Soviet Evangelicals Since World War II, Walter Sawatsky, 1981

ess- ness, they had cried to God. Some of these groups formed. clusters for fellowship in their barracks communities as early as 1948 only to see the au- thorities come to break up their meetings and arrest their leaders, With the receipt of internal Passports in 1956, these Germans began to seek their immediate relatives and friends throughout the Soviet Union. Wherever they came they sought out fellow believers and shared with them their experiences, Among this group of travelers were experienced ministers whose suffering in prison had increased their spiritual depth. A significant number of the German preachers had attended Bible schools in the 1920s which had been conducted by Mennonites and German Baptists. The re- _ vival that they now encountered could therefore be guided toward the systematic organization of churches. Many of these traveling Germans managed to obtain German-language Bibles in the Baltic republics which Renewal and Church Growth, 1944-1957 they then distributed among the scattered Germa the Soviet Union. Reflecting on the past greatness Russia, one Volga German told a visitor: “Before were like fat tame ducks that had forgotten to fly. Now the Lord has nsformed through long periods of sufferin 0 are able to fly all over RSFSR which had consisted represented 26 percent and showed growth Russian Federation. Similarly, percentage Kazakhstan and Central Asia, 37 The second spurt of growth probabl would survive th however, was als ns in the eastern part of of the Germans in tsarist the First World War we 68 Soviet Evangelicals Since World War li Church Growth Techniques Soviet-Style The Khrushchev antireligious campaign of 1959 to 1964 was second only to the Stalinist persecutions of the 1930s and did major damage to si religious bodies. Many churches were closed; those remaining open had to walk circumspectly. The Evangelical Christian-Baptist Union experienced : major split in its ranks. But the evangelicals were not annihilated as a been hoped; rather, their movement continued to grow in spite of signi - cant losses. Their growth was due to recs of expansion which they ha d during the heady days of the revival era. 7 ee aacion of children was forbidden by law. Only religious education in the home was not explicitly forbidden. Russian evangelicals, especially Mennonites and to a slightly lesser extent the Baptists, placed heavy emphasis on religious education in the home.%® As historic meee churches, they had always emphasized that each believer is a priest and above all.a priest in his own home. Children learned Bible stories, mem- orized Scripture verses, and sang the songs of the faith. This accounts for the fact that most new members came from the immediate families of believers. From its first issue, Bratskii Vestnik took