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You Are The Christ

St. Petersburg UBF (SPSU) conducted their summer Bible conference from Aug. 19-21 very successfully under the direction of M. Caleb and Sarah H. The title of the conference was “You are the Christ” based on Peter’s confession from Matthew’s gospel. The program consisted of four messages and a series of reports based on the 2011 World Mission Report in Korea, which was titled, "Spirit, Ministry, Vision." A drama was presented on the prodigal son. Some young Russian men attended. Three of the messengers were Russian. This is all in answer to prayer that God raise harvest workers and preachers from among Russians. We had guests from Moscow and Kiev.

Anna delivered her message on Jesus the good shepherd from John 10. It was a victory since she overcame her very busy schedule to write, practice, and deliver the message. Secondly, M. Daniel H. delivered on the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Maybe he was like the prodigal son who had chased after money and avoided responsibility. But God brought him to his senses and made him a very responsible person in our ministry. Thirdly, Pastor Sergey delivered his message on the event when Jesus calmed the storm. His word was “Why are you so afraid?” The message planted faith in our hearts that God is almighty, that God is able to save. We learned that we must come to Jesus who is God Almighty rather than succumb to fear. The Sunday message was delivered by Pastor Konstantin from Moscow. He presented without looking at his manuscript on the confession of Peter, “You are the Christ.” We learned that it is God’s Spirit that brings a person to recognize the Christ. We also came to realize that this confession is the foundation of the Church. God works powerfully through our confession.

The presence of M. Maria P. was the answer to prayer. I was supposed to prepare a drama for the conference, but was completely out of energy for the task. In fact, I became ill with stress. In my distress, I called out to God for help. Late that night I got a phone call. It was M. Maria who said she would be arriving the next evening. When she arrived, she gave all her energy to serving, especially in the drama prep. She selected music and organized the practices. It was God’s answer to my prayer for help. The drama was performed without a hitch just as planned. Thank God who answers prayer.

The conference site was beautiful and God answered our prayer for sunny warm weather. The site was right next to the Gulf of Finland. The water was warm enough to swim in. There was a beautiful beach and an enchanted forest where berries and mushrooms could be gathered. We had a shish kabob barbecue on the beach in typical Russian fashion.

Thank God for the faithfulness and hard work of his servants, especially M. Caleb and Sarah. Our prayer topics are to raise harvest workers, especially among male disciples. We are praying for 30 faithful worship service attendees. We are praying for the expansion of our ministry and for house churches in God’s time. Thanks for your prayers on our behalf.