Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II, Walter Sawatsky, 1981

o can give them peace of heart and a purpose for living. There was little need to counter the so-called scientific arguments of atheism. Young Peter Engbrecht, for example, had studied at an institute for scientific atheism and had been chagrined to discover that the atheists were unable to prove convincingly that God does not exist. After serving a term in concentration camps (because of his German origins), he was finally released in the early 1950s, a physical wreck. Deeply depressed, he amused himself by ridiculing the old minister in the village. The minister ignored his tricky scientific questions and responded to him with a quiet grace. Fi- nally one evening Peter came to announce that he wished to be converted, His excitement was so great that he could not wait till morning to be baptized. Soon he became one of the key evangelists in the area and conducted services where he baptized move than seventy persons.9 The AUCECB leadership also played a role in the revival. Most of the members of the All-Union Council spent much time on the road during the first few years visiting churches. In these administrative trips they shared in- formation about activities in Moscow, gave advice on how to organize and register the church, and ordained local presbyters. The reports in the Brat- skii Vestnik journal are restrained but indicate that wherever they visited, there was always a worship service in which they delivered the major ser- mons. When Mikhail Orlov traveled to communities in the Volga region, services were held on successive evenings and people were converted.. These leaders, with years of experience in evangelism and Bible teach- ing, now used their accumulated skills to guide the growth. President Zhidkov reported that in 1947 growth had been significantly less than from 1945 to 1946 because congregations were becoming more cautious in ac- cepting members—they tested them first and gave them solid teaching. He Renewal and Church Growth, 1944-1957 59 reported that the AUCECB had sent a directive to local congregations warning them not to receive strangers into their pulpits but only such persons who carried identification and endorsement by the AUCECB. This was an attempt to restrain the activities of independent preachers who were sowing disorder among believers, Zhidkov also discouraged presbyters from switching congregations or moving about from place to place, emphasizing that “their task is not to be a missionary, but a pastor.” ! This was strong language that might come back to haunt him. It was an emphasis preferred by the state authorities, but. it also reflected concern for stability and validity. General Secretary Alexander Karey reported in October 1948 that the first task of their union had been to bring the congregations into order again and to register them with the local organs of power. The second task was to put in order the family of presbyters. The AUCECB had