To Russia, With Love

June 21, 2018 by Christ Church United Methodist 3 Comments

By: Brandon Dirks

My mentor, Mark Danzey and I meet up in Atlanta on our way to Russia

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19a)

Today I enter Russia! After sitting on the Tarmac for two hours in Atlanta in an un-air conditioned plane; then, getting off the plane to wait two more hours to eventually take off (in a now smelly, BO-filled plane for a 9 hour flight) just after midnight to go to Amsterdam, we missed our connecting flight by 2 hours. With a re-booked connecting flight 7 hours later, tonight about 1am, I will enter Russia as a disciple-making missionary!

Several months ago I was invited to extend the reach of Christ Church UM’s mission of making living proof disciples to the passionate new believers in Russia! My mentor and friend, Rev Mark Danzey, of Mt. Pisgah UMC in John’s Creek, Georgia was forming a team of disciple-makers to work with the only United Methodist seminary in all of Russia to make disciples who can make disciples. I hungrily was willing, and Christ Church was gracious enough to support and send me. Today, I enter Russia as a disciple making missionary!

There are many types of missions. The most common are relief missions where people go to places of devastation to provide relief from floods, earthquakes, famines, diseases. I have heard of evangelistic missions of teams of people seeking to reach unbelievers (think of Billy Graham). I have also heard of vocational missionaries who immerse themselves into the culture of where they serve. Only in the book of Acts have I heard of a disciple making missions. Acts 1:8, Jesus tells his disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem (locally), and in all Judea and Samaria (regionally), and to the ends of the earth (including Russia!)”. With Matthew 28 and the mission of Christ Church to help people become living proof of God’s love one person at a time, I am humbled to be a bridge for Christ
Church to the ends of the earth!

My understanding is that we will have about 50 participants in a 6 day intensive, immersive experience to learn how to make disciples who can make disciples, thus multiplying themselves. The Moscow UMC Seminary is the center point, and we are literally brought into the country as “adjunct professors” (wonder if I can add that to my resume?). Most of these 50 participants are seminary students, and almost all are first generation Christians who are on fire for the Lord, but have no model of personal discipleship, nor disciple-making. What a combination–Holy Spirit filled new believers and a passion to make new disciples! I can’t wait!

Already, I can tell the Spirit is at work. During our awful ordeal with flights and changes, I never lost my ‘cool,’ felt relaxed, and even felt that all would work because I trusted, really trusted, that the Spirit is in this. As I got off the plane in Amsterdam, I was surprised when one of the flight attendants stopped to hug me (me!) to thank me for the way I smiled at her to encourage her while she worked in a tense, hot, difficult and long circumstance. I didn’t know I did that! I wish I got her picture.

Stay tuned to this blog, as I will be submitting other snippets of how the Holy Spirit is leading this mission to make living proof disciple-makers. For now, I ask that you pray for the team leaders and the Russian disciples.

Thank you Christ Church for your mission to make living proof disciples, and your vision to heal divides through engaging in small groups. What a privilege it is to teach the Russian disciples how we make disciples, and I can’t wait to see what I will learn too!