Russian and Ukrainian Church Leaders Meet for Dialogue

On November 27-28, 2014, evangelical leaders from Russia and Ukraine attended a seminar entitled, “The Unity and Mission of the Church in Times of Conflict” in Kiev, Ukraine to discuss the new challenges facing the Church during this time of conflict between the two nations.

Mission Eurasia, along with the Association of Missionary Churches of Evangelical Christians of Russia and Ukraine, and the Union of Independent Evangelical Churches of Ukraine, co-hosted this two-day seminar at the offices of Mission Eurasia’s national affiliate in Ukraine, the Association for Spiritual Renewal. Representatives from the All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists and the Brotherhood of Independent Evangelical Baptist Christian Churches of Russia also participated in the seminar discussions.

The objectives of the seminar were: 1) to build bridges of understanding between evangelical leaders from Russia and Ukraine, and 2) to discuss how these leaders can work toward reconciliation in the midst of the conflict between the two nations.

Norway's Nansen Dialogue Network's (NDN) process for creating effective dialogue was used as a tool during the discussions.

Expectations for the seminar, expressed by participants at the beginning, included:

         -Gain a better understanding of how to serve God during this conflict

         -Discuss what the role of the Church should be during this conflict

         -Hear the prophetic Word of God

         -Discuss how to work toward peace between Russia and Ukraine

         -Develop a way to address the ethnic tensions within families and churches related to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine

         -Discuss how to resolve the internal struggle of being a lover of God and a lover of one’s homeland

         -Develop practical steps for reconciliation and missions work during this conflict

Day 1, November 27

During day one of the seminar, the evangelical leaders from Russia and Ukraine began the ‘Awareness’ stage of the NDN effective dialogue process, as they shared their individual perspectives regarding the conflict. They then progressed into the ‘Self Concern’ stage by expressing their concerns with the conflict. Some of the discussion was heated, and one participant from Russia shared that he came to this meeting with little hope of it being productive, however, he did express that it was necessary for evangelical leaders to be able to freely express their ideas of how to rectify the conflict in order to create effective dialogue.

At the end of day one, Wade Kusack, Director of Religious Freedom Issues with Mission Eurasia, presented a report entitled, “A New Atmosphere of Relationship and the Way of its Change,” which was based on the scholarly article, “From Paradox to Possibility,” written by Chris Seiple, President of the Institute for Global Engagement. Wade then challenged the audience to think about how they could practically work toward reconciliation in the midst of an age where identity, resiliency, and partnership define our interactions. The report was well received, and several questions were asked regarding its content. Participants were also asked to share this report with their other contacts.

Day 2, November 28

During day two of the seminar, participants entered the ‘Mental Tryout’ stage of the NDN effective dialogue process by engaging in discussion about various topics, including whether or not Christians should serve in the army, and what evangelical churches can learn from the Russia-Ukraine crisis. These discussions were much calmer than the first day’s discussions, and there was mutual respect among participants, mostly because they had a greater understanding of the conflict due to the objective facts that were presented during the first day’s discussions. By the end of the seminar, participants had entered the ‘Hands-On/doing together’ stage, as they began discussing future partnerships in ministry, and they laid out a potential timeframe for their first joint ministry project.

Outcomes

The seminar resulted in a greater willingness for cooperation among the evangelical leaders from Russia and Ukraine, and it allowed them to express their Christian love for one another by sharing in Communion together. The collaborative nature of the discussions that took place will allow for more effective work toward reconciliation between these two nations.

Next Steps

It is essential to build on the success of this seminar to continue the momentum of effective dialogue between evangelical leaders from Russia and Ukraine regarding reconciliation, so Mission Eurasia will be holding another seminar in the near future, this time in a neutral location, which will bring together a more diverse group of participants, and focus on concrete examples of how evangelical leaders from around the world have led reconciliation efforts in their communities.