1 Florida United Methodist Review Online

Russian Methodist church needs help

Providing humanitarian aid to the Russian people, like these three children from Spassk, is one of the primary goals of churches involved in the Russia Initiative, according to the Rev. Ivan Corbin, coordinator of the Leesburg District's Russia Initiative Church Partner program. Volunteers are also letting the Russian people and government know the source of that aid. "They're very clear that we're the United Methodist Church, and we're there in the name of Jesus Christ," Corbin said.

By Michael Wacht

LAKELAND — On Jan. 26, the Russian Ministry of Justice granted official status to The United Methodist Russia Annual Conference. For a handful of Florida Conference churches, this “extremely significant development” means they “can continue to go to Russia and be involved in the ministries” of the church there, said the Rev. Bob Fox, retired Leesburg district superintendent.

The status granted by the Russian government means the Russian church is now “legal,” according to Fox. It now has the Russian government’s permission to use the words Russia or Russian in its name. The church can also buy land, build churches, train pastors, distribute materials and minister to people, Fox said.

Having permission does not mean the church has the ability to do those things, however, said the Rev. Ivan Corbin, pastor of Community United Methodist Church in Fruitland Park and coordinator of the Leesburg District’s Russia Initiative Church Partner program. He says the Russian economy is a major obstacle to church growth and that “they [Russian United Methodists] will need significant help until the economy gets on track.”

United Methodists across the United States can help by providing financial assistance and participating in mission trips to Russia through the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries’ (GBGM) Russia Initiative. Three churches and one district in the Florida Conference are participating in the Initiative, according to Fox, who edits the Russia Initiative’s quarterly newsletter.

The Florida churches are part of the Supportive Congregations program, which allows a church to support a specific Russian congregation financially and through mutual visitation and ministry. The supporting congregation is asked to give a minimum of $6,000 per year to a Russian church; $3,600 of that pays the pastor’s salary, and the rest goes toward programs, Fox said.

Corbin says the conference’s level of support for the Russia Initiative is disappointing. “For being one of the largest annual conferences in the United Methodist Church, ours is doing very little to support the Russia Initiative,” he said.

One reason is the conference’s geographic and cultural proximity to Cuba and Central America, he said. Because Florida is so close to Latin America and has so many Hispanic residents, the needs of that region take on greater importance than those of other areas.

Another reason is prejudice, according to the Rev. Brian Brightly, pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Lighthouse Point. “The American school system did such a good job of propaganda, telling us how evil they [Russians] are, it’s difficult to develop a heart for Russia,” he said. Brightly went to Russia in 1991 to set up a Christian radio program which reached out to 20 million Russians during its three years in existence. He was also one of three people from the Florida Conference to attend the Russia Initiative Consultation VII last February in Dallas.

Despite the lack of support, Corbin says the Russian Methodist Church is experiencing rapid growth. In the past eight years, a seminary and 60 fellowships and churches have been established.

Meanwhile, churches like Brightly’s will continue to support their sister churches in Russia. Brightly said he recently asked his church’s administrative board to approve sending a tithe from the church’s capital campaign to Holy Trinity United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg, Russia. “It’s the kind of initiative that churches over here need to get involved in,” he said.