Offer them Christ
Watching international sports event on TV
we often see Russian flags and signs whenever a team or an athlete from Russia is participating. It amazes me – whether it is the Olympics in Beijing, China or Ice Hockey World Championships in Bern, Switzerland, there is always a group of Russians there. Who are those people who travel so long? How can they afford it? And what is it that drives them?
Offer them Christ
Living in 2009, I can imagine reasonable answers to those questions. For a lot of people it is quite easy to take a flight, reach almost any place in Europe or Asia in hours, and stay a couple of days. But what motivated the Methodist pastor B. A. Carlsson to move from Sweden to Finland, and then start to travel between Helsinki and St. Petersburg in the 1890s? Travelling was neither fast nor cheap at that time.
I believe I know Pastor Carlsson’s answer to this. He had devoted his life to serve the Lord. And he simply wanted to share the most important things in his life with the citizens of St. Petersburg. He wanted to offer them Christ.
Why Jesus?
There are some basic issues all people need to deal with. Some of us struggle with them our whole lives, other come to peace with them early on. They are issues like purpose of life, death, guilt, hope, and the need to be accepted and belong somewhere. In addition life brings all kinds of experiences: failure, success, love, deceit, gain, loss…
I don’t know anyone more reliable than Jesus Christ to share all these things with. The Bible lets us understand that we in him can see what God had in mind when he created us. He did not come to condemn us , and he is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, for he was in every respect tested like all of us . B. A. Carlsson indeed had something valuable to offer the people in St. Petersburg.
Why the Church?
When Pastor Carlsson came to St. Petersburg, he did not only meet with individuals, but gathered people in groups. And in 1989 a church was organized with members, leadership, worships and a variety of ministries.
We are all meant to be Children of God. And when we come to faith in Jesus, we are like babies. We have a lot to learn, and need a safe and loving surrounding to grow in. The Church feeds us spiritually, guides us in what it means to follow Jesus, teaches responsibility, and gives opportunity to reach out in love to the needy in the society around us. For B. A. Carlsson the church was an integrated part of his offer to the people in St. Petersburg.
Why the Methodist Church?
B. A. Carlsson’s did not come to St. Petersburg to say that the already existing churches were not good enough. Methodism has never in its whole history claimed to be the only right teaching or worshiping church. As United Methodists we thank God for all his children, and consider all Christians as our sisters and brothers. We do not see as our task to convince people about a certain interpretation of faith, or to be in argument with other Christians. Our task is simply to summon people to let Jesus Christ into their lives, and live by God’s grace.
That was B. A. Carlsson’s task – and his motivation to travel the long distance to another country. This was the task and motivation of the people who brought Methodism back to St. Petersburg and to other parts of Russia and neighboring countries in the early 1990s. This is the task and motivation of The United Methodist in Eurasia celebrating the 120th years since the organization of the first Methodist Church in Russia.
Hans Växby