Church, Mission, World – Bible Translations mission “Wycliffe” – 10 years in Russia
During the meeting, various Russian missionaries shared of their experiences. Among them were alumni of SPbCU.
Presenting the ministry of the "Wycliffe" missions in Russia was its director Valeriy Morozov who introduced the director of "Wycliffe" international Kirk Franklin.
His speech was also a personal testimony, which is hereditary aspect to the spreading of the Word of God into all the languages of the world. Besides that, Kirk shared his own vision of the problems which face missionaries of the whole world and the basic reason for these problems.
Kirk Franklin grew up in Papua New Guinea where his parents were translators. With their help, in 1973, the people of Cale were first able to read the Gospel in their own language. As their son, he continued their work, in translating the Bible on the international level.
Several years ago, the international base of "Wycliffe" moved the United States, where the mission to Singapore was born. That is connected to the fact that the world is aiming to change. Awakening of Christians takes place in "the South". Those include countries of Asian Pacific region, Latin America, and Africa. The Lord is miraculous, where 77 thousand people are converting and accepting Jesus Christ into their hearts.
Undoubtedly, that is owed to the work of missionaries around the world, who are carrying the Good News, executing the great calling of Jesus Christ.
However, on the sad note, there is sorrowful statistics. About 50% of the converts would leave the church, and that is most observable n the countries of Europe, North America and Australia.
The other problem is that missionaries conduct their ministry under the influence of sudden inspiration and do not properly equip themselves for ministry in their designated area. It is very common that the results of missionary work are not enough or even pathetic, which denote to the cooling of missionary activity. The situation can be characterized as: "The church grows one kilometer wide with the depth of one centimeter".
There is a deficit in real apprenticeship, the full value of understanding, development of leaders in the church all hinder the learning which Jesus Christ envisioned.
That is why receiving education is vital for leaders of churches and missions because it is the ability of the church not enclosing itself, but rather, carry its content to the world, serving people and not it.
This position of the church does not depend on its size, financial abilities, but rather its inner motive. Possibly even a small church can have missionary work as its fundamental missions.
Russia, also, is a country that does not have enough opportunities, or may not even have enough spiritual growth, still can serve other countries where awakening has yet to happen.
Another principle of Wycliffe missions is the complete support of their work by their missionaries themselves. This approach generated discipline, experience and makes them more stable.