The
Evangelical Christian Missionary Union (ECMU) has readily accessible documents
online about its ecclesiological history and stated purposes. Most of the
theological documentation relates to statement of faith and ecclesiastical
practice. There are some documents that relate specifically to ecclesiology
employed in planting new churches and the primary teaching related to the
church, especially in the area of what constitutes a healthy urban church.
Some
primary documents employed by ECMU in Russia related to the doctrine of the church are
the vision and values files of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA)
and the C&MA teachings on the local church. According to C&MA, a
healthy church is defined as “a body of believers where the majority are truly
living out a great commandment/great commission lifestyle, fully devoted
disciples of Jesus Christ, demonstrating a lifestyle committed to the Word,
Fellowship, Worship, and Prayer, and Spirit-Filled individuals demonstrating
the Power of God, the Love of the Brethren, and the Evangelism of the Lost.”[1]
The ECMU seeks to ensure this
church health by creating what it terms “Acts 2 fellowships.”[2]
Using the Acts 2:42–47 model, these are groups that exhibit quality pastoral
care, devotion to discipleship, fervent evangelism, natural church planting,
entire church mobilization, and strategic international partnerships. C&MA
teaches that pastors must be “passionate to win the lost for Christ [as] they
guide and counsel their respective flocks to go deeper in their love for Jesus,
while training them to also be faithful stewards of the good news.”[3]
They teach an age-graded discipleship program based upon the four-fold gospel
and focus on reaching the lost through “community outreach and short-term
missions opportunities.”[4]
C&MA believes this passion for
the lost and mission support is “a good litmus test for a healthy Body of
believers.”[5]
When a church naturally gives birth to more “like-minded fellowships,”[6]
it is said to be healthy. These are the churches that mobilize their own to
complete the Great Commission and establish strategic international partnerships
that will do the same. In its creed ECMU defines the urban church’s purpose as
bringing
glory to Almighty God in Jesus Christ and completing the work, tasked by Him,
through the preaching the gospel of the grace of God for the salvation of
millions of lost people, by starting new missional churches, connected in
partnerships in regional sectors and with joint strategies in ECMU under the
direction of the Holy Spirit.[7]
According
to Simon A. Borodin, former president of ECMU and a good friend of mine, new urban Russian churches should
“develop missionaries in our own congregations and support them financially
ourselves.”[8]
Moreover, this ecclesiological characteristic of exhibiting missional health is
the basis for the Russian Baptist Union’s appointment of Borodin as Provisional
Director of its own missions department in 2007.
[1]Dale
Edwardson, “Church Health: Vision and Values,” (n.d.) http://web.me.com/dalee777
/NationalChurchHealth/Vision_and_Values.html (accessed
August 17, 2009).
[2]
Christian and Missionary Alliance, “Local Churches,” (n.d.) http://www.cmalliance.org/ministries/local-church
(accessed August 1, 2009).
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5]
Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7]
Evangelical Christian Missionary Union, “Цель ЕХМС,” (2003). http://www.exmc.ru/about/purpose (accessed August 17,
2009).
[8]
William Yoder, “Moscow Headquarters More
Colorful Than Ever,” The Union of Evangelical Christian-Baptists of Russia ,
n.p. (January 23, 2008). http://www.baptist.org.ru/news/english/807/ (accessed
August 17, 2009).
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