Participants:
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR210028S
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00:01 The fall of Communism led to the rise
00:03 of Christian consciousness. 00:05 Stay tuned to meet an agent of change. 00:07 My name is Jason Bradley, 00:09 and you're watching Urban Report. 00:34 Hello, and welcome to Urban Report. 00:36 My guest today is Julia Outkina, 00:38 Executive Director of 3ABN Russia. 00:42 Welcome to Urban Report, Julia. 00:45 Thank you so much, Jason. 00:46 I'm really honored to be a guest on your program. 00:50 And I'm watching the progress 00:52 of Dare to Dream from Russia from faraway part of the world. 00:58 And I'm amazed at the level of the artistic level, 01:04 at the creativity level, 01:05 at the wonderful bright ideas for the different programs 01:10 that you have. 01:12 Just a wonderful, wonderful job. 01:14 Praise the Lord for that dream. Praise God. 01:17 Well, we're thankful for 3ABN Russia 01:19 and what is taking place over there. 01:21 So excited that you are here with us. 01:24 This is your first time on Dare to Dream and on Urban Report. 01:29 So this is a real treat. 01:31 This is a real treat. 01:33 Tell us a little bit about your background 01:35 and what it was like in Russia leading up 01:39 to 3ABN Russia coming into fruition. 01:44 Well, you know, 01:45 my reason for becoming a Christian 01:51 was really interesting because I came to listen 01:54 to Pastor John Carter's preaching in 1992 in my city, 02:00 the city of Nizhny Novgorod. 02:02 And my reason was I wanted to learn English. 02:05 I wanted, I was a teacher of English already, 02:08 I wanted to improve my English. 02:09 Okay. 02:11 And then I, you know, 02:12 the message started penetrating my heart more and more. 02:16 And finally, I gave my heart to the Lord. 02:19 Yeah, but as far as my background, 02:23 I was a PhD in Linguistics, 02:27 I was married, I had a son, 02:30 and my brother was the governor of the province, 02:33 the youngest governor in Russia, 02:35 a new generation of leaders. 02:37 And in spite of all these things, 02:39 my self-esteem was really, really low. 02:43 This must be, you know, just, 02:45 I didn't know the reasons for that. 02:48 But when I attended those meetings, 02:51 when I heard that God is real, 02:54 and that He's so close, 02:56 and when I heard the message of love, 02:58 then it just changed me completely. 03:01 Yes. 03:02 And, you know, I have never talked about that on 3ABN 03:05 and if you let me I will about the history of Russia. 03:09 Oh, we would love to hear about the history of Russia 03:12 and 3ABN Russia for sure. 03:14 Yeah. 03:15 Because understanding the history of Russia 03:17 leads you to understand more how we came, 03:21 you know, to the happiness of knowing God, 03:25 and how, you know, we accepted it with all our hearts. 03:28 So Russia before the year 1917 was a monarchy. 03:33 Okay. 03:35 It had a tsar, which is a king, 03:37 it had tsarina, which is a queen, 03:40 and there was private ownership, 03:43 people had enterprises, people possessed land, 03:47 and then the Communist Revolution happened in 1917. 03:52 And then the communists under the leadership of Lenin, 03:57 their motto was to deprive people of what they owned. 04:02 So even in the country, if a family owned one cow, 04:06 it was already considered that they were capitalists 04:10 and everything was taken from people, 04:13 their lands, their cattle, 04:16 no enterprise, just nothing was owned. 04:19 And that was a lot of blood, a lot of, 04:22 you know, just, you know, 04:24 the society was in a terrible turmoil. 04:27 Yes. 04:29 As far as religion in the tsarist times, 04:32 in the monarchy times, 04:35 Russian Orthodox was mingled with the state. 04:39 Okay. 04:40 It was the state religion, 04:42 but they allowed different religions into the country 04:45 as long as they didn't proselytize. 04:47 So they were not supposed to preach to anyone. 04:50 So they couldn't spread the gospel. 04:52 Yeah. 04:53 They couldn't hold an evangelistic style series 04:55 and something like that. 04:57 No, no, they couldn't. 04:58 And Seventh-day Adventism came to Russia from Germany. 05:02 Well, before the Communist Revolution, 05:07 and they stayed inside their communities, 05:10 inside their congregations, they couldn't preach to anyone. 05:15 Then with the Communist time since 1917, 05:18 every religion was persecuted in Russia, 05:21 every religion, including Russian Orthodox Church. 05:25 They said that they proclaimed, Lenin proclaimed, 05:28 the leader of the country, 05:30 that religion is opium for people. 05:33 That it is a drug that distracts people, 05:36 that leads them astray, that changes their personality. 05:39 So religion was forbidden. 05:41 And so many people suffered from that, 05:46 many people who were, 05:48 you know, who were in churches 05:50 and who stuck to their beliefs, they were killed, 05:53 they were put to jail, they were sent to Siberia, 05:55 their families were, 05:57 you know, just ruined in many ways, 06:00 because they might even take children away from families, 06:03 so this was what was happening during Communism times, 06:08 during Lenin times. 06:09 Lenin died in 1924, then Stalin came to power. 06:15 And Stalin left the atheistic 06:20 background of the country, 06:21 but he added political persecution 06:24 because he was suspicious 06:26 that now if a person didn't support 06:30 the political views of his or of the party, 06:34 of the Communist Party, then again, 06:36 millions of people were executed, 06:39 and religion was still forbidden. 06:43 But people kept getting together underground. 06:47 They just kept sticking to their faith. 06:49 And they even kept talking to others about God, 06:53 but they, many of them were punished severely for that. 06:58 So Stalin died in 1953. 07:01 Then Khrushchev came, it was the 60s, 07:04 religion was still not given its way in Russia, 07:08 then the 70s Brezhnev and then the 80s, Gorbachev. 07:13 And this is when the situation started warming up. 07:16 Gorbachev wanted to open the country 07:18 to the Western influence. 07:21 And he did it in the way he knew how, 07:24 and that was the time when, 07:29 you know, foreign ministers were being allowed 07:33 to come into the country. 07:34 And it especially flourished in further times 07:37 when the Soviet Union, 07:40 which we had since 1917, 07:42 then it split into 15 separate republics. 07:46 Wow. 07:47 Or even or rather the 15 republics 07:50 of the former Soviet Union, they became separate countries. 07:54 Okay. 07:55 And so freedoms came. 07:56 And this was when Pastor John Carter, 08:00 together with Danny Shelton had the vision, 08:04 you know, for spreading the gospel in my country. 08:07 Yes. 08:08 And wasn't that, you know, that was an amazing endeavor. 08:13 I know that Pastor John Carter raised 100% of the money 08:18 of the funds for his first campaign 08:20 that he held in my city, which in Nizhny Novgorod, 08:24 which is the third largest city of Russia. 08:26 And then they kept 08:29 their joint ministry... 08:33 I mean, their joint efforts of evangelism with 3ABN, 08:38 and so is going on till now, which I'm so thankful for. 08:42 Were there a lot of people at the event? 08:44 When you went to hear John Carter speak, 08:48 were there a lot of people there? 08:50 Let me tell you, Jason, 08:51 after all these years of persecution, 08:53 this is why I wanted to mention it today. 08:55 Yes. 08:57 After all these years of persecution, 08:58 people were so hungry, 09:00 and the idea of God was never wiped out of their mind, 09:04 even though it was suppressed by the government. 09:08 So there was a massive advertisement in my city. 09:13 And they rented a sports arena that sits 6,000 people, 09:18 and they decided 09:19 that they would have two meetings a day, 09:22 which means 12,000 people, and that was not enough. 09:25 There was more than 12,000 people. 09:28 So I don't know probably. 09:31 I don't know how many 15 or 16 09:33 or more 1000 people came daily to hear... 09:36 That is huge. Yeah. 09:38 To hear the news about the Lord, 09:40 to hear His Word, to hear His message. 09:44 And in June 09:48 of 1992, the baptism took place 09:53 which was over 2,500 people baptized. 09:58 Over 2,500 people were baptized? 10:01 Yeah. Wow. 10:03 As a result of that campaign, 10:04 and most of the workers of 3ABN Russia 10:06 were baptized at that time, including myself. 10:11 And then, you know, Danny had the vision 10:14 that these people need to meet somewhere, 10:17 newly baptized 2,500 people. 10:19 And then the Lord put him together with those people 10:22 who wanted to donate for 3ABN Russia Evangelism Center. 10:27 Yes. 10:28 Which houses 3ABN Russia studios 10:32 and the biggest church in Nizhny Novgorod 10:34 and the Christian School. 10:36 And so, just praise the Lord. That's beautiful. 10:40 What happened with you and your life after you got baptized? 10:46 As I told you, I had very low self-esteem. 10:48 I came there only to listen to English, 10:51 and then the message of God's love 10:52 started penetrating my heart. 10:55 And I know the moment when I was converted. 10:58 And I know that it was like light 11:02 and I'm not being, 11:04 you know, I'm not trying to be something. 11:10 But I just felt the light go through me. 11:15 Yes. 11:16 And I knew that, you know, 11:18 my self-esteem just immediately went into its right place. 11:23 Yes. 11:24 I just, you know, I felt God loves me. 11:27 I am a temple of His Holy Spirit. 11:31 And then what better friendship do you want to have? 11:37 What better lordship do you want to have? 11:40 So, yeah, since then, my self-esteem is okay. 11:44 So you found your identity in Christ? 11:46 Yes, yes. 11:48 And I actually don't care about my self-esteem. 11:50 I just feel in place, in any situation, 11:54 because it's not me, it's the Lord. 11:56 It's not my merits, which I don't have, 11:58 it's the Lord and it's His merits. 12:00 Amen. Amen. 12:01 So what happened? 12:03 So 3ABN Russia came into fruition on the heels of... 12:09 The fall of Communism. 12:11 So at that point, 12:12 tell us about how 3ABN Russia came about, 12:16 and take us through the progress? 12:17 Yeah. 12:19 When that building for 3ABN Russia Evangelism Center 12:21 was purchased, it was in 1992, 12:25 it took till 1996, that the building is completed 12:29 and that the taping starts going on there. 12:32 And before that, we had one little height camera, 12:36 just one camera. 12:38 We just were trained very quickly by the 3ABN people 12:42 who came for the evangelistic program, 12:46 and all these newly convert people they had so much 12:50 to share about. 12:51 So with that little height camera, 12:53 we started taping testimonies, 12:55 we started taping even cooking segments, 12:57 we started taping children's stories, 13:00 and singing and the pastor's preaching. 13:03 And so we would get together all that material. 13:07 And then 3ABN would invite me here to Southern Illinois, 13:12 and I would sit together 13:14 and help the editors put together the materials. 13:19 Yes. 13:20 And then I would sit as a host on one of 3ABN set, 13:24 but it was turned into a Russian set 13:26 while I was there. 13:27 Wow. 13:29 And I hosted those, 13:30 the first ones were 13 programs, half hour, 13:34 and I took them back to Russia. 13:36 We offered them to quite a number of stations there. 13:39 And most of them were cautious. 13:41 They didn't know how Protestant programming would be regarded 13:46 by the viewers, and one of them dared to take us. 13:49 And they said, "We're taking your first six programs, 13:51 if they're accepted by society, then we will go on with you." 13:55 And you know, the programs were so simple, 13:59 they were just based on the Bible, 14:01 and on the testimonies of simple people. 14:05 And we started receiving up to 1000 letters a week, 14:09 and then the station, they took us, 14:11 and of course, it was Danny's wonderful idea 14:14 to offer people the Bible as a free gift. 14:17 Yes. And that caused so much response. 14:20 And so the station said, "Oh, you're amazing. 14:23 We would never expect 14:25 that you would be more popular 14:26 than the central channels here." 14:28 And so, and you know, 14:31 and then we became bold enough to offer and, of course, 14:34 it was, you know, the word was passed by 14:38 and we started offering our programs more and more. 14:41 And then, you know, 3ABN gave us an opportunity 14:46 to be on satellite. 14:47 Yes. 14:49 And now we have over 500 stations 14:51 that broadcast us around the clock. 14:54 And we have, let me look at the figures, 14:59 I have them. 15:00 Okay, while you're doing that, 15:02 I just want to point out the fact that it's so amazing 15:06 how God just allowed that light to go out, 15:10 and 3ABN Russia was that light that was shining for Christ 15:15 that was huge on the heels of persecution 15:18 and all of that stuff where you couldn't even worship freely. 15:21 Now you have 3ABN Russia with these programs 15:24 that ended up becoming more popular 15:27 than the main channels out there. 15:29 Yeah. That's amazing. 15:31 Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. 15:33 That's really amazing. 15:34 And we know that bad things are happening in the world, 15:39 bad things are happening in societies. 15:41 And in Russia, there are a lot of difficulties too. 15:45 But after all the religious persecution 15:48 that we had throughout, 15:50 you know, all the, so many years, now, 15:55 we are open to preach the Word of God, 16:00 and there are no obstacles, there're no hindrances. 16:05 So, it is really, really amazing 16:08 that the Lord opens the way for the gospel 16:11 through 3ABN Russia. 16:13 Amen. Amen. 16:14 You wanted to share some statistics with us? 16:16 Yes. Okay. 16:17 So over 500 cable companies that take our satellite signal, 16:23 which covers of 3,500 cities 16:27 and towns of Russia. 16:29 We have over 13,000 programs 16:34 that we have produced during the years, 16:38 since 1992. 16:41 We have over 3,000 hours, 16:44 our programs are not very long. 16:46 So 13,000 programs 16:50 make about 3500 hours. 16:54 And we have programs in 150 series, 16:59 which is, you know, studying the Bible 17:03 and making it practical for you, 17:05 family values, and relationships, 17:09 youth programs, personal testimonies, 17:12 children's programs, 17:13 programs about healthy lifestyle, 17:16 programs about deliverance from addictions, 17:20 musical programs, 17:21 historical and cultural programs, 17:24 as well as different videos and gardening and news. 17:28 So you offer quite a few programs? 17:31 Yes. 17:32 We actually have a video that will show 17:33 a little bit about, you know, some of the programs 17:35 that you offer, and then if you could kind of tell us 17:38 what's going on in those, that would be great. 17:40 Yeah. 17:41 I'm so proud to be able to share these videos 17:46 on Dare to Dream, 17:47 because these are the top 17:50 popular videos on YouTube channel. 17:52 Yes. 17:54 3ABN develops YouTube channels, 17:57 and we develop 3ABN Russia YouTube channels too. 18:00 So the videos that we have prepared 18:03 are the most popular videos on YouTube. 18:06 I love it. Well, I'll tell you what? 18:08 Julia, let's take a look at those videos right now, 18:11 and then you can tell us what's going on in those. 18:13 Okay. 18:16 This program is called male and female, He created them. 18:20 And this particular program 18:27 has 526,000 views. 18:30 And it talks about the relationships 18:32 between in families 18:34 when people become older, and how do they. 18:38 Here's another program, this one has 18:42 136,000 views, 18:46 and it talks about 18:49 how do you keep 18:51 a good relationship when the... 18:55 Like when you're not at an early age, 18:59 but when you become more mature, 19:01 but at the same time you lose some, 19:04 you know, you lose... 19:05 Some of the passions, some of the fire, yes. 19:08 Yes. Yes. Yes, yes. 19:09 And so we're so thankful that among the... 19:13 Not the best programming 19:15 that people can see on so many channels, 19:18 they can learn the vital truths 19:21 that make their life happy. 19:23 And so, you know, 19:25 about over a half a million views of this program. 19:30 We're amazed, 19:32 you know, how the Lord promotes us on YouTube. 19:34 Amen. And that's a huge blessing. 19:36 It's digital evangelism is what it is, 19:39 which is incredible. 19:41 We've got some more videos 19:42 that we want to take a look at and you can tell us 19:44 what's going on in those as well. 19:45 Let's look at that now. 19:49 As you can see, it's about health. 19:53 Yeah. 19:54 Nice. Yeah. 19:55 So that's a health video. Okay. Yes. 19:57 So this is a health program, 19:58 what's the name of this program? 20:00 The name of this program is A Helpful Minute. 20:03 Nice. Because it's a short one. 20:05 This one has 20:07 447,000 views. 20:12 Wow. And it talks about the squats. 20:15 How helpful the squats are for you, 20:18 because your leg muscles are as, 20:22 you know, 20:23 as big a pump for your blood circulation as your heart. 20:27 So you relieve your heart when you do squats. 20:31 Yes. 20:32 So, and this is just a vitally important thing 20:35 for people to know. 20:36 And the graphics that you saw there, 20:39 it had the nerves, and it's a short one. 20:43 And it still keeps bringing us more and more viewers. 20:48 It still keeps bringing us more and more subscribers 20:51 to our YouTube channel. 20:52 Which is beautiful. 20:53 I'm thankful for, you know, 20:55 the talent that God has blessed. 20:56 The team there at 3ABN Russia, 20:57 there's so much talent there. 20:59 I had the privilege of going to Russia, 21:01 and meeting some of the employees there, 21:04 and it was just an amazing, amazing trip. 21:08 I want to look at some more of the programs that you have, 21:11 and tell us what's taking place? 21:13 Yes. 21:22 This says there is a way out. 21:25 And this is a program about the withdrawal symptoms 21:30 when you quit smoking. 21:32 Yes. 21:34 And so many people have responded to this one. 21:36 There's 389,000 views of this, 21:39 and we're so happy to help people in this. 21:44 And here's another subject in the same series of programs. 21:47 And this talks about melatonin, 21:50 the natural way of getting your melatonin. 21:53 So all these are lifestyle. 21:55 Well, he talks about food here, 21:58 which gives you more nutrition and, 22:00 you know, so this is the way out, that program. 22:03 Yes, that's nice. 22:04 And people are looking or they need to be looking 22:07 for a way out, especially with the smoking and, 22:10 you know, people they need to live a healthy lifestyle. 22:13 And so I love the fact 22:14 that you're tackling each aspect or portion of life, 22:20 if you will, things that people are struggling with. 22:23 Yeah. 22:24 And then the program becomes popular on YouTube, 22:26 and it is Three Angels of Russian production, 22:29 and then YouTube offers them other programs, 22:32 not just about health, but they offer, 22:35 you know, theological programs, some programs 22:39 through which people can grow spiritually. 22:41 Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. 22:43 Now we have another video I want to take a look at that. 22:46 I love some of these opens that you have created. 22:48 Let's take a look at that now. 22:53 So what is this taking place here? 22:56 This is one of those spiritually uplifting programs, 23:00 which talks about prophets in Quran, in the Muslim Quran. 23:05 Okay. 23:07 And this is a wonderful way of reaching the Muslim people, 23:10 because there are many things that Quran mentions. 23:12 And so the one that you're just watching, 23:15 it has 388,000 views, 23:19 it talks about Jesus and Muhammad. 23:22 And then another one, it has 139,000 views, 23:27 it talks about did Jesus die on the cross? 23:31 Yes. So... 23:33 Yes, so it's showing people, 23:34 it's a way of witnessing to people 23:38 who read the Quran but bringing them to Christ. 23:40 Yes. Yes. 23:42 So yes, taking them from the Quran to the Bible. 23:44 Yes. Yes, that's beautiful. 23:46 We have another thing that I want to show you 23:48 that I know you've seen but I want our viewers to see, 23:51 so let's take a look at that too. 24:02 Yeah, this is, so who is this singing? 24:06 This is, her name is Ksenia Lapitskaya. 24:10 And this is, you know, 24:13 simple song sung by a simple person in a simple set. 24:17 But let me tell you 24:19 how many views it has attracted, 24:24 380,000 views of the previous lady 24:29 and 245,000 views of this one who is singing now. 24:34 Isn't that amazing simple song with 24:36 a wonderful message about Christ? 24:37 Yes. 24:39 Which is incredible because music is one 24:41 of those mediums which sticks in your mind. 24:43 You hear a song, 24:45 you think about the lyrics and all of that stuff. 24:46 Yes. 24:48 Julia, how has being the Executive Director 24:49 of 3ABN Russia strengthened your faith? 24:52 Oh, you know, I don't consider myself an administrative type 24:55 of person at all. 24:58 And the Lord tells me, 25:00 "Yes, you are, and you learn from Me, 25:03 and you don't rely upon yourself." 25:06 This is what I have been learning through the years, 25:08 about 30 years now. 25:10 And this is a constant, 25:13 you know, submission to the Lord. 25:15 And I'm thankful for this position, 25:17 because probably if I was in somewhere else, 25:20 I wouldn't be put into a situation 25:22 where I don't have any other way out, 25:25 but rely upon the Lord, or it is just, 25:28 you know, impossible to go on. 25:30 So, yeah, it's not easy, 25:33 but I'm thankful that He allows me to grow, 25:36 you know, through the experience. 25:39 I have a wonderful group of people. 25:42 There are 32 full time positions, 25:46 but part of them are full time, 25:48 and part of them are part time positions, 25:50 and everyone has their own individuality, 25:53 and everyone, you know, has their own aspirations. 25:57 So not being a very administrative type of person, 26:00 I'm learning to, you know, 26:03 to be really a good administrator, 26:06 to be a mentor, to be a spiritual leader. 26:10 So praise the Lord. 26:11 So there's what I'm hearing you say 26:13 is there's been a lot of growth, 26:14 there's been a lot of development there, 26:16 and you're learning a lot and depending on the Lord. 26:20 What are some, real quick, 26:21 what are some future plans for 3ABN Russia? 26:25 Our big plan now is to develop YouTube. 26:29 Okay. 26:30 This is a stand that 3ABN is taking now, 26:33 develop YouTube more, 26:35 and we are realizing 26:36 that this extremely secular mechanism, 26:42 but it can be used as a missionary tool. 26:44 Yes. 26:46 Because when there is activity around the video, 26:48 like the videos that I showed you, 26:50 when people start watching it, 26:51 when people start liking it, or even disliking, 26:54 when people start putting comments under the video, 26:58 then it just, you know, YouTube automatically, 27:02 its algorithms, 27:03 they automatically move the rating of the video higher. 27:07 And then they start recommending other videos 27:10 of 3ABN Russia. 27:12 So, but to make the videos, you know, 27:15 just as they should be acceptable for YouTube, 27:18 we have to make some changes in that, 27:21 then our aspirations are to have a new control room, 27:24 to have more taping done 27:28 simultaneously in two studios. 27:31 So these are our main aspirations. 27:33 Which is beautiful. 27:34 Ultimately, you just want to spread the gospel 27:36 and you're looking for every way to do that 27:38 possible using YouTube, all of those things. 27:41 Thank you for what you're doing over there with 3ABN Russia 27:44 and for the cause of Christ. 27:47 And I want to thank you for joining us. 27:48 Well, we've reached the end of another program. 27:50 Until next time, God bless you. |
Revised 2021-12-23