Chita Recap

Greetings to our Chita Coalition,

I have just returned back from ten days of teaching in the city of Chita and the region of Zabaikalskiy Krai (formally known as the Chita Oblast). What a privilege once again to be sent out by my church and by all of your prayers in order to train, encourage, and also be personally encouraged by our brethren in Chita. It was also a real blessing to have Ayron Wilson of Orange Park Bible Church accompany me on this trip. I hope you were able to follow our daily blog at cbcsa.org. This daily blog is something that I plan to have us utilize for each of our teachers when they are in Chita.�

Training In Chita
After arriving in Chita on Saturday, we participated in the Sunday morning service where we celebrated the Lord's Table. After the church service we spent the afternoon with Pastor Volodya and his family. Come Monday we began our study through the subject of Homiletics. Our focus was to define true "expositional" teaching-preaching and to examine, the man, the mandate, and the method - all under the heading of Biblical Exposition. We have coined expository preaching as the "exegetical, sequencial, verse by verse proclamation of all of God's Word."� We spent Monday thru Friday examining this topic and spending much time in Philippians 2 and I was encouraged at the end that these men had caught on to what we sought to convey.�

Importantly, these training sessions are not only a time of teaching, but also crucial for their encouragement, their friendships, and personal perseverance. I now view these training sessions as more of a Pastor's conference for these men of God to be refreshed by God, His Word, and one another. There is so much going on in the classroom and outside the classroom and we are privileged to provide this opportunity for men who hunger for the fellowship of fellow pastors.

Meeting with Pastor Andrei
Before we left for home I was able to talk extensively with Pastor Andrei Protasov, the regional pastor for the Baptist Union. I have a fond affection for this man and our hearts are one-souled when it comes to reaching this region. Here are a few of the highlights that we covered.

1. Better Communication
We agreed that there must be a more consistent effort in our email dialog. He has agreed and I promise to do the same when it comes to the flow of information to all of you. Much of his problem is that he is on the road visiting churches where there is no internet access. Also, when he does have internet access he has no one to translate his letters to English so he sends me nothing. We have come up with some solutions that should benefit all of us.

2. Training Dates
The fixed months of training for each year are March, June, September, and December. Each training session will occur on the first week of each of these months - Monday through Friday. Men, we need teachers for December 1-5, 2008 and March 2-6, 2009. Please let me know ASAP! If you are thinking about June, just consider the high cost since that is the peak season for travel. It cost Ayron and I over $4000.00 each and we told Andrei that in the future this would be a better month to have a Russian professor go to teach them.�

Let me add that I was very encouraged by Andrei with how committed he is in seeing these men properly trained in order to be sent out to minister.

3. Church Building Program
First of all our Chita Coalition is sending $2,500.00 to complete the purchase of Pastor Andrei's church building in Petrovskiy Zavod.

Second, we want to partner with the Antioch Baptist Church of Chita in the completion of the future main entrance and foyer of the church. This is the next crucial step that needs to be completed. When this is accomplished, then they can move to the next step of installing a central heating system which will provide heating for the remaining sections of the church building. When the heating system is installed, then they can work year round throughout the entire interior of the church building and begin the process of adding much needed classrooms upstairs. Pastor Andrei, Pastor Volodya, and our brother Sergei who is overseeing the building repair, all agree that this is the next key step in the building construction of the Church and Training Center. Brothers, the cost to complete the foyer will be $15,000.00.

So, I am writing to urge all of us to prayerfully consider this need and how God might use our churches to complete another crucial step in the building program. You can send those gifts to SGA and earmark them for the Chita Coalition "building fund." I also want to remind each of us that one week of training is costing the coalition approximately $2,500.00 and I will keep you all abreast to these needs as well. As soon as we (Ron Galy and myself) receive the latest financial numbers from SGA we will pass those numbers on to all of you.

4. Reaching the World
One last thing. We are not only training men to plant and pastor churches in order to reach the region with the Gospel, but these men are already going beyond their own people and reaching the people of Buratyia and the nations of Mongolia and China. Bibles and tracts are all making their way to these restricted regions through the men we are training and praying for. Very exciting!!! I believe God has given our coalition a missions gold mine and we have struck a vein!

In the next few days we hope to have updated pictures on the website - from Darrel Bendorf's December 2007 trip and my trip last week. Below is a letter I received last week from Pastor Andrei. The translation is choppy but you will get the main point. Please call me if you have any questions.

Seeking to Serve our Master,

John Ringo, Pastor-Teacher
Community Bible Church of St Augustine
904.797.3875
cbcsa.org

[Privetsvuyu] you dear brother John. You hope you will know how to be dismantled with the transfer. (He is referring to me being able to translate his letter)
How you did arrive at the house? Immediately after studies we went through the churches. Our journey engaged 5 days. In [Zhirekiy] settlement, we met with the group of believers of 5 people, who asked to us into the union. In [Chernyshevsk] settlement they had a contact with the believers, which so agreed to have further encounters. Into [Kokue] turned himself to the god young fellow, while in the village Of [n].[Kuka], elderly man prayed by the prayer of repentance. All these are God matters! We be glad. Send regards of church by relative. Your brother in Christ brother Protasov Andrey

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