MOSCOW, RUSSIA (ANS) -- A riverboat excursion liner was the vehicle of choice for an on-the-water evangelistic event hosted by the Moscow-based Baptist congregation “Your Church.”

The three-month-old church crowded 180 people onto a boat intended for 150 and treated them to salami sandwiches, mineral water, music and a variety of short talks July 10.

The evening was brought to a close with a drama done by the 20-member, Russian-Baptist choir “Oasis” from Sacramento,California. In it, a disco murder serves as a backdrop to explain Christ’s sacrificial death in our stead.

Church pastor Leonid Kartavenko believes this to have been Moscow’s first evangelistic boat excursion. Evangelistic expeditions in the early 1990’s had chartered ships on the Volga and in Siberia, but evangelistic events while the boat was in-motion had not been a part of the program.

Kartavenko reported that the three-hour evening seemed to be over before it had hardly begun: “Who could imagine today’s youth holding still for a three-hour church service?” he asked.

Approximately 60 percent of those present were considered to be unbelievers. All the invitations were done by personal connections and "on the grapevine"; no public advertising took place.

“People don’t show up at concert halls in the summertime,” the pastor explained. "Excursion boats are particularly well-suited for talking and getting acquainted,” he said.

Another fact that made the event appealing is that – in contrast to meetings on public real estate – events on a boat need no government sanction. “This is very similar to renting a bus,” Kartavenko explained. “Bus excursions are usually strictly private affairs.”

Thanks to its success, monthly boat excursions are now in the offing for the remainder of the summer. Liners with as many as 250 seats are up for consideration.

Kartavenko said that thanks to the wonders of electronic technology, the music can readily be heard from the shore and a boat without rigid walls is being also considered. Bicyclists equipped with printed invitations reporting on the event could be stationed on boardwalks along the river.

Pastor Kartavenko is particularly proud of the fact that his tiny group of church members paid three-quarters of the excursion’s costs. The choir from California covered the remainder. The costs, divided by 180, came to $13 US (305 roubles) per person. Future planning assumes that believing passengers will cover their own costs.

The congregation will need to avail itself of immobile real estate in wintertime, the pastor explained. He said large department stores have their own meeting halls and the group is hoping to hold evangelistic meetings in a major store owned by the firm IKEA.

Because IKEA is run by Swedish Protestants, Kartavenko hopes that the goodwill of its owners will be readily available. He is already thinking of Swedish cultural evenings with evangelistic input. Furniture viewing before or after the event would be highly likely.

Evangelistic Bicycle Tours Still a Viable Option

In spite of all the transitions at Moscow headquarters of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, evangelistic bicycle tours have not become a thing of the past.

But only five or six regional tours – and not the usual 30 – will take place this summer.

Vladimir Skovpen, from Klintsy near Bryansk, who is a father of 10 and a former national bike champion and who alone covered the entire distance from Germany to Vladivostok last summer in the saddle, suffered a multiple fracture of the collarbone in a work accident last February. He would appreciate any words of greeting or support during his recovery.

A bike tour done jointly with the choir “Oasis,” (www.oasischoir.com) , now on its third annual tour of Russia, is to take place shortly in the south Russian region of Krasnodar. It is being organized by the dentist Levon Sarkisov from Krasnodar, who has also been along on the long journey to Vladivostok.

The Union’s youth department will be holding a bike tour from Belgorod near the Ukrainian border to the church congress in Rumyantsevo near Moscow from July 26 to 31. The return trip is to take place from August 4 to 8. The total distance traveled should be around 1,500 km (900 miles).

** Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent of ANS, is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station. Michael's involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- Michael Ireland Media Missionary (MIMM) -- of ACT International at: Artists in Christian Testimony (ACT) International.