On November 6 through 8, thanks to the initiative by the International Mission Board, the IMB was able to have a first ever Slavic Leadership Summit for the Slavic Associations in the U.S. The Logistics Director, John Barnett and a Catalyst of European Mobilization, Mick Stockwell played a critical role in making this meeting a reality.
Representatives of every Slavic Evangelical Associations in the U.S. were invited to the summit. With the exception of representatives from two associations, who were not able to attend, Slavic Evangelical Associations (Pacific Coast, Eastern, and Northwestern), as well as two Ukrainian Evangelical Associations (Ukrainian Evangelical Union of the U.S., and Western Ukrainian), had representatives and leaders of the associations’ missionary departments. The schedule was very packed, and provided a lot of information about the ministry of the IMB’s system of training and sending missionaries, as well as their support in the mission fields in the remotest parts of the world. At the present time, the IMB has over 3,600 missionaries. The time that was spent at the IMB summit was not just a time of “surface level introduction” to the largest Baptist missionary organization in the world, but also an opportunity to hear what IMB had to offer in future mutual partnership among our churches.
We were situated at the International Learning Center, which is a place where they train the missionaries in Rockville, VA. It is a small town near Richmond where they were hosting their annual seven-week training sessions for preparing missionaries to be sent out to different regions around the world. During lunchtime, it was great to observe these missionaries who were primarily young families with children. The training emphasis on both adults and children is indicative of special care of IMB in taking care of missionary families. We had opportunities to get to know, and fellowship with so many missionaries, and each one of them shared about their call to ministry and their desire to serve in a particular country around the world.
On November 7, we visited the main IMB office that is located in Richmond. The time spent there was packed by presentations of two directions of IMB ministry: the Global Engagement (Jason and Caryn Bishop, Mark Moore, Jeff Buxton, Mick Stockwell), and Mobilization (Jeff Ginn, John Barnett, Jeff Ginn, Kelly Davis, Chris Martin, Andy Pettigrew). We were also blessed to have an opportunity to meet with IMB’s president, Paul Chitwood. He shared about their desire to partner with Slavic churches in the U.S., and to be able to send the representatives of the second generation to different places around the world. Unfortunately, majority of the representatives of the second generation in our churches do not see their uniqueness that is observed by the Americans—and that is the knowledge of different languages and understanding of multiple cultures. We talked about an opportunity to create a program for the Slavic diaspora of the second generation with a purpose to make them understand their advantages of being “multicultural and multilingual” and become future missionaries of IMB.
There are so many opportunities for those who want to dedicate their lives to becoming missionaries around the world, including a two-year journeyman program for those who are single, and those who are married but are under 30, and will include full sponsorship (for those who are not 100% confident about their calling as a missionary). More information about different ministry programs can be found on the IMB website, and by reaching out to me. Mick Stockwell, who served as a missionary in Ukraine for many years, is a good friend to many of our churches, and he is also someone who can provide a lot of answers to your questions. At the present time, he continues to serve in Europe as a Euro Globalization Catalyst, and is ready to help those who heard God’s voice: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”
A tour of the IMB building in Richmond, and the campus of the International Learning Center in Rockville (which includes 40 buildings) made a lasting impression on us about the resourcefulness of IMB. This center continues to serve as a huge blessing for over 3,600 missionaries of the IMB. At the present time, about 1,400 people are in the process of finalizing the paperwork to become future missionaries of IMB. Today, there are many young men and women who heard God’s call to go to various parts of the world, and to be obedient to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. They responded to God’s call by echoing the words of prophet Isaiah, “Here I am, send me”. In this case, the numbers speak for themselves…
My prayer is that the Slavic Associations in the U.S. would be able to find those who will be take advantage of this unique opportunity that God is offering to us today. We should not be quick to forget the culture and the language of our parents, because this way, we would not need to spend so much in training to serve as missionaries as it would have taken someone else. May the Lord bless us in this!
President of PCSBA, Ivan Mileyev
