Virginia Beach, Virginia – Tuesday, December 30, 2008 – 11:39am
For weeks now, I’ve been meaning to send a final email to wrap up my recounting of my trip to Belarus and Ukraine and to share with you the amazing story of the Vineyard Christian School outside of Kiev. Life and procrastination got in the way nonetheless, and so I figured that the end of the year was a good time to write. I can wrap up this year’s trip, talk a little about what is going on with the greater ministry, and present some plans for 2009.
First, let’s talk about Vineyard Christian School outside of Kiev, Ukraine. Whenever I travel to Eastern Europe and talk about the Christian worldview of business and economics, I start with a question about the purpose of a business. It’s to generate a profit, and profit is not bad or unbiblical. In fact, honest profits and their pursuit are very biblical! However, what’s essential to taking “doing business” to the next step of “doing business ‘Christianly’” is what is done with those profits. My understanding of the Bible through my studies is that profits are to be used to glorify God by empowering people, advance the gospel, enrich the community, and show His love by the example of responsible stewardship. Because Communism has stripped many eastern Europeans of the understanding of profitable business practice let alone Christian business practice, these ideas can be difficult to grasp. This year, though, I found in Ukraine a great example of what biblical business looks like in practice. In a small suburb of Kiev, there is a pastor whose full-time job is as the owner of a contracting company. He is a residential and commercial builder and is very successful. He and his wife have committed to using the profits of the business to develop the community and be the very best witness they can be as a result. To that end, they have personally financed road construction that enabled easier travel to and from Kiev and allowed for delivery of goods that were previously not accessible because of poor roads. New businesses have started as a result, and those have provided jobs locally rather than forcing residents to travel to Kiev to work. The couple has also built Vineyard Christian School as an offshoot of their church. The school provides jobs for a dozen teachers and staff and provides a first rate Christian education for the tens of students now enrolled in grades K-8. Two years from now, they will have enrollment for K-12. While in Ukraine, our team spoke about Christian education one evening in the school to parents and teachers. We talked about how parents can make their homes a center of Christian learning even if they don’t specifically homeschool their children. The building is physically spectacular, and the children enrolled are testing very well against their state school peers. Perhaps more importantly, though, the school is making a great difference in the community. Two property owners whose properties adjoin the school and who are not believers have deeded land to the school for future expansion because of the witness of the pastor and his wife, the schoolchildren, and the school faculty. Local unchurched residents have explored the church and some have even joined because of what they’ve seen from the school and those related. All of this is a perfect example of Christian business worldview and how this pastor and his wife are acting out what the Bible proscribes when it comes to business and the use of profits. They personally funded construction of the school and continue to fund its operations until it is self-sustaining. They run their construction business expressly for the purpose of using its proceeds to advance the Kingdom! It was incredibly gratifying to see and experience firsthand and a fitting end to our time in Ukraine.
Let me share a couple of things about this greater ministry I’m involved with. 2008 was a very exciting year. We are two-thirds of the way through the steps to officially incorporate as a non-profit organization, and we expect that to culminate with the registration of the Institute for Reformation in early 2009. In September, we had our first Board of Directors meeting and named six Directors to the Board. To my great surprise, I was nominated to serve not just as organization Treasurer and Secretary but as a full Board member. I was completely surprised and thoroughly humbled. It is a great honor and an awesome responsibility before the Lord. We also successfully completed our fourth teaching trip to Belarus and took our second Regent University professor to deliver high-level academic teaching. We have sustained and even deepened our relationships in Belarus and are moving well along in our multi-year plan to establish an accredited degree program in biblical worldview studies for Russian speakers in Eastern Europe. We delivered ground level introductory teaching in Ukraine and established new relationships that will enable future projects in the coming years. It was a very blessed year!
That leaves me approaching 2009 and with news of what’s ahead. For the first time in 2009, I will be traveling to Eastern Europe twice in once year. After much prayer and the Lord’s direction to focus our ministry sharply, the organization’s leadership has decided that we will concentrate our efforts on Belarus in 2009 and trim back on travel to other countries. Three teams will travel to Belarus for five days each in March, July, and November. Because Karen and I will be welcoming wee little Walter number four in July, I will only travel in the spring and fall. While the trips will be shorter, it is still a tremendous undertaking for which I pray I am equipped. Your support has been crucial to my participation over the past years, and I would ask that you prayerfully consider whether the Lord would have you to support me again this year. I am so very grateful for your prayers and your financial gifts. It will cost about $3500 for me to travel next year, and I am confident that the Lord is not constrained by our shaky economy! He will provide.
We serve a mighty God who has blessed us all tremendously over the course of 2008. Take time these next couple of days to reflect on His goodness and to thank Him for His constant watchcare. As you have time and interest, I would love to talk to you about your plans for the coming new year. How can I pray for you and your plans? What is God calling you to this year? Let me know!
Always more to come,
Scott
