M o s c o w – The Union of Evangelical-Christians Baptists intends to intensify its outside contacts. Its central Moscow offices have revived the Department for External Church Relations, which had stopped functioning during the Perestroika period. Witali Wlasenko (37), longtime head of the Russian branch of the Campus Crusade mission, has been named its new director. This Baptist pastor has taken on major goals – not only for his own country: “If we Baptists come together and share our resources across all European borders, we can create synergetic effects benefiting the entire kingdom of God!”

The department has three divisions: Its diplomatic and representation desk intends to propagate the Union’s activities and convictions both internally and externally and contribute to the strengthening of inter-church relations in Russia and abroad. The press desk wants to make not only Baptist positions, but rather all Protestantism in the country better known. Protestants make up less than one percent of the population. The legal desk will concern itself with legal matters as well as questions of religious freedom in the country. Working with Vlasenko in the department are the law student Yevgenia Kushnir and the German-American journalist Dr. William Yoder.

Central church offices are being renovated this year, the Union’s 140^th anniversary. The Evangelical Christians-Baptists number 85.000 baptised members in 1,750 congregations and groups. General-Secretary is Yuri Sipko (53).