East-West Church & Ministry Report
Vol. 4, No. 3, Summer 1996, Covering the Former Soviet Union and East Central Europe

Contextualizing the Gospel for Russians

Sam Slobodian
 
Whenever a project is undertaken which endeavors to present the gospel to Russians, a proper contextualization would address this challenge.  Seldom would anyone argue that the context Russians live in today is gloomy, uncertain, and foreboding.  Whether the evangelistic project is a single tract, a local campaign, or a long-term educational program, the following themes are proposed as suggested issues that are relevant to Russian people today:
  1. A creator God for the darkness of atheism.
  2. A sustainer God for the uncertainty of life.
  3. An absolutely righteous God for the hollowness of moral relativism.
  4. A revealed God for the joy of discovering Him and His word.
  5. A personal God for the craving of individuality.
  6. A Jesus who is God and loves the sinner and brings happiness to the soul.
  7. A salvation which is instantly available for all.
  8. A Bible, the perfect guide, which brings joy to the heart.
  9. A church which is a flourishing and triumphant community.
  10. An eternal citizenship in a country which can never decline.
  11. A home in a spacious mansion which will be forever uncrowded.
Whatever tools or materials are produced, they would need to be examined and likely further contextualized by Russian Christians.

Sam Slobodian is vice-president of Baptist International Evangelistic Ministries, which has been ministering in Russia and Ukraine since 1981. Edited excerpt reprinted with permission from "Off the Street and into the Kitchen: Contextualizing the Gospel for Russians," Calvary Baptist Theological Journal 10 (Fall 1994): 1-31.
 

Sam Slobodian, "Contextualizing the Gospel for Russians," East-West Church & Ministry Report, 4 (Summer 1996), 11.

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© 1996 Institute for East-West Christian Studies
ISSN 1069-5664

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