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THE CONFERENCE MESSAGE
Prepared by a Committee of which Rev. Prof. R. M. Russell was
Chairman, and Adopted by the Executive Committee of the Alliance
for the Evangelization of Russia.
AFTER centuries of civil and religious oppression, the revolution
in Russia has opened the way for religious liberty. An empire
embracing one-sixth of the land surface of the earth, including
more than one-half of Europe and the whole of Northern Asia is thrown
open to Gospel propagation.
Startling Facts
Facts of startling significance challenge those who- yearn to fulfill
the Master’s command for world evangelization. Russia has more
than 182,000,000 inhabitants, the largest population of white people
in the world. The Greek Orthodox Church, although claiming the
adherency of 70 per cent of the population, is utterly without spiritual
power to reach the masses with a vital Christianity.
Adequate evangelism must embrace not only the 100,000,000 native
Russians, but also the 6,000,000 Jews, the 20,000,000 Poles, the
30,000,000 Ukrainians, the 14,000,000 Mohammedans, also Armenians,
Roumanians, Greeks, Bulgarians, Servians, Croatians, Montenegrins,
and other related Slavonic people. Never have the true followers
of Christ been confronted by a more important and alluring task.
That the work of presenting a living Christ to the millions of
Russia should be immediate is enforced by the fact that the propa-
ganda of atheism and materialism is already assuming large pro-
portions, while the disturbed condition of the Russian mind during
the horrors of war involves the possibility of millions being led away
from all form of Christian faith into complete infidelity.
Present Emergency
t
In this emergency, some to whom the evangelization of Russia
presents itself as the greatest need and the greatest opportunity of
this generation have realized the necessity for a "fiying squadron"
of Christian effort which shall at once carry the Gospel by the written
and spoken Word to the Russian people. It is recognized that exist-
ing denominational boards and agencies will approach this task,
but that under present world-war conditions the work of all will be
painfully inadequate, and that there is need for a union of effort in
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