Another protestant outreach to the Russian Orthodox?

[MariaRegina]

http://www.newlifedc.org/

Is this church trying to convert the Russian Orthodox?

[rainbowbright]

Is there a way to get it in English?

[MariaRegina]

All I know is that it is operating out of Washington, D.C.

Look at the website with the dc at the end of it.

[Anhelyna]

There's a teeny wee flag on the left hand side and English is beside it - if you click there you'll get a very nice looking site full of wonderful information ;)

They are trying to make out they are more of a Social thing - but take a look at all the services they offer :(

Where does all the money come from ?

[MariaRegina]

http://www.christianradiorussia.org/index2.html

Is this outfit connected with them?



Thanks, yes, here is the English Website:

http://www.newlifedc.org/index_eng.htm

And they do have a Russian broadcast

Beginning in November 2005, New Life Russian Church starts a weekly radio broadcast in Russian language. We invite you to turn your radio on every Sunday at 11:00 AM at the frequency 700 AM. You can hear us in the Greater Washington and Baltimore areas.

I wonder if the local OCA and ROCOR churches know about this intrusion?

[Anhelyna]

hmm - kinda hard to tell that Aria - on the original Site you mentioned - the radio thingie is not clickable

Christian radio russia does appear to be based in Russia .

I think it's going to be rather more difficult to establish that connection - but who knows ?

[MariaRegina]

This is from the http://www.christianradiorussia.org/index2.html

Christian Radio Russia site:


New Life Radio's partners in the USA:

Christian Radio for Russia

520 Spring Street

Jamestown, NY 14701

email: CRFR@juno.com

[Oblio]

My guess is that they are affiliated with NAMB, one of their MOs is to steal Russian Orthodox Christians through social subterfuge and deciet.

[talitha]

As a former non-denominational missionary in Siberia who has run into many missionaries to Russia from a variety of organizations, including even Bahai and Moonie missionaries (which of course I don't approve of), I would like to interject here that according to my observations most people in Russia under the age of 60 are atheists and were raised as such. These people were the focus of our outreaches. We considered RO believers to be our brothers and sisters in Christ, even though most of them would not give us the time of day. I understood the almost universal suspicion and reticence to be because of the communist regime and the frequency of betrayals in the past....

blessings in the name of Jesus on my TAW brothers and sisters. I'm just posting this in the hopes that you will consider another possible point of view. Of course you are free to remain suspicious. :D

blessings
tal

[MariaRegina]

There are atheists in every country.

Go and read CS Revisited.

http://www.christianforums.com/t2424347-cs-lewis-revisited.html

People are coming to Christ through fairytales written by the Inklings.

I just ordered some books by MacDonald who was the mentor of CS Lewis. These guys are opening men's hearts to Christ through fairytales and the parable.

One has to become like a child before one can accept Christ.

[gtsecc]

This is a serious problem.
If you all want the Orthodox faith preserved, you guys need to go nuts evangelising.
If you don't your faith will be replaced by drab buildings, over head projectors, praise music, and poorly worded prayers, start now.
I will help as much as I can - seriously, you wouldn't believe the work I have done for your faith where I live.

[MariaRegina]

This is a serious problem.
If you all want the Orthodox faith preserved, you guys need to go nuts evangelising.
If you don't your faith will be replaced by drab buildings, over head projectors, praise music, and poorly worded prayers, start now.
I will help as much as I can - seriously, you wouldn't believe the work I have done for your faith where I live.

Thanks. Are you inquiring into Orthodoxy too?

We do need all the missionaries we can get. In addition to the OCMC foreign missionary work, the Antiochians have a wonderful home missionary program for the USA and many thousands are coming into Orthodox each year.

Besides the Antiochians, the Greeks, the Serbians, the ROCOR, the Ukrainians, and the OCA are also starting missions throughout the USA. There is a lot of work to be done.

Because of this Orthodox home missionary work, the protestants know who we are and we are beginning to be attacked by Chick and friends.

[Orthodox Andrew]

As a former non-denominational missionary in Siberia who has run into many missionaries to Russia from a variety of organizations, including even Bahai and Moonie missionaries (which of course I don't approve of), I would like to interject here that according to my observations most people in Russia under the age of 60 are atheists and were raised as such. These people were the focus of our outreaches. We considered RO believers to be our brothers and sisters in Christ, even though most of them would not give us the time of day. I understood the almost universal suspicion and reticence to be because of the communist regime and the frequency of betrayals in the past....

blessings in the name of Jesus on my TAW brothers and sisters. I'm just posting this in the hopes that you will consider another possible point of view. Of course you are free to remain suspicious. :D

blessings
tal


I know for a fact in speaking with people born and raised in Russia, that that the majority of people in Russia are Orthodox, and that goes for people under the age of 60.

However, it's true that we must work on bringing many back to the Church of God, the Orthodox Church, through running our own missions.

As far as the Bahais go. I was not aware that they were the sort of religion that went around trying to convert people. As far as I had been told, that very idea goes agaist the teaching of the Bahai faith. So I would ask if you had any links or anything on the issue of them doing this in Russia?

Welcome to TAW, though.

[Wiffey]

As a former non-denominational missionary in Siberia who has run into many missionaries to Russia from a variety of organizations, including even Bahai and Moonie missionaries (which of course I don't approve of), I would like to interject here that according to my observations most people in Russia under the age of 60 are atheists and were raised as such. These people were the focus of our outreaches. We considered RO believers to be our brothers and sisters in Christ, even though most of them would not give us the time of day. I understood the almost universal suspicion and reticence to be because of the communist regime and the frequency of betrayals in the past....

blessings in the name of Jesus on my TAW brothers and sisters. I'm just posting this in the hopes that you will consider another possible point of view. Of course you are free to remain suspicious. :D

blessings
tal

Thankyou for your input...and Merry Christmas:wave:

[InnerPhyre]

If Jack Chick attacks you, you know you must be doing something right :)

[gzt]

The Baha'i don't, they just go around the world and tell people how great it is to be Baha'i.

[Shubunkin]

I get a rash everytime someone mentions Jack Chick. :D

[talitha]

*hands charitina some ointment*

Andreas, I don't think you have an accurate understanding of the way life truly is in Russia. Then again, I haven't been there in ten years *sob*, so hey, things may have changed.

Sorry, I don't know of any internet links that discuss Bahai missionary efforts in Russia. I can tell you,though, that I met and spoke with several foreign (non-Russian) Bahai missionaries during the months I spent in Ulan Ude (a city of roughly 200,000 residents, I think). They were living there just as we were to spread their "gospel" (yikes, sorry, I didn't know what other word to use).

blessings in Christ alone ;)
and thanks for the hospitality, you guys are great
tal

[rusmeister]

I know for a fact in speaking with people born and raised in Russia, that that the majority of people in Russia are Orthodox, and that goes for people under the age of 60.

However, it's true that we must work on bringing many back to the Church of God, the Orthodox Church, through running our own missions.

As far as the Bahais go. I was not aware that they were the sort of religion that went around trying to convert people. As far as I had been told, that very idea goes agaist the teaching of the Bahai faith. So I would ask if you had any links or anything on the issue of them doing this in Russia?

Welcome to TAW, though.

Well, as an Orthodox American in Russia, I can say that my Orthodox friends and acquaintances say that not more than 10% of the people are Orthodox. My personal sense wouldn't set the figure above 25% including all those who profess to be Orthodox and never go to church...
Certainly practicing Orthodox, regular church goers is probably not more than 5%.
In Moscow the numbers are probably lower...

[katherine2001]

What bugs me is when they deny that they are trying to convert Orthodox. They will say that they just want the nominal Orthodox to be better Christians and get them coming back to Church (even if it is an Orthodox Church), but personally I think they are in major delusion. They have more than enough nominal members in their own churches, and those are the people that God will hold them accountable for. They are the ones cancelling church services today because people won't come to church on Christmas. They should worry about their own nominal members and let the Orthodox worry about theirs.

[ufonium2]

They should worry about their own nominal members and let the Orthodox worry about theirs.

They should also worry about the majority of people in their own neighborhoods who don't attend any church regularly before they go to the other side of the world and try to convince complete strangers to come to church. We're the only people on our street who go to church, so we can hardly justify going to another country and bugging people who are no more nominal than the families on either side of us.

[OrthoTauf]

What bugs me is when they deny that they are trying to convert Orthodox. They will say that they just want the nominal Orthodox to be better Christians and get them coming back to Church (even if it is an Orthodox Church), but personally I think they are in major delusion. They have more than enough nominal members in their own churches, and those are the people that God will hold them accountable for. They are the ones cancelling church services today because people won't come to church on Christmas. They should worry about their own nominal members and let the Orthodox worry about theirs.

I just heard today after DL about an Amish-Mennonite family I knew who went as missionaries to the CIS to spread the Word to the unconverted and the nominal. They just wanted them to go to church--which one wasn't an issue with them, I was told. One of the adult sons came back to America and converted to Orthodoxy. Last anyone knows he was attending an Orthodox mission in Amish country.

[Maximus]

Well, as an Orthodox American in Russia, I can say that my Orthodox friends and acquaintances say that not more than 10% of the people are Orthodox. My personal sense wouldn't set the figure above 25% including all those who profess to be Orthodox and never go to church...
Certainly practicing Orthodox, regular church goers is probably not more than 5%.
In Moscow the numbers are probably lower...

That was my experience in Russia, too.

There is a false impression among American Orthodox that most Russians are, like Greeks, "cradle Orthodox." That's not true at all. Most Russians, except for the very youngest, could more accurately be described as "cradle atheists" (or "cradle communists").

They know they have a history of Orthodoxy and a culture strongly influenced by Orthodoxy, but most Russians look at the Church the way Americans look at Colonial Williamsburg.

There has been a bit of a resurgence of interest in the Orthodox Church in Russia, and many young people have gotten themselves baptized. For many, however, that is about the extent of it. They have seldom darkened the Church door since.

In addition, there are a large number of Russian Baptists and other Evangelicals who never were Orthodox. Some of them are here in the U.S. My cursory examination of that web site gives me the impression that it is sponsored by some of their churches.

My wife (who is Russian) and I met a number of Russian and Ukrainian Baptists when we were out in Northern California. We found them to be really cool people. Ded y Baba may have at one time been Orthodox, but these people never were, having grown up in the Young Pioneers and Komsomol.

In other words, Talitha was right in what she wrote in her first post.