wfn.org | Russian Training Curriculum Unites Future Pastors

[APD <APD_Info_Schweiz@compuserve.com>]

June 28, 2001
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
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CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland

Russian Training Curriculum Unites Future Pastors

Tula, Russian Federation.  Three hundred and twenty-
five new student pastors from 12 former Soviet 
republics have gathered at Zaoksky Seminary south of 
Moscow to begin the first stage of what Seventh-day 
Adventist Church leaders in the region are calling a 
revolutionary approach to mission. "This is a historic 
day," said Artur Stele, president of the Adventist 
Church in the Euro-Asia region, at a June 13 ceremony 
marking the start of a three-month period of intensive 
study for the students.

Adventist Church leaders in the Euro-Asia region have 
set a goal of establishing 300 new Adventist congregations 
within the next two years. Unlike many Christian churches, 
which depend heavily on clergy for leadership, the new 
congregations will be structured around small groups of 
members who are actively involved in evangelism, preaching, 
and community service.

The student pastors come from countries including Ukraine, 
Russia, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan. Seventy-five percent 
of the students are age 30 or under. Thirty-six percent 
are 25 years or younger.

Some participants found out about the program just weeks or 
days before training was due to begin, says Rebecca Scoggins, 
associate communication director for the Adventist Church 
in Euro-Asia.  And yet they made the life-changing decision 
to become pastors, quitting their jobs and leaving their 
families for the summer, "because they were asked, and 
because they felt that they were needed," she says.

Twelve of the students marched into the auditorium carrying 
the national flags of the countries they represent.

"It was a moving example of how a shared faith can overcome 
barriers raised by cultural or political differences," says 
Scoggins. "Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, these 
flags are not seen together anymore. Some of these countries 
are at war with each other, fighting about borders, religion, 
or politics.  And yet these future pastors walked into the 
auditorium as friends and will spend the rest of the summer 
training together."

The training curriculum will cover basic theology, small-
group leadership methods, and contextualization, or making 
Christian beliefs understandable and relevant to people from 
different cultures. After graduation the pastors will return 
to their home countries to begin the work of establishing 
new congregations. For the first two years, they will also 
receive on-the-job training from an experienced Adventist 
pastor in the region. [Editor: Bettina Krause for ANN]