Russian-speaking churches and groups of the Puget Sound area joined forces as part of the Reach Washington initiative and experienced rich blessings.
Preparation for the event began when each congregation took a portion of Dennis Smith's book, 40 Days of Prayer, and translated it into Russian. The material then was edited, formatted, printed and distributed weekly throughout the duration of the conference's prayer marathon.
These Russian-speaking churches, along with a host of other Washington Conference churches, began a 10-day series, titled "Overcoming the Last Crisis: Keys from the Book of Apocalypse," on Sept. 30, 2011. The presentations were dedicated to an in-depth study of the three angels' message.
Thanks to modern technology, the identical message was presented in five Washington locations: Everett, Bellevue, Federal Way, Auburn and Tacoma. The sermons from the Bellevue Church were broadcasted via live video to four other cities. This approach also allowed the use of the same advertising material in each location.
Each sermon was accompanied by a related Bible lesson. Pastors used the lessons to review the former night's material and check participants' answers. Each presentation ended with a call to accept the newly discovered truth with profession of faith. On the opening night, nearly 90 visitors attended. On the last day of the program, two were baptized and more requested baptism. New people are attending a pastor's class and coming to Sabbath worships on a regular basis.
Attendees received Three Angels' Message books and were mailed audio recordings of the programs along with other materials. The ripple effect of this autumn evangelistic series is felt in the Russian community, as many people order the sermons and the message is repeated over and over again.
