Help grow the passionate Church in Far East Russia

By February 8, 2018

Russia (MNN) – During the Christmas season, Slavic Gospel Association’s Eric Mock saw first-hand the fire Far East Russian churches have for ministry. On Russia’s Christmas day, January 7, while in the impoverished area of Khabarovsk, he witnessed an attention-grabbing Immanuel’s Child outreach specifically geared for local kids.

Sharing Christ

“I was amazed as an 11 to 12-year-old boy stepped up to the pulpit and began to preach and tell the story of Christmas,” Mock explains. “You see, in their mind, the ability to serve Christ is not limited to an age group or substantial qualifications, but it is just that which is based on a relationship with Jesus. And so, the youth were able to do this outreach.”

(Photo courtesy of SGA)

At the end of this program led by the youth, the church and attendees shared a meal. After the meal though, when one would think people would go home and spend time with family, these believers went into their city to share Christ with the people they didn’t reach through their Christmas program.

“Instead, they all rallied together and we went outside, in below zero temperatures, and began singing Christmas carols and declaring Jesus on every street corner,” Mock shares.

“I was curious what was going to happen with such a public demonstration, but what happened was people [who] walked by thanked everyone for singing…and bringing joy during the holiday season.”

During the Christmas outreach season, Mock says these faithful believers find every opportunity they can to share the Gospel message. For these believers in Far East Russia, the holiday isn’t just about celebrating Christ’s birth, it’s a time to proclaim Jesus’ name and the Gospel message.

All Day, Every Day

In fact, Mock shares there were a lot of people he encountered at Immanuel’s Child outreaches who have heard about Christianity, but have never heard the central reason for Christianity or the Gospel. Far East Russia is full of people like the ones Mock met who don’t know Jesus or even His story. And while the Christmas outreach season is over in Russia, daily ministry is not.

“Through a program we call “Reach Russia Now,” we’re trying to see many villages reached with the Gospel. There’s literally hundreds of villages there where the people there have never heard the Gospel,” Mock says.

“There’s exciting opportunities and I would point your listeners to the SGA website, www.sga.org, where they can participate and be a part of taking the Gospel to many in the far-reaching regions and countries of the former Soviet Union.”

Far East Russia is home to over 300 state-run orphanages, which Mock refers to as small villages. The kids in these orphanages haven’t heard the hope of the cross either. But, through SGA’s Orphan’s Reborn program, SGA stateside partners are helping support churches in Far East Russia with the necessary resources to visit these kids monthly, help provide for basic needs, and share Christ’s love in word and indeed.

Come Alongside the Church

Other ways to come alongside SGA’s partners in Far East Russia include getting behind a missionary pastor, helping support a missionary pilot, giving to provide Bibles and other Christian literature, and supporting SGA’s children’s ministries in the area.

(Photo Courtesy of SGA)

So please, help support the passionate church in Far East Russia and help fan its fire for Christ and evangelism through financial support and through dedicated prayer.

Pray for the people in Far East Russia, and even in your own hometowns, to be confronted with the Gospel’s truth and their need for a savior. Ask God to soften hearts to His Word so that they would come to know the love, freedom, and hope that’s found in Jesus Christ.

Secondly, pray for God to raise up more missionaries to go into Far East Russia and proclaim His name. As Mock explains, there’s been an increasingly smaller number of Christians willing to travel into the unknown to share the Gospel message.

“There’s nothing more important than telling the world about Jesus Christ and openly proclaiming this truth without fear of oppression or pressure to conform to the social ideas of the society around the people,” Mock shares. “We need to be faithful in the proclaiming of the biblical truth and our salvation and hope in Christ alone.”

Want to proclaim the Gospel in Far East Russia? Click here to contact SGA for details!

Find more about Far East Russia and how to give, here!

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