Thanks to the help of Adventist World Radio we have been on the air not only in Russia but also in Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and other countries.

The Euro-Asia Division in the years 2000-2005 will be remembered by many people because of such events as "300#300#300 (see below), small groups, revival and harvest weeks, youth congress, a united program of evangelism, and the first-ever satellite evangelistic program conducted in history of EAD, run by Mark Finley in March 2005.

One of the first actions of the division in 2000 was to organize a mission institute, whose assignment was to analyze the way the Lord led us in the past; to draw lessons from the successes and mistakes; and to search for ways the church could use to face the challenge to fulfill the Great Commission Jesus gave us to go and make disciples of all nations. The mission institute consisted of the ESD leaders and departmental workers.

Looking back, we can say that the institute became an engine behind everything the division did in the past five years. It united all the departments of the division toward clear-cut goals. As a result, each department has put forward effort, talent, and energy toward accomplishing the worked-out strategy. The strategic plan did not detail entire programs, but rather reflected the general direction in which to focus our efforts. We have built strategies that address the challenges of our division, as well as the strategic issues of the General Conference: quality of life, unity, and growth.

The following special challenges have been identified by the institute:

1. Euro-Asia's territory includes nearly one third of the world's land mass, spanning 12 time zones. This means excessive travel expenses, difficult communication, and the necessity of working among a wide variety of ethnic groups, languages, and religions. This, in turn, makes building and maintaining a unified church a significant challenge.
2. Euro-Asia includes eight countries of the 10/40 window, which present strong religious challenges.
3. Religious liberty is under real and constant threat in several countries of our territory. At least one is already completely closed to our work.
4. Traditional religions are strong in most Euro-Asia's countries and often forcibly resist Adventism.
5. Euro-Asia has significant member retention challenges.
6. Euro-Asia is a relatively new division that needs leadership development, pastoral training and experience, and structural underpinnings.
7. The majority of Adventists in Euro-Asia are recent converts and need time for growth.
8. The lack of permanent places to worship is a constant challenge.
9. The cost of running educational institutions is disproportionately high, compared to people's income.
10. Euro-Asia has a number of metropolitan areas that present special challenges to our work.

These and a number of other challenges have been identified, and strategies have been developed to meet these challenges. The programs developed and implemented during the past five years have been a blessing and have laid a foundation for the future work in the division.

300#300#300
The first 300 stands for 300 pastors, the second for 300 new church buildings, and the third for new congregations. In short, the program seeks, in a very short time, to train 300 new pastors; to purchase and rebuild 300 places of worship; and to establish 300 congregations in new, unentered areas.

The biggest challenge for us seemed to be the financial aspect of it. We began without even a penny, just trusting the Lord to provide. Now, looking back, it seems that for our Lord, there are no challenges too large. He is able to provide! As a result, more than 300 pastors have been trained, 311 church buildings have been purchased and rebuilt, and in most of the 300 areas a congregation was established; in other places we are in the process of establishing one. And in every place baptisms took place. The ideal goal is to establish not only one congregation but to work toward putting multiple churches in the same building and planting sister churches in surrounding areas.

Some people ask us how we came up with the number 300. We decided that each local field would select 12 missionary-minded young people who would be willing to dedicate their lives to the proclamation of the good news. In addition each local field would appoint one adviser who would be responsible for special support and training. As in the days of Jesus, we now had 12 disciples in each field. And with some fields requesting a slightly larger number, the total came to 300. It was this number that led them to call themselves Gideonites. It was a small group, but as powerful as Gideon's long ago.

"In June 2001 we walked into the auditorium at Zaoksky Theological Seminary in Russia, and for the first time we actually saw the 300 young Global Mission Pioneers who would go throughout the former Soviet Union to share the gospel. It was awesome. Talking about 300 missionaries is one thing. Actually bringing them together is something else entirely. They marched into the hall bearing the flags of the 12 countries they represented--their homes and their mission fields" (Hope for the Thirsting [a Global Mission product, 2003], p. 7).

The 300#300#300 became a reality because of God's presence and guidance that was felt along the way. A very special role was played in all that was done by the special prayer time throughout the division at 12:45 each day, and the fasting day the last Wednesday of each month.

Small Groups
The small group approach has been chosen to help to meet the significant member retention challenge, to provide the best possible atmosphere for nurturing the spiritual growth of the members, and to involve the majority of members in the work of fulfilling the Great Commission.

The Euro-Asia Division has prepared all the needed materials for administrators, pastors, small group leaders, and church members. In each union special training sessions took place. Congresses of small group leaders took place, and finally a congress of pastors who have been successful in building cell churches took place in December 2004.

The leaders of these small groups became a vital part of the Go One Million program. The Sow 1 Billion program provided the needed brochures that were used to create interest among the population for Bible studies around the division. Special brochures have been prepared in all the major languages and for different age groups.

Revival and Harvest Weeks
The revival and harvest weeks became important parts of the small group approach. At the end of each quarter a special week was selected to be a high point of the work of all involved in the small group work. The first week of the quarter was selected for special intercessory prayers for a specific territory. Then the next week the members of the small groups distributed the Sow 1 Billion brochures. The next 10 weeks were singled out for Bible studies with those who showed interest. This was the work of the small groups.

Some of those who were visited but who did not demonstrate an interest in Bible studies attended other programs--for example, a course on healthy living, or strengthening the family, or prophecies, or a special course for children and youth. After 10 weeks of weekly meetings in the small groups, all were invited to a special revival and harvest week. Usually an evangelist or an administrator was invited to conduct it.

The main purpose of this week was threefold: to ask those who had studied the Bible in the past 10 weeks to make a decision, to invite those who just came to the church for the first time to get involved in the Bible study groups, and to invite church members who had not been involved in the work of the small groups to get involved.

One of the most memorable revival and harvest weeks was conducted in Chernovci, Ukraine. The division midyear meeting was conducted there. Each division executive committee member who was at the meeting got involved in this special week as well. We worked on the business agenda till late afternoon, and then in the evenings each board member went to a church to conduct a revival and harvest week.

On Sabbath, the last day, people from all the 36 churches involved came together in one place for a large baptism. More than 136 people gave their hearts to Jesus.

Youth Congress
A very special treasure of the Euro-Asia Division is its young people. They have what we, the church, need: energy, talent, creativeness, and a willingness to serve. In August 2004 they gathered from all corners of the vast division for a youth congress. The congress demonstrated how talented and dedicated our young people are.

United in Evangelism
Beginning December 2003 a special "way of life" began in the division. Each quarter was divided as was described above:

Revival and Harvest
The month of March 2005 became a very special Month of Revival and Harvest. It was a first in the history of the division--a satellite evangelistic event conducted in Kiev by Mark Finley, director of the General Conference's Center for Global Evangelism. The event marked the climax of the work of the division for the past five years. Throughout the territory 1,300 sites received the signal, in addition to the many members who had their own dishes and invited their neighbors and friends to watch.

In some regions the TV channels broadcast the series from Kiev. Some prisons, military units, and evangelical churches became part of this special event. More than 200 sites outside of the Euro-Asia Division participated. We have received responses from more than 30 countries around the world.

The last Sabbath of the program was very special because of the large baptism throughout the division. More than 3,191 precious souls were added to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In the two months following the program, several more baptisms were scheduled to take place. But the full result of the program we will know only in heaven.

Overall, looking back at the past five years, we may state that they were years of laying the foundation for missionary work based on the involvement of each church member. The process was not easy; however, the results the Lord gave those fields that eagerly worked to implement the small group approach demonstrate that for Euro-Asia, the best is yet to come!