Since 1 November 2007, the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (RUECB) has a new department and an additional Vice-President. Its first “Vice-President for Financial Services” is Leonid Kartavenko (Moscow). He is creating a completely new service for Russian Baptist headquarters: fundraising.
Russian Baptists create fundraising department M o s c o w – Since 1 November 2007, the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (RUECB) has a new department and an additional Vice-President. Its first “Vice-President for Financial Services” is Leonid Kartavenko (Moscow). He is creating a completely new service for Russian Baptist headquarters: fundraising. Yet Kartavenko does not regard himself as responsible primarily for the raising of funds – he is instead responsible for mindsets. “We are incredibly thankful for the help we received from Western churches after the collapse of our economy,” he states. “But we no longer have the same economy as 15 years ago. Unfortunately, many of our people still regard themselves as impoverished and incapable of accomplishing anything. So I have a mandate to change the mindsets of my fellow believers.”
The new Vice-President also thinks beyond the borders of his own country: “We have a higher standard-of-living than Brazil. Yet the Christians of that country are supporting mission work here with us! We must make clear to our members and congregations that they are responsible not only for Russia. We ourselves need to help countries such as Brazil financially and send our missionaries there.” Pastor Kartavenko does not view the drop in donations from foreign countries as punishment from God, but rather as a vital wake-up call: “He is showing us the way and saying: ´Work now on your own house by yourselves!´”
With this in mind, the budding Department for Financial Services has initiated a „Day of Brotherhood“. Representatives from all congregations will be invited to regional meetings. Persons representing the various departments active in Moscow headquarters will report on their duties and hopes for the future. Visitors will be given the opportunity to donate to a specific person, ministry or project. Those in attendance will also be invited to sign a statement of personal financial commitment. Days of Brotherhood even in the most remote of regions are intending to reach all 1.200 RUECB-congregations during the coming year.
The past anonymous and general donation by congregations for national offices of 50 roubles ($2 US) per member and year will be retained. Yet this amount suffices only to cover basic costs at national headquarters – nothing remains for the funding of regional projects elsewhere.
A second field of work involves the growing number of Baptist businesspeople. Weekly prayer breakfasts for Christian businesspeople – not to be confused with the National Prayer Breakfast movement - are already taking place in the south of Russia (Caucasian region). An initial meeting of 40 businesspersons is scheduled for 26 January in Moscow. Guests are expected from as far away as the Ural Mountains. Not all of those invited will be active Christians – Kartavenko therefore also regards such events as an opportunity for mission. He states: “These are serious business people - we want to point them to their responsibilities. God has given the funds they have for them to administer. They will need to administer those funds wisely.”
A third field involves the furthering of relations with Western partners. Leonid Kartavenko concedes: “We will need to continue making visits to America and Western Europe. Our financial independent is still only a future goal. But Russia remains the first priority for me.”
Pastor Kartavenko agreed to his new calling with a heavy heart. The native Ukrainian had only moved to Moscow from Kiev in 2002 to head the RUECB´s Missions Department. “Mission work was extremely enjoyable for me and I also regarded it as highly necessary,” he states. But he is also an old hand at fundraising. Already in his hometown of Makeyevka in Eastern Ukraine, where he had helped found three congregations, he had been required to put much of his effort into gathering donations. In the past five years, the Moscow Missions Department has also needed to solicit most of its own funding. “I understand well that fund collecting is a highly necessary matter. Every project around would need to shut down if it were not for donations. I therefore had no choice other than to agree – even if this duty is not a very prestigious one in my estimation.”
At least this die-hard missionary remains head of his favourite child for the immediate future: the RUECB´s long-distant journeys by vehicle or bicycle. He states: “These expeditions are like my statement of faith: Not remaining holed up at one location, but launching forth into the world to reach the unreached.” New director of the Missions Department is Simon Borodin.
Leonid Kartavenko (Kar-TA-venka), who was born in 1957, is married to Vera. The couple has five adult children. The RUECB, Russia’s largest unified Protestant church, represents approximately 80.000 adult members meeting in 1.750 local congregations and groups. Its President is Yuri Sipko.
Department for External Church Relations, RUECB
