Travelling in or out of Belarus is challenging at the moment. Land border crossings are unpredictable and take time; air travel is costly and only available via Istanbul. Most governments suggest that it is unsafe to travel there, with few international embassies functioning in the country. Despite being cut off from much of the rest of the world, the Baptist church in Belarus has sought to maintain fellowship with the global Baptist family, mostly through the travelling ministry of their General Secretary, Leonid Mikhovich. However, in the last few weeks, the Belarus churches have been delighted to welcome European visitors. Early in November, Soren Badragan, President of the Romanian Baptist Union, taught at the TCM International course, and last week EBF General Secretary, Alan Donaldson, accepted the invitation to speak at the Belarus ministers’ conference in Kobryn, just 50km from the Polish border.
Kobryn Baptist church is a large building with seating capacity up to 1000 people, so plenty of room to welcome the 300 ministers and deacons who gathered for the 2-day conference.The impact of an international Baptist presence in Belarus is described in this comment from a conference participant:
“Thank you very much for your courage to come to Belarus where we often feel forgotten and isolated these days.”
As an official guest in Belarus, Alan was able to speak at the conference and also to address an evening service attended by many local Christians who filled the church with their praise and worship. Alan Donaldson preached on the conference theme “Christ’s Church” and encouraged pastors to regularly examine their lives to ensure they lead under Christ’s authority.
The conference schedule was filled by a variety of preachers and many interviews with pastors about how they are leading today, both in large and small churches. There were seminar options, plus more time given to food and fellowship than previously. Hospitality was given to the visiting ministers in local church members’ homes. In a recent innovation, pastors' wives were also encouraged to attend the conference.
During the conference, Alan Donaldson was given the opportunity to speak about the unifying ministry of EBF and to call for the churches of Belarus to commit to justice and peace in our region. He encouraged the Belarussian pastors to resist the divisions caused by external theological and political voices, and to focus on our citizenship in Christ and our allegiance to his Kingdom and church which crosses all man-made borders.
An important conversation took place between the pastors, Union leadership and Alan Donaldson on why Baptist churches are not growing in the way some Pentecostal churches are, and why so few people offer themselves for mission work within Belarus. In response, concerns were raised that theological disputes, often originating outside of the country, were distracting the church from truly participating in the mission of God.
However, it was also evident that many Baptist leaders are creative in their approach to mission within Belarus. At the present time, EBF supports two new indigenous church plants and is seeking support for one more. Alan met with Pastor Alexander Philipov, supported by our mission partners in the Baptist Union of Great Britain, who is planting a church as part of a drug and alcohol rehabilitation programme in Minsk.
We invite you to pray for the Baptist Churches in Belarus
Growth in the mission perspective of all churches
People who are willing to travel across Belarus to initiate new mission opportunities.
A smooth process in re-registering all Baptist churches in 2025.
A healthy succession process for the replacement of Leonid Mikhovich as his term in office comes to an end.
You can see the conference stream here:
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