In the early 1990s a new church was planted in an area near Siberia. For the first 6 months of the church plant the only music the church had was the Russian worship tape, Heal Our Land, that Integrity had produced in the late 80s. As the small group of believers gathered for worship, they would play the tape and sing along in worship.
From that humble beginning, the church has grown to over 2500 members and has planted some 250 churches throughout Russia and even into some of the surrounding former Soviet republics. Each of the new church plants has an average of 200 members each. The church continues to have great influence in that region.
In January 2004, the IWM leadership met with the Pastor of the church who invited IWM to come and conduct the Integrity Worship Institute for pastors and worship leaders from all over Russia. Given the historical connection of the church to the ministry of Integrity, this seemed to be a great opportunity to continue to invest in that region, so plans for IWM Russia 2004 began.
This outreach was conducted in November 2004. The course taught was Developing a Biblical View of Worship. There were 308 pastors, worship leaders, and worship team members, representing 49 churches from 45 different cities all over Russia. Some of those in attendance had traveled 4 days by train in order to come to the worship institute.
The opportunity to provide training in Biblical worship in Russia is strategic in that, though there has been growth among evangelical churches, there has been little specific training in worship. Our host church is a strategic location because of the great vision and commitment to outreach by the leadership. According to the Pastor, “The current revival sweeping through and beyond this area of Russia is based on the power of God, in the midst of hopelessness and despair.”
Future plans for this program include additional offerings of Integrity Worship Institute courses and continued partnership with the church for evangelism and mercy ministry.
