary near Tula, Russia, includes establishing and purchasing more than 300 houses to be used as churches.
“We’re finding that new Christians who participate in small groups are more likely to remain church members,” says Becky Scoggins, associate communication director for the church in Euro-Asia. “The small group model has worked in countries as diverse as Brazil and Korea, and we believe small groups are also the future of evangelism in our territory.”
When the project began, the pastors received intensive training and returned to their native countries to start member-led congregations in areas with no Adventist presence.
“Here in Euro-Asia we’re amazed at how far we’ve come since we started the 300 Churches Project less than two years ago,” Scoggins says. “We remember the first time we saw the 300 pastors. They were gathered in the Zaoksky Seminary auditorium for their dedication service in June 2001. Some of them looked so young, not much more than 20 years old. Some of them looked excited, some nervous, some expectant. Some were smiling, some were solemn. All of them were dressed in their best clothes, and we imagined that their mothers and wives had spent long hours ironing shirts and preparing suits for the occasion. We found out that some of the young pioneers had been invited to join the 300 program only two weeks before.”
She continues, “Within days, they quit their jobs or studies, packed their bags, said farewell to their families, and traveled to Zaoksky to begin training for their new assignments.”
Scoggins says that one of the most moving moments of the dedication service was when 12 pastors, representing all 12 nations of Euro-Asia, marched into the auditorium carrying their national flags. “In reality, some of these nations were at war with each other, but these young missionaries showed us that worldly politics are not important in God’s family. Side by side they stood on the stage—all united in the goal of bringing Christian hope to a lonely world.
“Since that day, we have often thought about those 300 young missionaries,” Scoggins continues. “In some ways, those of us who work at the division office feel as if the 300 pastors are our children. We wonder about their struggles and successes…We pray for their spiritual lives, their families, and their new congregations.
“We’ve seen how these humble house churches can bring together people from all walks of life: a policeman, an actress, the sister of a high-ranking Soviet leader, a former death row inmate. These people are the greatest sign that the 300 Churches Project is a success.”
More than 2,000 people have been baptized as a result of the project. Adventists in Euro-Asia have purchased nearly 240 house churches and hope to purchase the remainder for each new congregation by autumn of this year.