What is the current state of the work?

Christianity in these lands dates back many centuries. The immense suffering of the church in this century is too well known to need description here.  But, as the political situation changed in the late 1980s it became clear that seventy years of atheistic propaganda had completely failed: young people were spiritually starved, and hungry to learn about the gospel. Many were converted.

Those first heady days are now over, at least in many of the bigger cities. People have become tired of the flood of westerners of every shape and hue; and western materialism is proving as powerful an enemy to the gospel as communism ever was. Yet, where students have the opportunity to know Christians from other countries personally, there is still often real interest in hearing what they have to share about.

A truly indigenous student movement, led by Russians and Belarusians, is now developing - so those from the west increasingly act as partners in work being carried out effectively by nationals, rather than importing something from their own culture.

There are currently IFES InterAction Teams in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, and Brest; in the great cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg; in two other cities in western Russia; and one in Siberia. A separate sheet gives information about Siberia.

What special requirements are there for joining a West Russian or Belarusian InterAction Team?

Visas: It is necessary to acquire a visa before travelling.

Language: Learning Russian is a major priority for ministry: it demonstrates serious respect for the local culture. InterAction workers can take language courses either at university or privately. It is generally possible to gain some conversational ability by the second semester, and this makes ministry much easier.

Health & Insurance: InterAction workers are strongly advised to take out full insurance, and not to economize in this area. Full medical insurance in particular is essential.

What about accommodation, living costs, courses, jobs?

Conditions vary from city to city, but the following gives a general indication of the situation that might be expected in these cities. About three quarters of InterAction workers live in flats, and others in university dormitories which can vary tremendously in quality. Normally accommodation will be arranged for InterAction co-workers before they arrive, but it may sometimes be necessary to look for an apartment after arrival. The economic situation is excedingly unpredictable and varies very much from city to city. Although it may well be possible to obtain part-time teaching work, it will not pay much - but it may open the way for university accommodation.

InterAction workers are advised to budget for US$1,000-1,500 a semester for language tuition, $120 a month for accommodation ($170 in St. Petersburg), plus $200-$250 a month for other living costs. In addition there is the cost of travel to and from Russia or Belarus, and costs of visa and insurance. It is also wise to budget perhaps $300 a year for personal ministry expenses, and up to $300 for the IFES InterAction training conferences and travel. All figures are provisional because of inflation.

What are the main areas of ministry?

There are three main areas of ministry:

• Evangelism
• Encouraging young national believers,
• Learning from them and helping them grow in Christ;
• and helping the development of pioneering student groups.

Evangelism is carried on by every possible means, but especially through personal friendships, work in student dormitories, and evangelistic Bible studies.