CEE Story From The Mission Field
Volunteers take on Strategic Role in Russia
August 16, 2006
Meet the newest mission force in Russia – Danny Griffin, missions minister in Ohio; Brian Krebbs, LifeWay employee in Nashville; Ray Leininger, retired pastor in Missouri; Tim Wishon, senior vice president for the Bank of America in North Carolina; Sally Hinzie, Baptist Association employee in Houston; and Tom McClendon, pastor in southern Georgia. These men and women have each committed their hearts and resources to reaching an unreached people group or city by becoming virtual strategy coordinators in the Russia Field of the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region.
A virtual strategy coordinator adopts a people group and commits to doing whatever it takes to reach them for Christ. These coordinators have:
• committed to a five-to-seven year relationship with their people group
• begun forming a support team from within their home church
• made their initial vision trip to Russia to assess needs and develop a ministry strategy.
With 63 people groups or cities needing a missionary presence in Russia alone – 122 across CEE – virtual strategy coordinators fill a vital role. They are strategic because of the types of places they can serve. Difficulty with logistics and living conditions are impediments to on-site missionaries and virtual strategy coordinators alike. In the cold, isolated city of Tomsk, Russia, attempts to place an on-site missionary were unsuccessful, but Ray Leininger has been very successful as a virtual strategy coordinator. He leads teams that are able to brave the conditions for a short time. In fact, on their latest trip in January, the host Russian church gave the team a certificate for surviving the cold without complaint – it was -49 °F!
Each coordinator has found a unique ministry among his or her people group. For example, Ray Leininger has tapped into the need for teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in Tomsk; he also established a partnership between Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo., and the university in Tomsk. Tim Wishon has focused on Bible training for local pastors in Murmansk, Russia, the largest city north of the Arctic Circle. Danny Griffin has found that music and oral chronological Bible storying is a great way to reach the tribal Khakass people. He and a partner recently visited their target groups and made an oral recording of the Gospel of John in the Khakass language.
The ministries are varied, the people are varied, but the mission is the same – reaching CEE with the Gospel of Christ. There are many more unreached groups waiting to be adopted. If you are interested, e-mail hope4cee@pobox.com.
Read more about Accelerating Hope in CEE as a virtual strategy coordinator.
Receive training about how to Accelerate Hope in CEE as a virtual strategy coordinator by attending a Key Partner Consultation near you.
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This article first appeared in the Central and Eastern Europe regional newsletter, Hope4CEE. If you would like to receive this newsletter by mail, please send your name, mailing address, and home church to hope4cee@pobox.com.