Bishop of Moscow brings greetings, word about his ministry

Bloomington, Ind. - Bishop Hans Växby of Moscow, Russia, shared his ministry to the former Soviet Union with members of the South Indiana Annual Conference June 8. The majority of people he works with are Russians and the people of Eurasia.

He said after the fall of communism and the Soviet Union, the people thought they could buy everything. A pastor in 1995 made almost $2,000 a year. Now, the same amount of money is only half of the amount needed to live in Moscow. Seven churches were organized in 1990s.

Today Russia is a mission field. He said, politically, Russia is stable, but there are undercurrents as people wait for the next election. Most people will say they are Orthodox, but only one percent of the population goes to church.

"There are forces that take away hope of the Russian people," he said.

Växby related stories of how leaders of The United Methodist Church in Russia came to Christ.

He said 15 months ago, he became a bishop and learned that they had a $115,000 indebtedness at the United Methodist seminary in Moscow. The money given by the General Board of Global Ministries' gifts evaporated due to inflation. Fortunately, the church has dramatically responded to this need and the seminary is financially sound.

He said the Russian people have relationships with people in America. When Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, one of the Russian pastors called Mississippi and told a pastor that the Russian people were praying for them. The next Sunday, the Russian church received a special offering for Katrina survivors.

Växby invited the South Indiana Conference to partner with each other. "This is not your church or my church. This is our church together," he said.

Last updated on 25 Apr 2008

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