Do's and Don't's for First-Time Ministries in the Former U.S.S.R.

Vol. 1, No. 1, Winter 1993, Covering the Former Soviet Union and East Central Europe

The Commonwealth Challenge
Do's and Don't's for First-Time Ministries in the Former U.S.S.R.

by Mary Raber, Mennonite Central Committee

DO read some serious, basic material on Russian and Soviet history, church history, and literature before you go. This is one way to show respect for the people you wish to serve.
DO try to learn the Cyrillic alphabet--that way you can at least use a dictionary and read street signs.
DO expect people from the former Soviet Union to be every bit as complex, wonderful, irascible, funny, capable, illogical, and resilient as North Americans. These are people, not trophies.
DO be willing to learn from those you seek to serve, both Christian and non-Christian. Dialogue isn't genuine without true openness on both sides.
DO express appreciation for all that you honestly can.
DO dress modestly and simply. Go easy on jewelry and makeup. Speak quietly, even if you are sure that no one around you understands English; think about the tastefulness and appropriateness of what you say and do. My personal rule is never to say anything in English that I would not want to be understood by everyone within earshot.
DO check the cultural appropriateness of examples or illustrations you may wish to use in a sermon or lecture. Be sure your listeners know what you're talking about.
DO realize that much of the population of the former Soviet Union is ambivalent about the West. We tend to think that everyone we meet will be endlessly grateful and that they now have a chance to be exactly like us. Not so.

DON'T start to believe the out-sized expectations many CIS citizens seem to have of their North American acquaintances. Be realistic about what you can actually contribute.
DON'T try to make jokes from the pulpit. For that matter, don't feel you have to smile and laugh incessantly.
DON'T give in to the temptation to confuse capitalism with the gospel. The lineup at McDonald's in Moscow does not mean that people want to learn about God. As one of my Russian Christian acquaintances has said, "People must learn that salvation is from Jesus Christ, not the West."
DON'T answer questions people aren't asking. A Ukrainian friend of mine asked me to translate a letter she had received from an American Christian pen-pal. The American woman went on at great length about the proven reliability of the King James Version. It's an exteme example, to be sure, but we need to remember that our issues may not be theirs, and their issues may not be ours. Editor's note: The Synodal version of the Russian Bible, completed in 1876, still is the only complete translation of the Scripture in the Russian language.

Mary Raber, a graduate of Denver Seminary, moved to Russia in January 1993. She served on the editorial staff for the Russian translation of the Barclay New Testament Commentary and continues to work on the Old Testament project. She has experience teaching in a Russian-language seminary and plans to continue this ministry as opportunities arise.

Mary Raber, "Do's and Don't's for First-Time Ministries in the Former USSR," East-West Church & Ministry Report, 1 (Winter 1993), 5.

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