Doubters Welcome

Two Alliance couples serve in a city in the North and Central Asia Region where the majority population is atheist. Through holistic activities in nonchurch settings including a sports club and English language classes at a local university, the team connects with young adults. As described in the following adapted excerpt from a team member’s recent update, a discussion group, Truth Seekers, fosters opportunities to share the good news.

Water bottles photoLast night I was at the sports club with Nancy,* one of the young women who has attended Truth Seekers since late spring. While we were running next to each other on the treadmill, she told me that she’s going to begin reading the Bible. “Where should I start?” she asked.

Some Things Take Time . . .

We met Nancy a year ago when she joined the club. When she asked me why I was here, I told her that we assist people with their English language skills and work with pastors and churches. Immediately, her countenance tightened into a “beware of this heretic” expression.

Now she plans to read the Bible.

Addressing Disbelief

In this post-Communist nation, ingrained doubts about God and religion are common. We seek to address them through Truth Seekers, which is partially based on the Alpha course (see the Learn More section below) and its focus on basic Christianity.

Our group has also been inspired by another denomination’s apologetics/Bible exposition seminar, which uses quotes from regional scientists and theologians almost exclusively. We went to this standing-room-only course when we moved here five years ago—1,500 attended every night for two weeks. That’s a lot of interest!

Trust

Truth Seekers began with a discussion about Creation as well as evolution and intelligent design. We’ve also talked about the scientific perspective on life after death and many other issues. For the past six months we’ve discussed topics from the Gospels.

We meet at our colleagues’ home (they have a bigger apartment) for a family-style dinner each week. The average age of our group members is about 30, and we’ve had more than 40 nonbelievers attend; 10–12 are regulars.

We rub shoulders with most of these young people during our sports club training sessions four times a week. This gives opportunities to follow up on conversations begun at Truth Seekers, as Nancy and I did last night, and simply share life together.

In addition, we make contacts through teaching English at a local university. We also show English-language movies that address life issues, inviting those who seem interested in further dialogue to join us at Truth Seekers.

We’ve had many great conversations. The key is that people feel comfortable around us and trust us enough that they are willing to listen to the truths we share with them. One young woman is now a believer after having been an atheist her whole life.

While these signs of change are encouraging, we could use a lot of earnest prayer. We want to see God move in His time (which we hope means soon!) and open more of our friends’ eyes to the depth of their need for Him.

*Name changed

What You Can Do

Pray

The prayers of God’s people strengthen Alliance workers to live and serve across the globe. Use our weekly Alliance Prayer Requests to join the worldwide Alliance family in praying for them.

Give

  • Give to the Great Commission Fund (GCF) and support Alliance workers, who pour themselves out to share the light of Jesus with those who are spiritually blind.
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 Learn More

  • Read about Alliance personnel in Russia who, through providing English language services in a neutral environment, have connected with people on a deep enough level “to share the good news of God’s grace.”
  • Check out the Alpha course. Note: Clicking on this link will take you off of the C&MA Web site.

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