From 7 to 9 May, after participating in the All-Russian Conference of the Russian Church of Evangelical Christians, team leaders of the “One Year for Jesus” Project enhanced their skills in evangelism. The training consisted of two parts - training on Global Community Games and workshop on reporting.
Training in Global Community Games was held in the Moscow suburb of Podolsk. Participants were hosted by the local church of Evangelical Christians “Grace” On the first day of the training missionaries received thoeretical knowledge in the field of sports evangelism for children, adolescents and adults. Project Coordinator of the Global Community Games in Russia, Tatiana Dobrodey, together with a sports instructor Dmitry Sukhomlinov taught on the ten strategies of sports evangelism, spoke on effective planning, showed several videos demonstrating the successful use of this technique of presenting the Gospel in different churches and different venues (from street and yard activities to schools and stadiums), taught a master class on sports games and the example of the Book of Proverbs 3:1-12 demonstrated how you can literally move to study the Bible with children and adolescents during these type of events and to sow the seeds of the precious Word of God and moral law in the hearts of kids.
A few words about Global Community Games.This is a global movement that provides an opportunity to participate in the games for all children and adults, regardless of their physical fitness, social status or nationality. The main objective of the project is to convey the Gospel to adolescents and their continued involvement in church, Bible study groups, camps, sports and Christian clubs, etc. Global Community Games include several areas aimed at reaching kids of different ages (Kids’ Games, Teen’s Games, Family Games, Yard Games and Extreme Games).
OneHope, Russia representatives Irina Litvinova and Oleg Kolodeznikov prepared a detailed presentation on different programs that were developed by this mission to reach children and youth. Several editions of the Book of Hope and an animated film “The Godman” as well as programs where these resources are being used were presented. Participants of the training learned how to most effectively use the resources presented (printed and non-printed) in evangelism – particularly in the framework of the existing Russian Church project “One Year for Jesus” that is being implemented today throughout Russia.
OneHope, founded in 1987 is reaching children and youth with Scripture that speaks directly to their lives and culture. Through OneHope, in collaboration with churches and ministries -- and working with local governments, schools and non-governmental organizations -- a message of hope has been given personally to over 714 million children and young people in 125 countries through its Book of Hope publications and The GodMan animated film. OneHope's mission is to affect destiny by providing God's eternal Word to all the children and youth of the world.
Participants had the opportunity to test the skills and knowledge in practice – on-site at the Podolsk Town Palace of Young Pioneers they gathered kids and their parents from the town and organized exciting sports event for them. Team leaders were able to apply the knowledge they received the day before. At the end of the event a well-known power team “Breakthrough” from the city of Yaroslavl performed with a striking show. There was music, inflatable pads, painted faces, funny clowns handing out balloons. Giving joy to the people, evangelists quite naturally shared the gospel with kids gathered around. Each of them received a gift – a book with testimonies of athletes and the Gospel text.
Last day of training was devoted to discussion of important issues of ministry. Team leaders learned how to collect reporting information and testimonies. Workshop participants shared their experiences, which they have already accumulated, asked questions and answered them. Some teams have been working for about a year, others have just been formed and they are making their first steps, so it was useful and encouraging to all.
The newly appointed coordinator of the All-Russian project Vyacheslav Safronov was introduced to team leaders.
On behalf of everyone who participated in this three-days training, we would like to express our gratitude to the organizers, coaches and missionaries who have devoted their lives to serving the Lord and the fulfillment of His Great Commission. All new knowledge and skills gained in this seminar will be applied to more effectively reach children and adults of Russia and give everyone an opportunity to hear the Gospel.
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