John Woods tells us about an exciting training scheme in the Baltic State
Latvia has a chequered history of independence and invasion.
I have been travelling to Latvia since 1993, when the country was emerging from half a century of Soviet rule. Latvia’s post-independence existence has been a mixed experience for the church. Initially churches helped disorientated people to explore the meaning of life and search for a sense of identity. This has been followed by periods of disillusionment, superstition and cynicism. Latvia needs the hope of the gospel and those equipped to tell it.
Supermarket tragedy
Prior to Christmas 2013, tragedy struck Riga, the capital of Latvia, when the roof of a major supermarket collapsed, eventually killing 54 people (If the same percentage of the UK died in an accident, we would be talking about 8000 people). Looking at video footage of the rescue operation I detected two young people in their 20s who were there seeking to minister to the grieving families. They were a recently married couple who work as Salvation Army cadets. Both are former students at the Latvian Biblical Centre (formerly the Riga International Bible Institute).
Latvian Biblical Centre (LBC) is not the only Bible training institution in Latvia but it is the largest one. It is unique in providing biblical, contemporary and practical training to men and women from both the Latvian-and Russian-speaking communities in all the main denominations in Latvia. Students, young and old, come to be equipped, to think biblically and be trained in practical Christian ministry. Some of our former students are pastors, evangelists or youth workers, as well as chaplains in hospitals, prisons and the military. One of our students is the leader of the Latvian Lawyers Christian Fellowship, seeking to make a difference to the way her colleagues think about the ethics of legal practice.
LBC is ably led by its director Victor Petrenko, a Russian-speaker who has spent most of his life in Latvia. Victor and his wife Ester, who is the academic dean, both trained in England, first at what was London Bible College and then earned doctorates at Durham University. They have worked hard to provide a balanced curriculum and develop a vibrant learning community.
Refurbishment
LBC was established in 1993 and operates out of rooms rented from a Baptist church south of the river from the city centre. The premises are cramped and require some students to take two forms of transport to get to their classes, which take place five evenings a week, once a month.
The Baptist Union in Latvia have offered LBC a 99-year lease on a four storey building near the city centre, north of the river. It is rent free, on the condition that it is refurbished and maintained. The first stage of this work has already begun, and, funds permitting (the anticipated cost is £800,000), the aim is to complete the first three floors of the building by September 2015. The new facilities would provide ample room for lecture rooms, the growing library, offices and some accommodation for visiting students and teachers. Its central location would also make it an excellent venue for seminars and conferences for other Christian groups.
Founding churches
This is an exciting prospect, not least because of the history of the building. It was built in the 1920’s as a Bible Institute, but since the Second World War it has mainly been used as flats or storage. The Institute was founded by William Fetler, a Latvian who trained at Spurgeon’s College between 1903-1907.
Thomas Spurgeon (C.H. Spurgeon’s son), once said that if the college had done nothing else since his great father’s death than train a man like Pastor Fetler, it had been worthwhile continuing its existence. Fetler founded churches in Latvia and Russia, and also pioneered evangelistic work among both the poor and the aristocracy through the ministry of the Russian Bible Society. Fetler’s preaching of the gospel was said to go through an audience like a flame of fire; his son recalls him being referred to as the Russian Billy Graham.
Fetler was also noted for his personal evangelistic work; he was for example a house guest of the author Leo Tolstoy, whose wife professed faith through his ministry. So impressed was Leo Tolstoy, that when he was dying, he sought Fetler out for counsel. It was one of Fetler’s great regrets that he was unable to visit him in time. Fetler’s concerned for his own homeland, Latvia, led to the founding of the Bible Institute in the 1920s. The building chosen by Fetler had been used as a brothel but was now transformed into a training school to shape Christian leaders. Around 100 local pastors and missionaries were taught during the school’s all-too-brief ministry. Yet the school didn’t just improve the spiritual lives of the Latvian community through the passionate efforts of its students, it spread the message of the gospel to countries as distant as Australia and China.
A good start
We have a sense that the work of LBC is carrying on the vision that Fetler had for this building and this country. We have made a good start but we continue to need the interest, prayers and support of the Lord’s people as we move toward completion.
