Pistoia, Feb., 1996.
"Jay" and Piera Young with the Pistoia Church purchased a 1/2 page ad for the Bible Correspondence Course in Italian to appear in the March, 1996, issue of the Italian Reader's Digest "Selezione", which has nearly one half million regular subscribers whose profile fits the average type of person who across the past thirty years in Italy would complete a Bible Correspondence Course. The ad is reproduced here to about 1/2 the original size (with an English translation to the left). Advertising experts at Reader's Digest Milan, Italy headquarters told the Youngs that the Pistoia church could expect "many, many requests". The course to be utilized is one which has been proven over nearly forty years of use in Italy and whose 30 original lessons Jay and Piera Young recently edited into an attractive and practical one volume, 132 page edition of16 lessons with the help of Eastern European Mission's Printing Ministry in Vienna, Austria, which then printed the new edition.The course is one of the most complete of its kind in the world addressing the subjects of Christian evidences, religious history as well as surveying the contents of the Bible. It sets forth very clearly the process of divine revelation and inspiration, the Deity of Jesus Christ as well as the "Model" for the Church of Jesus Christ, and the plan of salvation is explained in much detail. The Pistoia church will handle the mailings and general correction of the lessons, leaving the more difficult questions from those who enroll to Jay Young. The Youngs and the Pistoia church of Christ have requested the collaboration of experienced evangelists in different sections of Italy to assist churches of Christ in organizing an intelligent follow up program to effectively reach out to, hopefully, the thousands who will enroll and study the Word of God with us. This is a very serious and challenging effort to teach and convert to Jesus Christ and the Truth of His Word, indeed, thousands of Italians all over Italy. Join with us in fervent, daily prayer that the lord of the harvest will give "the increase" to this giant effort in Italy to sow and water the seed of the kingdom, which is the Word of God (cfr. 1 Cor. 3:6; Matt.9:37; Luke 8:11)
During the month of March, Jay and Piera Young are scheduled to lead churches of Christ in Catania, Enna and Palermo (Italy) in an intensive study of the New Testament books, 1st and 2nd Timothy. The study will deal primarily with "church organization and management" focusing mainly on the qualifications and roles of those who would be elected by the local congregations to serve as "elders" and "deacons." Baptizing and assembling people to worship together, to me, is the easier part of the process to "establish" churches according to the New Testament pattern. As the New Testament documents clearly show, the hurdle of "leadership installation" is a fatiguing, arduous and exhausting one--full of obstacles!
Our experiences across the last four years in Ukraine have confirmed this maxim! Churches are only as good as their local leadership; and Christian leadership is only as good as is the spiritual, godly maturing process of its aspirants. We as "missionaries" or "evangelists-resource persons" (or whatever you want to call us!) must assist the churches on the mission field (which is everywhere in the world, including America!) in grasping the fundamentals of the Gospel and encouraging them to develop personal relationships with the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Rome was not built in a day..."
Actually, the Italians say: "The Coliseum was not built in a
day..." And neither will this job of installing effective
leadership in mission churches. The history of the Apostolic
church supports this: even in the era of "special, supernatural
gifts" there was a need to "remain at Ephesus..." (Paul,
1st
Timothy 1:3) and "this is why I left you in Crete, that you
might amend what was defective..." (Paul,
Titus
1:5). We need to stick with it; it might take more than our
years to accomplish.
We rejoice at the development of the "spiritual leadership" process in several churches in Italy, and to name them would not be fair to others of whose inner-workings we may not be well informed. What I am saying is: it's happening, but it's going to take time. "ENTRUST TO FAITHFUL MEN WHO WILL BE ABLE TO TEACH OTHERS ALSO" (2 Tim.2:2)
Yes, that's our job as evangelists! As I look over the Italian churches I see several such "faithful men." Brother Salvatore Sparacello of the Palermo church is one of these men. A gifted speaker and a good student of the Bible, Salvatore works consistently at helping the Palermo church. While in Palermo, I plan to spend as much time with Salvatore as possible. He always has his questions ready. Salvatore, like several other young men in Italy, has a real passion for the Bible and its teachings, and is developing now into an effective spiritual leader in the Palermo church. Salvatore is pictured below while preaching in Palermo. Let us be encouraged in the Lord's work. You and we must "know that our work in the Lord is not in vain" (cfr 1 Cor. 15:58).
On February 5, 1996, Jay Young led a delegation of American and Ukrainian Christian workers to a high-level meeting with U.S. State Department officials at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev concerning problems facing churches of Christ in Ukraine.
So-called "Religious Affairs Offices" have sought to block and impede some churches of Christ in their evangelistic and teaching activities. These offices have even threatened American missionaries (like myself-Jay Young) with expulsion from Ukraine for preaching, and in both Kiev and Odessa, told the "legal representatives" of churches of Christ meeting in these two cities: "Don't ask us to validate your letters of invitation to Americans; and if you don't "bother" us we won't bother you..." I raised these and other questions to these officials.
The American diplomats who received us were extremely courteous, gracious and helpful in both their demeanor and information. We were told, in effect, that, there seems to be an effort to try to give American preachers in Ukraine a hard time. Just recently several religious groups were placed on a "dangerous cult" list by the Interior Ministry's "Office of Religious Affairs," and the legal status of these religious groups has been rescinded.
In this regard, when we asked if U.S. citizens don't enjoy "religious freedom" in Ukraine, the officials told us that we, as American preachers and citizens, DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO "RELIGIOUS FREEDOM" IN UKRAINE. Ukrainians have such a right, but we, as Americans, do not. However, if Ukrainian churches were harassed, the diplomats asked that we report such to the Embassy as soon as possible, as such would represent a violation of "civil rights" and they can really make a case with Ukrainian officials for this sort of harassment against the people of Ukraine.
We were encouraged to continue helping our churches, as Americans, but to expect continuing confrontation and pestering from the police in the meantime. Those ex-K.G.B. agents have a lot of time on their hands now, and so we, American preachers, have become "new subjects" for their investigative processes.
The Orthodox Church seems to be behind this effort to keep American and other Western religious workers out of the country in any way possible. The diplomats encouraged me to write a letter to the American Ambassador presenting our case in writing; we were assured the Ambassador was "concerned" about this matter and that at the proper time he would speak with the Foreign Minister of Ukraine about it. These officials urged us to enlist the support of every member of the Congress possible!
The Russian translation of the book, "Why I Am a Member of the Church of Christ" has finally gone to the printers in Kiev. Many of you helped with the cost of printing the book in Russian. The Ukrainian Language edition was introduced in December, 1995. The Russian edition we have sent to the printers will look exactly like its Ukrainian counterpart, only bound in a jacket of a different color. Unfortunately, the price increased in the meantime from $1.00 to $1.60 per copy, therefore, we will print only 3,125 copies instead of the 5,000 originally planned for. The book has been revised, and will serve its purpose very well. Again, thanks to all who made the publishing of the book possible in Russian, the language used by the majority of churches of Christ in Ukraine.
Non-orthodox church religious groups, such as churches of Christ, are now barred from using ANY public hall, cultural center, movie-theatre, or "such like" for conducting any sort of religious service.
What this means for our churches is virtual confinement to homes which are far too small for our numbers. Space in the largest apartments does not usually exceed 350 square feet. Those churches continuing to meet in public areas (such as movie theatres, cultural centers, etc.), will soon be evicted. This situation COULD push our groups into such small environments that some will become discouraged and, as a consequence, split up.
Clearly, this is a cleverly conceived plan to discourage and possibly stop the growth of churches of Christ in Ukraine. But our trust is in the Lord and His providence. Pray for this situation today!
While in Odessa this month, I experienced the terribly cold weather Ukraine is having this year. Near Zero F. temps outside, and about 22 or 23 F. inside the room where the Odessa church meets made my meetings with our beloved in Christ there very cold ones, indeed! But the weather did not keep close to 70 Christians from meeting together to worship the Lord.
While in Kiev, most people had adequate heat and most had hot water, when I got to Odessa I found that close to 90% of the people had NO hot water and very little heat. Inflation is still soaring and the people are having such a difficult time in their survival, but their faith is holding. I arrived with vitamins and tylenol for all the children and adults in the church. Again, the Mesquite Church of Christ in Mesquite, TX, along with Christian Relief Fund of Amarillo, TX, combined their resources to help our malnourished children and adults in Odessa. As shown above, Jay & Piera standing between two very poor families whose children are cared for in the Child Sponsorship Program in place in Odessa, Ukraine
Dearest Christian friends everywhere:
This note will take the place of our usual monthly letter to you. We praise and thank God above for your fellowship with us in our common work in both Italy and Ukraine and we thank you for helping to "hold up our hands" with your prayers and other support. I, Piera, did not accompany Jay on his January/February trip to Ukraine, as our doctor strongly suggested I not go. I have only one good lung, and the extreme cold weather does not help my proclivity to a bronchial asthmatic condition; I will go in May (provided we have visas!).
In this regard, we are both concerned about what effects the new laws governing religious bodies in Ukraine will have on churches of Christ there. But, we are confident God's time-table is better than is ours. We are enlarging our child-sponsorship program now in Ukraine; there are so many undernourished children there! In spite of the current economic and weather problems which it faces, the church in Odessa, Ukraine, is standing fast in its faith. We plan to spend as much time with them this year as our schedule will allow. Of course, we've got our work in Italy to which we must devote our time, too. And we are excited about our having launched the Bible Correspondence Course again on a nationwide scale. In only a few days we're due in Sicily for several weeks of work there . We'll be back home in April for a while before returning to Ukraine at the beginning of May.
Know of our gratitude for your support and your prayers for the children we help, for our common work and for us personally. Special thanks to all of you who have written to encourage us recently. Write us! God bless you all!
Arrivederci and Dasfidˆhniya!