Art Word Kursk Ministry
TVS STAFF HAS AN INNOVATIVE MINISTRY DIRECTION In Russia, it is illegal for people to invite others to formal church services. In early 2019, twelve TVS staff members and five of their teen children came up with a unique ministry idea to reach lost people in the Kursk area. Incorporating musical concerts with the desire to present the Word of God, the title ART WORD became the unique name for an evangelistic outreach began by these talented staff members and their families.
The ministry, headed by Ivan Silenin, is the director of the technical Department at TVS. Ivan is a graduate of Kursk State Medical University and is a biology engineer. He also holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Kursk State University. Among his many abilities are songwriting and creative video production. He heads a technical team of five at TVS. This team handles both pre and post-production of video courses, services all computer issues, and maintains the enormous IT needs of a major online educational institution.
With a desire to reach the Kursk community for Christ, Ivan and his coworkers came up with a unique idea that would involve non-believers from the area. The ministry team holds three music concerts a year and deliberately involves youth to work on things like backdrops, officiating the events, and many other production areas. The ministry leader's goal is to create relationships with those involved in the many tasks needed to put on a concert.The concert itself is a mixture of both Christian and contemporary music performances. Presentations are delivered by TVS staff and other members of the community typically eager to present their talent publicly.
Moral guides are laid out for the performers, subtly representing Christian ethics as an example for the willing performers. Supporting the love of music in the culture of Kursk, the concerts have been extremely well received. In Russia, religion can only be discussed inside a religious institution. As an extension to the ministry, Ivan opens his home every Saturday for 15-20 youth. Only because he has a Ph.D. in philosophy can he lead a meeting like this and is able to discuss Christian topics. A few months ago, Ivan was visited by a government official who questioned him about the subject of his meetings. Because of his degree in philosophy from a known Russian Educational Institution, he was allowed to continue the group discussions. It is not unusual for an undercover agent to be sent to a home like this to ensure that engagement in dialogue about God is not included in such gatherings. As a result of this ministry, the “New Testament Church” which meets on the TVS campus on Sunday morning has made room for 30 people making up the “Before and After Group" who meet from 2:00-4:00. Ivan delivers the message and the music which he often writes, or gathers from contemporary Christian sources of Russain worship groups like "Hillsongs Church, Moscow” and "Not an Idol."
COVID 19 has put a temporary pause on the concerts, but because of their success, Russian Christian leaders in larger cities are approaching Ivan on how to begin this same unique outreach in their cities once restrictions lift FILMED AT THE HOME OF VITALY AND MARINA PETROV, this video is a creation of the Art Word Ministry team and ends with images from some of the concerts of 2019. CLICK TO VIEW
