MOZDOK (NORTH OSSETIA, RUSSIA) - From June 1 to 30, 2014 Resurrection Church of Mozdok in North Ossetia, which is a part of the Emmanuel Association of Pentecostal Churches in the North Caucasus, held an evangelistic project called ‘One month for Jesus’. It started on the 1st and 2nd of June with children and youth festival, and then there was a two-week intensive training for evangelistic groups. Team members learned to work with puppets, practiced dances, skits, songs, and they were trained in a special program of evangelism. The next two weeks they were involved in daily evangelism work. We started with apartment buildings’ yards in the city of Mozdok, then the teams went to villages around the city. Seven towns and two apartment buildings’ yards in the city were visited and we concluded with a final concert in Mozdok Church. There were from 5 to 25 people at each outreach in the villages and towns about 50 people came to the concert at our church in Mozdok.
As a result of the work, evangelistic ministry in our church strengthened. Active participants of it are mainly youth. We had doubted whether it was possible to allow new converts to minister and to be a part of the team. Some of them still did not get rid of cigarettes (at least one of them testified at the end that he was freed from smoking habit). We prayed about it, but then received the revelation that it was possible.
After the first outreaches for children, non-Christian kids would come to our team members, who were also very young and asked for autographs. Near Priterechnoe village where we had done a puppet show, was a lake. Some time after the outreach, just recently, a group from our church went there from the city to swim in the lake. Local children saw us with the question: “Will there be more performances? – No, we want to swim in your lake! – Can we go with you? – Sure!” So we continued friendships, and now these children attend church in the village.
On a completion of our outreaches in villages, each village church experienced some growth. Not very large, in average five or six people, but what kind of people? Children and teenagers of 10-12 years old. Our ministry was targeted on them and we trained more children’s workers, who now how to deal with them – Royal Rangers and Sunday school teachers. Team members who were new converts – about whom we doubted and prayed in the beginning, asking God whether to take them to the team or not – brought their family members and relatives to our church in Mozdok, and we now also have addition. By the way, this is the first serious addition in the last six years! As well as our prayer group was seriously strengthened; all month of evangelism they prayed and interceded in a secret room.
The whole church was involved: some were sewing costumes for puppets, others – costumes for the dance group, some – putting up posters and handing out invitations. One of the main testimonies of the project became the fact that the church rallied and served in one spirit.
We plan to make more puppets and continue this ministry. We receive new offers and invitations. So, on July 12th, one church in our city invited us to minister in their church. Other churches of our Association, seeing positive results, also gave us invitations. A children's municipal entertainment complex ‘Salyut’ and one kindergarten invited our group as well.
We are getting ready for new victories. One of the important outcomes – the church was encouraged and everyone loved to serve. We made a special donation for this month of evangelism, and those who could not physically participate, donated. This ministry is costly: one screen for the puppet show costs up to two thousand rubles. (Given that we do not pay for making them – sisters that sew sacrificially serve). And we need three of them for each mini-show. Plus gas for a bus, etc. All was covered by the Lord: we did not lack anything. Evangelistic teams lived for a month at the church, some sisters from the church worked as cooks.
In general, the festival of evangelism was a great success!
The team of the Resurrection Church, Mozdok, North Ossetia
The Russian Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith
