(Received August 28, 1999)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

If the last report had one of the saddest news in the history of our Church, this report contains some of the best news that has ever been written until now:

 

       THE VORONEZH CHURCH OF CHRIST IS REGISTERED

This is just an absolutely thrilling news for all of us here. But in order for you to appreciate this, you may need to understand the following:

Two years ago the federal government passed a law that says that all religious denominations have to be registered locally in order to have the legal right to exist. Without being registered  a church has no legal right to publicly evangelize, to teach children, to print and distribute literature, to own a building, etc... in other words to function like a normal church. All that a non-registered church has is the right to gather together, teach their own members and invite their friends, but that's as far their influence can go. That had been our situation for the last two years. We had tried by all legal means to be locally registered, but without any success. We faced all sorts of bureaucratic barriers that were clearly showing the opposition of the local authorities. This is a an attitude that is not equally prevailing in Russia. They are many other regions where the local authorities are far more friendly or at least neutral to the existence of religious organizations. This is the situation that most churches of Christ enjoy today in Russia. They are locally registered, which gives them the minimal rights of functioning like a normal church. For us in Voronezh, not only did we not enjoy that right, but we were facing a terrible threat at the end of this year : according to that law that was passed 2 years ago, all the churches that have not registered ( or re-registered) locally by the end of 1999 will have basically no right of existence after that deadline.

In the view of that situation and the impossibility we had to get registered locally, we were advised that the only solution is to be registered at the federal level. If a church is registered at the federal level, than the local authorities cannot refuse it because than they have to legally deal with somebody coming from "above". That is the way things work in Russia.  It is all a matter of who is above you. If a legal authority comes directly from Moscow, there is right away more fear and respect.

By the Lord's grace, we found such an authority in the name of Tatiana Genadieevna. She not only worked for the ministry of Justice in Moscow, she is as well a strong believer. When Yves called a friend in Moscow and asked him if he knew anyone who could help us, she just happened to be in his office at that time ! She said she would think and pray about our offer. ( she is very demanded and refuses many offers ). Two weeks later, she called and said that she was convinced that God had opened the door for our church and therefore her work would be blessed.

When she came in the office of the top man who was supposed to look at all the documents needed for our registration, she was told by the secretary to wait in another room. Meanwhile, she had been allowed to leave all her papers on the desk of the chief until he would come back himself in his office. Well, here is the amazing : on his desk were piled 2 dozen of folders, but when the chief came in, his eyes fell right away on Tatiana nice looking folder. He picked it up and even started reading it ! But now even more amazing : This man, who is the head of the department of Justice for the State of Voronezh, a man who is known to be very hard to handle with, a man who has refused many churches in Voronezh to be registered, this man took the time to read the whole document on his own and corrected with his own authority all that was needed to have a paper in correct and due form ! And if that was not enough, he called Tatiana from the other room and very nicely and friendly told her to come back within the next 2 hours with the whole document remade ! And he added that if she did so, the process of registration would start ! Tatiana said that she was completely amazed . She said that not only officials of such a high rank never take the time to do what only their clerks do, but even if the document is accepted for a possible examination, she is always sent for a week or more in all sorts of different offices in order to be "checked". She said that she had never seen anything like this in her entire career as a lawyer.

Two hours later, she submitted all the needed papers and the process of registration started.  Two weeks later our Church was officially registered ! And do you know which name our Church will have ? The Church of Christ !

You may say " Of course, it should be so, shouldn't it be ?" Well, this was not likely to happen. For the last two years we were told by all the lawyers here that names like " Church of Christ, Christ's Church, Church of the Christ" were categorically not accepted in Voronezh because of the opposition the local authorities have against the " Church of Christ of latter days saints ( Mormons), and the International Churches of Christ ( Boston Movement ).

Now, if you think that all the above is incredible enough, hold yourself tight to your chair: After all this happened, we learnt that the man who is the head of the department of Justice is the very man who last year kicked Yves out of Russia !

God truly uses whoever He wants for whatever purposes He has in mind. He can turn the intentions of absolutely any man for His own Glory.

As Prov 21:1 so powerfully says : " The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; He directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases. " Personally, I believe that the verse 1 is directly connected with verses 2 and 3 that follow. Those verses say the following : " All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart. To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. "

If we put purity and righteousness as our first priorities, The Lord will do amazing things for His own Glory.

What does our registration give us ? First of all, we have absolute autonomy to do whatever we want, without submitting to any religious authority from above. We can evangelize publicly however we want it ( even have TV programs broadcast !), teach children, print and distribute literature, have our own bank account and own property, we can invite any and as many Americans we want for religious purposes, we can plant other churches and have them automatically registered  as part of our church, and an important point for us is that we do not need to re-register every year, being at the mercy and whims of the local authorities.

We praise the Lord for having received all those legal privileges. We praise Him for having answered this request after so many prayers. All glory goes to Him alone ! In some countries it is taken for granted to have them, but in Russia people understand that religious freedom as well as all the other fundamental rights and blessings of the human race are not easily taken for granted. And to some extend it is good to feel so: The Russian Christians are very much aware that EVERYTHING in this world depends on our God. That is why their prayers are filled with so much intensity and thankfulness !

                                    

                                     OUR GREATEST DESIRE

We are not sure what may happen after the presidential elections within one year, as well as at the end of this year. Laws often change in Russia, and often find new interpretations. What that means is that since we have now have this right, let's use it fully to all possible extents . If one studies the history of Russia he will find an undeniable fact that has repeated itself over and over again : Anytime when doors have been opened toward the West, they have been closed again as strongly as they have opened.  Our days are counted until this will happen again. We are begging anyone, any church to hear the following plea: We want to have preachers, campaigners and VBSrs to come and help. It could be individuals of different churches that are put together into a common campaign, it could be enough people within one church, it could be a mixture of both an evangelistic campaign and a VBS. That time could be from October until the end of this year, if one campaign is already possible this year. If anyone in your church has the desire to organize or/and be part of a campaign, please contact Frank Chappell at the below address:

Frank Chappell, Northland Church of Christ, Columbus OH, (614) 475-0161
fchappel@beol.net

 

                            THE CHURCH IS GROWING:

- Vladick baptized 2 young women : Angelina and her friend Natasha. Both came first to the church because of the warm friendships they found in it. Than they found for themselves the Friend of Friends. They are both clothes designers. What is worth noticing is that of all the young people of their age in our church, they are the first ones that are not students, but young professionals.

-Anna Perriard is 6-7 weeks pregnant ! The due date should be between the 15Th and the 25 Th of April. She is doing fine ... so far. We praise God for giving us growth ... in every possible way !

May the Lord give you increase !