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FROM THE LAND OF GEDIMINAS
Gediminas was the Grand Duke of Lithuania, who thousands of years ago, founded the city of Vilnius by constructing a fortified palace on top of a large hillside. This gave him a tremendous view of the surrounding country and his army an extreme advantage against invaders. From the foundation of this palace a new one is being constructed complete with a high tower still holding this commanding view. From this tower every corner of the expansive city of Vilnius can be seen. Hundreds of thousands of people live there now - most still without the gospel of Christ. |
Visit the updated Lithuania Newsletter http://www.zyworld.com/Lithuania_Reporter/May07.htm. The modest effort we are involved in supporting (known as the Vilnius Church of Christ )is diligently striving to make a dent into those thousands. The church I saw there on my recent trip is by far the healthiest and best suited to accomplish this that I have seen in my ten year association with this body of believers. Led by evangelists Ilia Amosov and Juozas Puodziukatis (both of whom visited Gateway in January 2006), the Vilnius church now consists of core families and dedicated young people. Although still small in number (average attendance is in the 30’s), they now possess the kind of mature, genuine faith upon which to build. But the challenges are many.
Like the rest of Europe the culture that surrounds the Vilnius Church of Christ is purely secular. While officially Catholic, Lithuania is basically non-religious and therefore skeptical of all religion including Christianity. The idea and structure of a New Testament church is still something difficult for many Lithuanians to grasp. Ilia, Juozas and the church do their best to represent Christ faithfully in this culture. While they are making slow progress - they are making it. Not only in Vilnius but through the summer camp ministry many inroads for the gospel in other nearby Lithuanian cities have been made as well.
Another challenge is economics. While the rest of Lithuania has seen price increases, Vilnius has seen much more. Prices for everything from groceries to real estate have skyrocketed in the capital city. The US dollar which continues to necessarily fund the activities of the Vilnius church continues to shrink against the Euro-based Lita (the currency of Lithuania). The church continues to rent a small office from which to operate out of daily and a small hall at a hotel for Sunday worship. One of their dreams and desires is to have a place of their own - a permanent place - to tell the people of Vilnius that the Church of Christ is here to stay.
My time in Vilnius was spent mostly with Juozas and Ilia. We prayed, planned, discussed and dreamed together. I did my best to encourage them in their ministry and lead them in discussion on ministry ethics and leadership. I met with the church on Sunday and rejoiced in the unity and spiritual strength that I witnessed. After ten years of existence I believe that this church is now more prepared than ever to realize lasting growth.
On my trip I met Davia, who is Ilia’s new wife, for the first time. What a wonderful young woman she is - full of the spirit of God and a great blessing, not only to Ilia but to the kingdom there. I also got to spend time with the young people and some of the campers. If they will only stay in the country, (a vast number of Lithuanians have left the country since they joined the European Union - 300,000 - a tenth of the country’s population- are in London) they will ensure a bright future for the church there.
It was a great trip. I appreciate the elders and Gateway allowing me this time to, if but briefly, let our brothers and sisters thousands of miles away know that we support their kingdom efforts. They all send their gratitude, love and greetings from the land of Gediminas.
Danny Dodd
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