As the weekend ended, the ethnic violence that began Thursday in the southern city of Osh spread to Kyrgyzstan’s second largest province, Jala-Abad. The prime target of these attacks has been Uzbek minorities who live in Kyrgyzstan. According to local news reports, mobs were setting fire to Uzbek homes and businesses. Around 75,000 people have fled into neighboring Uzbekistan.

Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan’s government has turned to Russia for help in quelling the violence that is ripping apart its country. Moscow promised to send paratroopers, mainly to protect its military base near the capital city of Bishkek. The U.S. also has a military base outside of Bishkek, which has been a conduit of supplies for the war in Afghanistan.

On Monday morning, Russian Ministries received news from its national affiliate, the Association for Spiritual Renewal (ASR), in Ukraine that the situation in Kyrgyzstan is rapidly deteriorating.

ASR also received a communication from the national director of Evangelism Explosion in Kyrgyzstan that described shooting, violent mobs and closed businesses and stores. The national director also reported that believers are trying to help those affected by the violence.

Russian Ministries, ASR and national Christian leaders in Central Asia are developing strategic ministries that will help advance God’s work in this region.

Read more about the unrest in Kyrgyzstan.

A generation in the smoldering Northern Caucasus (about 900 miles north of Moscow) is growing up with destruction, suicide bombers, intense conflicts and the lure of extremists to join their violent cause.

There is also a generation-a new generation-in the Northern Caucasus that is intentional in bringing peace, reconciliation and gospel hope to children and teenagers in Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan and South Ossetia.

From Russian Ministries’ regional ministry center in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia, young Next Generation Christian leaders are positioned for strategic outreach that includes the evangelistic summer camp ministry.

Last summer, as if to underscore the violence in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, a suicide bomber exploded in the center of the city the day the team of Next Generation Christians arrived from Vladikavkaz to hold camp for the children of Chechnya.

Five days later, rumors flew throughout the city that three landmines had been planted in the main marketplace, where camp staff purchased food for the campers every day. By God’s grace, the landmines were discovered in time, and no one was hurt.

“Throughout camp,” said Alexander, the camp coordinator, “two feelings never left me-a feeling of sincere joy at how God brought us close to these children, and the second feeling that would not leave me was that we were on the territory of the enemy for human souls.”

Alexander was confident that the seeds of gospel peace and hope that were planted in the hearts of the children would bring about fruit. Gennady, Russian Ministries’ national ministry leader in the Northern Caucasus region, added to Alexander’s thoughts, “Maybe we won’t see the fruits of the seeds planted by us, but those who come after us will not plant, but harvest.”

Through God’s grace these gospel seeds are taking root. In a short letter to his counselor, young Mosvar wrote:

“This was my first time at camp! We have a very poor family, and my mom says that we can’t expect anything good from other people, and that we should do everything ourselves. I fight with everyone. But it was awesome at camp. I loved all of the leaders. At home, I sing songs from camp, and my mom laughs and says, ‘What did they do with you? You are glowing!’ I really hope that you come back. Don’t be afraid. I will protect you!”

You can help these young Next Generation Christian leaders in the Northern Caucasus, all across Russia and the other countries in the former Soviet Union plant and harvest the peaceable fruit of righteousness this summer!

• $50 will help give one child one life-changing week at summer camp and place a Bible or Christian literature into the hands of that child.

• $100 will double your impact, and give two children the opportunity to meet Jesus at one of Russian Ministries’ evangelistic summer camps in the Northern Caucasus as well as other regions throughout Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.

• $150 will help send three children to camp; and a gift of $200 will help give four children a week of summer camp.

• An even greater investment of $500 will help send ten children and teenagers to these evangelistic summer camps, where they will discover peace with God.

Make your investment in peace today with an online gift to the summer camp ministry.

As you partner with us in this effective ministry, we’re confident that God will help us send at least 5,000 children and teenagers to summer camp, where they can discover God’s love and build friendships with compassionate young Next Generation Christians, whose own lives have been transformed by the gospel.

Are you on Facebook? If so, join our evangelistic summer camp cause.

The pictures in this post were taken at last summer’s evangelistic summer camp in Chechnya, where young Next Generation Christian leaders are making a difference for Christ.

With the 2010 Winter Olympics underway in Vancouver, Next Generation Christian leaders in Ukraine are wasting no time in planning outreach and evangelistic events for the world’s second largest soccer championship games, the Poland and Ukraine Euro 2012 soccer championships.

In the fall, leaders in ministry, missions and the media met for the second time as part of the Global Euro 1.2.3. project. This meeting took place at Russian Ministries’ ministry and training center in Irpen, Ukraine, just outside of Kiev.

The purpose of Global Euro 1.2.3. is to mobilize national local churches and Christian organizations for evangelism, to train leaders who can clearly share God’s Word, and to raise up a new generation of young Christian leaders who will have a gospel influence on all aspects of life and society.

“The main reason for the project is to use the European soccer championships as a chance for evangelism,” declared Sergey Moskovka, coordinator of Global Euro 1.2.3. “In 2012, all of Ukraine will be talking about this event. Why shouldn’t Christians use it for evangelism?”

Moskovka also pointed out that sports ministries are just starting to catch on in churches  in Ukraine. From Moskovka’s perspective, a few of the more progressive churches in large cities are involved in sports ministry. “The church leadership needs to know what to do and how to reach people for Christ through something as simple as soccer. Christians must come out of their churches and work in society,” emphasized Moskovka.

Global Euro 1.2.3. was initiated by the International Sports Coalition, which has experience in organizing outreach at major sporting events. Other partner organizations include the Association for Spiritual Renewal (Russian Ministries’ in-country affiliate), Athletes in Action, House of Treasures and Our Heritage.

Outreach events could include showing soccer games on large screen TVs, Christian athletes sharing their testimonies, running different sports competitions and more. These organizations are exploring strategic ways the churches in Ukraine can share the gospel during Euro 2012.

“This project gives every young Christian an opportunity to testify openly about his or her faith in Jesus Christ,” said Roman Rakhuba, a representative of the Association for Spiritual.

Stefan Reshko, head of the disciplinary committee of the Soccer Federation of Ukraine, agrees. “Euro 2012 will give all Christians the opportunity to share the message of Christ’s love with people who do not know Him. There will be delegates from various countries there, and the attention of our nation will be turned to this event.”

Ultimately, Global Euro 1.2.3. is a call to unite Christian organizations, the media, and churches in proclaiming the hope of Jesus to a lost society. It’s also a strategic opportunity for Christians to serve both athletes and fans, who will travel from other countries and cities to the soccer championships.

Anna Stepanchuk reported on Global 1.2.3. from Russian Ministries’ ministry center in Irpen, Ukraine.

When the Eastern European Summit on Orphans and the Church, sponsored by the CoMission for Children at Risk, convened mid-March at the Donetsk Christian University in Donetsk, Ukraine, participants were all too familiar with the problem of orphans and street children in their country.

The following figures represent children and teenagers who need the warmth and nurture of compassionate Christians and the national evangelical church.

• At the beginning of this year, 103,000 orphans and children no longer had parental care (this includes children in foster families and family-style orphanages).

• Of the 30,000 children living in state institutions, the majority of them fall between the ages of 7-18 years old.

• Within five years of leaving a state-run orphanage (based on information gathered in Russia), one out of five “orphan graduates” is homeless, one out of two has committed a crime, one in seven orphan grads has attempted or committed suicide, and seven out of ten girls will become involved in prostitution in some form.

• In Russia, according to the Ministry of  Internal Affairs, every year, law enforcement agencies uncover more than 100,000 instances of some form of parental neglect. Tragically, as a result of neglect and abuse, each year, for the past five years, 55,000 minors have run away from home or orphanages.

National churches, ministries and Christian families are responding with care and compassion to these sad statistics—and the actual children and teenagers they represent. A national evangelical adoption and foster care movement has gained momentum as Jesus’ followers obey the biblical mandate to care for the fatherless.

Meanwhile, young Next Generation Christians enrolled in School Without Walls are equipped for practical ministry, which moves them beyond their studies and into orphanages and other places of need in order to reach a new generation for Christ.

This time of year, churches, School Without Walls students and other young Next Generation Christian leaders are intentional in reaching out to orphans in their communities, especially through Russian Ministries’ evangelistic summer camps.

One week of summer camp can transform a young life forever. You can help make a difference in the life of an orphan! To make a secure online gift to this life-changing ministry, click here and designate evangelistic summer camps.

One child + one week of summer camp = one changed life.

Mission and church leaders joined representatives from Christian educational institutions and charitable organizations as the International Evangelical Missions Forum convened at the Association for Spiritual Renewal’s (Russian Ministries’ in-country affiliate) new ministry center in Irpen, Ukraine. Irpen is a suburb of Kiev.

Based on the final counts, over 220 people, representing approximately 100 different ministries from 20 countries—including Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Azerbaijan, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States—participated in the October 24-25 conference.

Sparked by a growing concern over the crisis-like tendencies in missions work as well as a slow down in church growth in the former Soviet Union, participants emphasized that international aid and the efforts of western missionaries have not produced expected results in the former Soviet Union. In addition, national churches have not been able to use their resources effectively, and have missed unique opportunities to develop self-sufficient ministries.

The forum didn’t linger on the problems, but chose to move ahead and identify strategic directions in which to develop missions activity in the former Soviet Union.

These strategic directions include:
• social evangelism—being open to a changing society and responding to its needs
• founding new churches, not simply dressing up old churches
• informal approaches to education—motivating and training students without removing them from their ministries
• developing a new missiology.

The two-day forum also stressed that effective partnership between churches and missions in the former Soviet Union demands new methods of cooperation and communication between the missions and the needs of the local churches and their mission strategies.

Meanwhile, the urgent task at hand is to prepare new ministry leaders who can responsibly and competently carry out missions work—the work of the gospel—in times of global and national crisis.

Greg Yoder, executive director of Missions Network News (MNN) and its weekday anchor, has traveled extensively in the former Soviet Union with Russian Ministries’ Senior Vice-President Sergey Rakhuba. Greg was in Irpen to cover the conference. Click here to read his blog of this trip.

In a region of the world where the rates of new HIV infections continue to rise, there is often little hope for people living with HIV/AIDS.

That is why young Next Generation Christian leaders in Chisinau, Moldova are intentional about addressing some of their country’s pressing social problems through the Beginning of Life Center in Chisinau.

In July, a team from the center held a five-day camp for 67 adults and children who are living with HIV/AIDS. The camp not only provided friendship and activities, but also an opportunity for campers to discover the hope of God and learn from His Word.

After the first day’s Bible study on Zacchaeus, Ludmila could identify with Zacchaeus’ isolation. “When my friends and relatives found out that I had AIDS, they left me,” Ludmila declares, “but here in this camp no one avoids me because I have AIDS.”

After a look in the gospels, Ludmila commented, “It seemed that it was me in that tree, and God invited me to come down and share the time of fellowship with Him.”

Surrounded by caring young Next Generation Christian leaders, Ludmila discovered “on the very first day that I am important to God and He accepts me the way I am!”

As camp staff shared their personal stories of faith, Olga reflected on her life, “What an interesting people we are. [For us] to hear God we wait till He forces us to stop. Why didn’t I listen to my mother and my grandma who told me about God? It seems that I had to go through everything, through drugs and only stop when I found out about my disease. I know that it wasn’t God who punished me. Now I hear about God, and I understand how much I need Him.”

The last day of camp, the campers participated in a “Calvary Way,” where campers went from station to station that described the Last Supper, Jesus in Gethsemane, Peter’s denial, Jesus’ trial before Pilate and finally the Cross. It was a powerful experience that helped many campers turn to Christ.

Before Natasha left camp, she jotted this note to the staff, which best describes the ministry of these compassionate, young Next Generation Christians in Chisinau.

“Thank you very much for this wonderful time of rest. People like you make our life brighter, better and happier. I thank the Lord that He made Himself known to me through you. I am grateful for your encouragement, since with you my life became more peaceful. You became very close to my heart, and I know that when I feel bad, I can always come to you, talk to you, and I will feel better.”

To read more about the AIDS crisis in Russia, click here: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gNi5RtC-D-o6OmjIUFzVA81o7w5w

Left in the wake of the week-old conflict between Russia and Georgia are thousands of grieving and displaced men, women and children.

In North Ossetia, of the 35,000-50,000 refugees, an estimated 5,000 refugee children from South Ossetia are currently housed in schools, orphanages and Internats. Some of these children are with their parents; others are not.

Even as U.S. aid is arriving in Georgia, national churches in this Northern Caucasus region are mobilizing to help these displaced little ones and their families who have suffered the horrors or war.

For a map of the region click here:

http://www.npr.org/news/graphics/2008/aug/georgia_flash/georgia.html

For current news reports of the Russian-Georgian conflict, follow these links, which will be updated for your convenience.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL768040420080814

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/428574.aspx

The recent NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, in some ways echoes the Cold War period, when political tensions between the West and Russia reached a fevered pitch. Even today the world’s attention remains focused on the former Soviet Union—often with more questions than answers about international policies and strategies.

Now more than ever the evangelical church in Russia, Ukraine and the other former Soviet Union countries needs to be well-prepared and equipped for the future, and led by a new generation of strong leaders. This is a generation of young leaders who, despite the changing political landscape, is able to confront and challenge society, and avoid slipping into survival mode as the church did when it was severely persecuted under communism.

Today, the church and these young Christian leaders are an effective missionary force as they confront the social and spiritual problems in their communities. They not only proclaim the hope of the gospel, but also deal with issues such as poverty, alcoholism, street children, broken families and the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Russian Ministries is committed to the effective ministry strategy of equipping and training the Next Generation of church and ministry leaders today for tomorrow’s victory over sin and despair.

And even as Ukraine’s bid for NATO membership has stalled, young Next Generation Christian leaders in Ukraine move ahead at full speed in their ministries.

• Last month, enthusiastic young national leaders from the various countries of the former Soviet Union gathered at the new national ministry training center just outside of Kiev to sharpen their ministry skills and investigate new ministry opportunities. Russian Ministries’ Senior Vice-President Sergey Rakhuba played a strategic role at these sessions.
• As the rate of HIV/AIDS infections steadily rises in Ukraine, public schools in Belaya Tserkov have been open to young Next Generation Christians presenting programs that promote healthy lifestyles, which are based on biblical principles.
• With Russian Easter celebrated on April 27 this year, churches across Ukraine—as well as Russia, Belarus and Moldova—are planning a variety of evangelistic services to share the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection. For example, in Cherkassy, special youth services are planned as well as Easter programs in various orphanages.
• As summer approaches, hundreds of School Without Walls students along with other young Christian leaders are inviting children and teenagers to participate in Russian Ministries’ evangelistic summer camps across Ukraine.

To read more about NATO’s expansion in the former Soviet Union, click NATO expansion.