The biggest difficulty facing American missionaries in Russia today may not be the stress of living in another culture, the language challenge, or the lack of financial support. Often, the biggest challenge is simply getting along with co-workers, whether expatriates or nationals. While I do not want to suggest that American missionaries are more prone to relational problems than their Korean, German, or Finnish counterparts, Americans do tend to respond to such problems by following a deeply ingrained instinct to strike out on their own in lone ranger fashion. If there is a sense that certain teammates or national partners are hindering the accomplishment of certain goals, there is the temptation to isolate oneself from them or to ignore or bypass them. A final implication for the Western missionary enterprise stems from the fact that Russia is a highly relational society.
Relationships mean everything.
Degrees, skills even ministry success mean relatively little in comparison. Missionaries need to understand that effective long-term ministry can only occur in an ethos of trust and respect created by healthy relationships. These relationships require time and flexibility in schedule that does not come naturally to Westerners. But such relationships can be richly rewarding and may open the door to significant, lasting ministry. Steven R. Chapman served as a missionary in Moscow and Tatarstan, 1994-96, with the Evangelical Free Church Mission.