Siberian Sabbath: In Search of a New Twinning Congregation

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

The Siberian Sabbath dawns bright and very cold. The yellow sun low on the horizon offers morning light, but no heat. Outside, the temperature hovers around minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit. It is the kind of dawn where expelled breath hangs in the still air barely moving away from your body. And careful, measured walking produces that unmistakable sound of snow crunching under feet when it is very, very cold—dry snow compacting slightly and squeaking at the same time. Yes, it is cold, but we are about to enter the warmth created by believers gathered to worship the Lord.

Ellen Smith, PC(USA) mission co-worker in Moscow; Sandy Compton, elder from First Presbyterian Church, Sandpoint, Idaho, and I began this special March Sunday in Nizhnevartovsk, an oil and gas city on the banks of the frozen Ob River in central Siberia, 800 kilometers east of the Ural Mountains.

The night before, we had driven six hours and 200 kilometers further east from Surgut, site of the Bible Institute where five Presbyterians had been invited to teach Baptist pastors and seminary students for the week. One of the students at the Bible Institute was Vladimir (or Volodya) Tashtiev, husband, father, engineer, and pastor of the Evangelical Baptist Church in Nizhnevartovsk. He himself is ethnic Mari, an indigenous people in northern Siberia. Both the Bible Institute and meeting Volodya are of great interest to us. Theological education is one pillar of our denomination’s engagement with the churches in Russia. A second pillar is assisting churches spread the good news of Jesus Christ to those people who have not heard the good news.

Throughout the week, Volodya’s exuberance coupled with his commitment to the gospel set him apart. His zest for life and his ready smile are all the more remarkable given that his first wife died of cancer and a son of a drug overdose. Early in the week, Volodya expressed his strong desire that we travel with him to his home church and worship with his congregation on Sunday. He was eager for us to gain a sense of his worshiping community in Nizhnevartovsk and to evaluate his church as a potential twinning congregation for a Presbyterian congregation in the United States.

Twinning is the third pillar of our engagement with the churches in Russia. The concept is simple. Link together a Russian congregation with a PC(USA) congregation in a spiritual journey led by the Holy Spirit. Along the way, people and congregations are transformed. Along the way, all gain a deeper understanding of the church universal and the Body of Christ lived out in the world.

The majority of our twinning relationships are enabled by Ellen and Al Smith, mission co-workers in Moscow called to administer the "in-country" work of twinning, by the staff of the Outreach Foundation of the Presbyterian Church, and by me. Currently, over 25 twinning relationships are under way or in development. Twinning congregations in Russia are Orthodox, Baptist, or Reformed. In 2002, we hope to enter into relationships with congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia.

A typical twinning relationship begins by a visit to Russia by two or three persons from the PC(USA) congregation. The small group participates in an orientation in the United States prior to departure, receives further orientation in Moscow, and then meets and spends time with the pastor and congregation of the new twin. Even before this formal introduction takes place, the mission committee and the session of the PC(USA) congregation have undertaken a discernment process and determined that God is leading them deeper into mission in the world and to the place called Russia.

Over months and years, the twinning relationship manifests itself in many different ways. These may include shared worship experiences, common prayer, Bible study, exchanges of letters, pictures, or children’s art, and regular visits. Each relationship takes its own path as the two congregations grow in understanding of each other and of God’s presence in the world.

It was in the interest of moving the Twinning Project further forward in 2001 that Ellen, Sandy, and I willingly traveled with Volodya to worship with his congregation and to see where the Holy Spirit might lead us all.

First impressions mean a lot: split logs hewn from Siberian forests fashioned into a place of worship, a church surrounded by snow in the original settlement that was Nizhnevartovsk before the massive impact of the oil and gas industry, the warmth and friendliness of a congregation eager to invite Americans to worship with them on a winter’s Sabbath.

Ellen, Sandy, and I were immediately drawn into Volodya’s warm and inviting congregation. We sang praises to the Lord together. We prayed together. We listened intently to sermons from the pastor and from respected elders of the church. And after the service we shared stories and pictures of families and friends. On that Sunday morning, we were not Americans and Russians. We were not Baptists and Presbyterians. We were all followers of Jesus, simply the children of God gathered together for worship and prayer.

We believe the Evangelical Baptist Church of Nizhnevartovsk will be a wonderful twin for a Presbyterian congregation. Whether Baptist, Russian Orthodox, Lutheran or Reformed, there are many such welcoming places where twinning can happen and a spiritual journey together can begin.

The 25 plus twinning relationships between Russian and PC(USA) congregations are incredible examples of God’s peace spread across the world. If you think that God is calling your congregation to enter into a special relationship with a congregation in Russia, please e-mail me and let us discuss the possibilities together. If you take this step into mission in the world, I guarantee that you, the congregation, and your mutual understanding of the church universal will never be the same again!

May the Lord be with you as you consider this important question.

Gary Payton

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 91