Those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the Word (Acts 8:4).
Joseph Stalin didn’t plan to assist the church in Russia during his purge of political and religious dissidents. But he did help it when he sent some pastors and Christian leaders to the labor camps of Siberia. From Magadan, where they got off the ships, the prisoners were sent in work gangs to forests, mines and remote areas to clear land, dig out vital ore, and cut roads through remote areas. It was grueling work that many did not survive.
But those believers were not silent. They banded together, and as they were sent from place to place they witnessed and taught, leaving behind clusters of believers. In many communities of Eastern Siberia, strong churches still stand and groups of Christians witness to the faith and courage of those dedicated servants.
Wherever the Lord “scatters” you, look for opportunities to talk about how good your God is. People need that hope.
Tags: evangelism, persecution, Russia
In his book Why Christians Sin, J. Kirk Johnston tells about a young Russian woman who, before the collapse of the Iron Curtain, was allowed to visit her relatives in Canada. She was a devout Christian, and her friends assumed that she would defect and seek asylum in Canada or the US because of the religious oppression in the USSR. But they were wrong. She wanted to go back to her homeland.
This Russian woman said that people in the West were too busy acquiring material things and not concerned enough about their relationships. In her homeland, Christian fellowship was essential to their faith because it provided the support and encouragement they so desperately needed.
What do you think? Is America so materialistic that God needs to send persecution to get the church to come together? Would tribulation do any good? What do you think?
Tags: persecution, Russia, support