Excessive heat in both Russia and Ukraine along with Russia’s wildfires didn’t stop veteran Moody Radio broadcaster Greg Wheatley from discovering the hope in these countries’ young Next Generation Christian leaders.

Read an interview by U.K. journalist Peter Wooding with Greg as he traveled this summer.

When you support School Without Walls, it’s more than an academic exercise. It’s support of a generation of godly, young national Christian leaders, who are ready to pick up the baton of faithfulness from the previous generation, and confront the realities of a changing society.

Even in the high-risk regions of the former Soviet Union, School Without Walls students are reaching out to the needy as the helping hands of Jesus.

School Without Walls students from Kabardino-Balkaria are no strangers to the violence that rocks their Northern Caucasus region.

In early spring, police killed a rebel leader in a shoot out on the streets of the capital city of Nalchik.

In July, School Without Walls students went to Makhachkala, Dagestan to hold an evangelistic summer camp for children in the community. A week after the students returned home, a pastor of one of Makhachkala’s largest evangelical churches was gunned down.

But, according to a recent report from Sergey, the School Without Walls coordinator in Kabardino-Balkaria, none of this has slowed down the students’ outreach and ministries in this region.

We have School Without Walls programs in Prokhladny and Nalchik. The School Without Walls students from Prokhladny regularly visit an orphanage, where they sing, tell the children about Christ and play soccer, volleyball, checkers, chess and other games with them. The students have also connected with the youth of the orphanage. Some of the children regularly read the Bible and pray. The students are accepted and liked by the children. Vadim, one of our School Without Walls students, has become friends with one boy. Vadim watches out for him, and recently bought him a new soccer uniform. The two of them now play soccer together, both wearing their new uniforms.

When the students drive up to the orphanage, one can often hear the joyful cry, “The Baptists have arrived!” and everyone runs out to meet the students.

School Without Walls students from Nalchik decided to take on missions work in the city of Tyrnyauz. For two years now, a small group of 12 believers has had no church leadership or support. These young leaders travel there to help out with Sunday morning services, encourage the believers and help them share the good news of Jesus in the community. This ministry is just beginning, but we have plans to develop it and reach many Balkars, who need Jesus.

Interested in supporting a School Without Walls student? Find out more here.

U.K. media consultant Peter Wooding interviewed Russian Ministries’ President Anita Deyneka about the late summer evangelistic summer camps that are running in the former Soviet Union. Many of these evangelistic summer camps are reaching children in difficult places such as Dagestan and Ingushetia.

As School Without Walls students and other young Next Generation Christian leaders  are busy running summer camps in more than hundred locations, help is urgently needed to complete their goal of reaching more than 5,000 needy children across the former Soviet Union.

“We’re looking for partners who would want to be part of this marvelous movement to help children who still face so many problems the turmoil in their countries and  from the legacy of communism,” said Russian Ministries President Anita Deyneka.

Already a month into the evangelistic summer camp program, Deyneka says help is urgently needed to reach the goal of impacting over 5,000 kids: “It has been magnificent so far,” explains Deyneka, ” with children coming to camp and responding to the counselors and staff, but what is  challenging is having enough funds.  With another month of summer camps to go, we need at least $75,000 to finish the summer strong. It costs just $50 per child to attend one week of camp—and every one of those dollars is an investment into a changed life.”

There are so many  children who come to camp from tragic backgrounds, children with alcoholic parents, street kids, orphans, children with disabilities, tuberculosis and HIV.  One of the toughest places where Russian Ministries is running camps right now is in Chechnya where all the children have known in their lives is war.

Deyneka says the impact on these vulnerable young lives goes far beyond summer camp: “That is one of the best aspects of the camps. It’s not just that one week, but our national co-workers, who lead the camps, keep a connection with the children. The camps build a bridge into a future of ongoing relationship with the children and their families and communities.  The children want to keep in touch, and so doors oepn.  The campers often return to their non-churched families and talk about camp and what they learned, and in some cases, parents have come to know the Lord and come to church.

“The community also sees these young Christians who care about the children and care enough to organize the camps. This leads to all sorts of wonderful paths for the future not only for  the children but also the communities. The camps are a great blessing in themselves but the ripples afterward are just amazing in the ongoing impact in the lives of the children.”

With more than ten years of Russian Ministries’ summer camp ministry, many of those that were children from the beginning, now come back each year camp counselors, and then become involved School Without Walls as students at Russian Ministries’ non-formal training program that provides Christian discipleship and leadership.

But help is desperately needed now to ensure this legacy continues. To find out how you can help send a child to camp, click here www.russian-ministries.org and click on the donate now tab.

This ministry post is based on a report from the national Ukrainian staff of Russian Ministries’ in-country affiliate, the Association for Spiritual Renewal, just outside of Kiev in Irpen, Ukraine.

The Association for Spiritual Renewal (ASR) is thanking God for His work at the first international School Without Walls festival, which ran from June 17-20 along the Azov Sea in Ukraine.

The festival attracted 520 young Next Generation Christian leaders from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the U.S. and India. The festival’s theme-”Time to Live, Time to Serve”-was designed to motivate a younger generation of Christians to pursue ministry and wholeheartedly serve God.

At the four-day festival, people from a variety of evangelical churches as well as different cultures learned and worshiped together as Christ’s body.

“It was wonderful to hear how God, through His church, is doing great things in different countries! I hope that a new day will dawn in each of our countries,” observed Andrei, a musician from Zaporozhye, Ukraine.

The packed festival schedule featured general sessions with expert speakers such as Russian Ministries’ Senior Vice-President Sergey Rakhuba, Michael Cherenkov and Yuri Sipko, and testimonies, project and ministry presentations and workshops. The worship team for Irpen Bible Church led worship each morning and evening, and two Christian music groups, Near Heaven and New Day, performed late night concerts.

Workshops covered relevant topics such as the use of media in the church, sports evangelism, short-term missions and extreme youth camps.

“I gained many ideas for ministry and spreading the gospel. The festival encouraged me, and now I want to serve God with new energy and inspiration. This was a time of encouragement, and I hope there are more festivals like this,” shared Svetlana from Belarus.

Evening sessions focused on different themes each night. The first night focused on an Evening of Praise, the second night was an Evening of Discovery and the closing program was an Evening of Commitment.

During the Evening of Praise, these young leaders were encouraged to worship God in simplicity and freedom, without boundaries. During the Evening of Discovery, speakers from different countries and regions talked about their ministries, and shared some of the problems and difficulties as well as the blessings they encounter as they follow Christ.

Special speakers from Central Asia shared how difficult it is today to follow Christ in their countries. They told about the persecution they face not only from authorities, but also from their families. “Thank you School Without Walls. Thank you, that you love our churches, pray for us and support us. I believe that Ukraine is a blessed country, that the Lord is using in our time to serve others,” shared a participant from Central Asia.

During the Evening of Commitment, speakers declared that the Next Generation of young Christians is a powerful tool for spreading God’s Word throughout the world.

National evangelist Andrey Bondarenko challenged participants to renew their commitment to ministry to God and to a dying world. More than 70 young people renewed their commitments to follow Jesus, and leaders laid hands on them and blessed them in their choice to follow Jesus wholeheartedly.

Right now, as a special thank-you for a camp gift of $50 or more, we are offering original artwork either by a Russian Christian artist, Anastasia Taran or an American Christian artist, Pamela Alderman.

Anastasia (pictured at right) is wheelchair bound, and childhood rheumatoid poly-arthritis has gnarled her hands. But this gifted young woman joyfully serves God and uses her art for His glory. Pamela’s watercolors express the joys and trials of life. She has captured the joy of a young Russian girl for us in the print we’re offering.

When you give to our evangelistic summer camps, you’ll help
• at-risk children whose homes are orphanages and state-run institutions,
• special needs children in Zaporozhye, Ukraine,
• mothers and children living with HIV/AIDS in Moldova and
• children who live in the difficult-to-reach regions of Central Asia and the Northern Caucasus.

A $50 gift will help send one child to one week of summer camp, and give him or her a Bible or Christian literature.

A gift of $100 will double your impact, and give two children a week at summer camp and place a Bible or Christian literature into their hands.

An investment of $200 will give four children the opportunity to meet Jesus at one of our evangelistic summer camps, and $300 will help send six children to camp. A gift of $400 will help send eight children to camp, and each of these children will receive a Bible and/or Christian literature especially geared for him or her.

An even greater investment of $500 or $1000 will help send 10 or 20 children to one of these life-changing summer camps.

When you give online to our evangelistic summer camp ministry, your gift can start making a difference in the lives of children in the countries of the former Soviet Union.

Read about our evangelistic summer camp ministry in the Northern Caucasus region of Russia.

From July 31-August 7, join Russian Ministries at Maranatha Bible and Missionary Conference, where you’ll meet Gennady Terkun, national ministry director in the Northern Caucasus, and hear how God changed his life as . . .

“a conscious slave of the devil and an influential criminal.”

These words don’t fit with the man who is speaking them. Today, Gennady Terkun is more likely to share a Christmas present with a needy child, or baptize young people who have chosen to follow Jesus in the Northern Caucasus than to choose to do evil.

Flashback to 1987, when perestroika was just beginning, and a younger Gennady sat in a prison, where he exercised a cult-like hold over the other prisoners. About that time, some Christians came to the prison and shared the gospel with the prisoners.

“I was enraged,” recalls Gennady. “Their preaching about Christ was destroying my authority and cult practices.” He shot off an angry letter, intent on destroying the believers and their faith.

His letter made its way to one of the Christians who had come to the prison, and that began a two-year correspondence between Gennady and this bold believer.

“Gradually, the simple truth of the Good News found its way into my heart,” Gennady says. In 1991, Gennady made another conscious choice: to follow Jesus and point other prisoners to Him.

No longer imprisoned in sin, Gennady began Bible studies in prison and met Next Generation Christians from the Association for Spiritual Renewal (ASR-Russian Ministries’ national partner). “One of them became my mentor, and helped me with advice, resources and a vision for ministry.”

By God’s grace, Gennady’s prison sentence was shortened by five years, and he was released in 1996. “The day after my release,” Gennady points out, “I attended an ASR training seminar in Krasnodar.” Gennady began traveling throughout the region, sharing the good news of Jesus.

Gennady also received training in church-planting at Project-250 seminars-Russian Ministries’ early training for young Next Generation Christians in the former Soviet Union.

Ten years ago, Gennady moved to Vladikavkaz in North Ossetia and began overseeing the ministry in North and South Ossetia, Chechnya and Ingushetia.

In the course of these ten years, God has used Gennady and his wife, Vera, in strategic, far-reaching ministries from aid and counseling in the aftermath of the 2004 Beslan public school terrorist attack, to ongoing bridge building to Muslim families and their children at evangelistic summer camps, to regular trips to the volatile regions of Chechnya, South Ossetia and Ingushetia for children’s events such as summer camp follow up and special seasonal events.

From July 31-August 7, you can meet Gennady Terkun at Maranatha Bible and Missionary Conference in beautiful western Michigan. Gennady will share more of his story of faith as well as the latest news from his ministry. Joining Gennady will be Anita Deyneka, president of Russian Ministries, and Greg Yoder, weekly anchor for Mission Network News.

Plan to have a vacation with a purpose this summer and join Russian Ministries at Maranatha.

Contact Maranatha directly for more information. Be sure to register for Week 6.

See you by the lake!

Read how Russian Ministries’ evangelistic summer camp ministry is helping to bring gospel peace and hope to Chechnya this summer.

Click here to read a Christianity Today article that features Gennady Terkun.

From 3,000 gifts to four times that number in its second season of ministry, Gift of Life-Russian Ministries’ Easter outreach and gift distribution-brought the good news of Jesus’ resurrection to orphans, hurting children and teenagers.

In all, 13,190 gifts and Bibles/Christian literature were given away this Easter season. The gift boxes for the children included candy, toys and children’s Bibles. Teenagers received a special edition of the Gospel of Mark that included testimonies from young people, who have discovered new life in Christ. This Easter, 34 national evangelical churches and 30 organizations and business in the Zaporozhye region also support the Gift of Life project.

On April 23, an orphanage in Volnyansk, Ukraine, welcomed a music group, amateur and professional soccer players and clowns as young Next Generation Christians from the THEME youth club in nearby Zaporozhye arrived to share Resurrection hope and joy with the 150 orphans there.

“Looking into the younger children’s eyes, you see a sincerity that will all too soon be marred by disillusionment, and possible anger and resentment,” related one young Christian leader.

“But those who have not yet lost hope seek in us faithful friends, whom they can see more often than just Christmas and Easter,” continues this young leader. “Some children did not want us to go . . . . Lord willing, we will visit them again. As Christ said, ‘And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name, welcomes me.’ ” (Matthew 18:5)

Seasonal outreaches such as Gift of Life at Easter, or Project Hope at Christmas are some of the many ways School Without Walls students and other young Next Generation Christian leaders connect with needy children and at-risk teenagers throughout the year.

In just a few weeks, Russian Ministries’ evangelistic summer camps begin all across the former Soviet Union.

School Without Walls students and graduates not only initiate this outreach but also mobilize their churches and other young Christian leaders to be a  part of the summer camp ministry.

Russian Ministries would like to help send at least 5,000 children and teenagers to a life-changing week of summer camp. One child + one week of summer camp = one changed life.

Be a part of this divine math today with a secure online gift to Russian Ministries’ evangelistic summer camps. A gift of $50 will help send one child to camp and provide one Bible/Christian literature, a $100 gift will help send two children to camp and provide Bibles/Christian literature for them and a gift of $200 will provide the same for four children. Make a secure online gift today.

Join Russian Ministries on Facebook and become part of the summer camp Cause.

Russian Ministries continues to call on Christians worldwide to pray for peace in Russia, especially this Easter Week as Christ’s death and resurrection are celebrated.

Just two days after the rush-hour bomb blasts in Moscow on Monday that killed 39 people at two subway stations, a car bomb exploded in Dagestan in the Northern Caucasus. This blast killed at least 12 people, including a top local police official.

Read more about this bombing here.

Russian Ministries has a strong presence in the Northern Caucasus region through its School Without Walls program, special evangelistic outreaches at Christmas and Easter and evangelistic summer camps. Many of these ministries focus in areas where some say suicide bombers are trained and where extremists have established terrorist training camps.

Under the national leadership of Russian Ministries’ Northern Caucasus ministry coordinator, School Without Walls students and their churches are planning for summer camps for children and youth to help raise up a new generation of Christian leaders, whose feet will be shod with the gospel of peace.

PRAYER POINTS:

• Pray that Christians would effectively point others to Christ, the Prince of Peace.
• Pray for Next Generation Christians and their ministries, especially in the tense Caucasus regions, where the ethnic, political and religious hatred reportedly inspired the terrorists.
• Pray for the Easter evangelistic outreaches that take place this Easter weekend in the Northern Caucasus and other regions in Russia and Ukraine.
• Pray for young Next Generation Christian leaders as they prepare for the evangelistic summer camp ministry.

Northern Caucasus summer camp on YouTube

In late February, over 800 young national Christians gathered for an annual youth conference in Odessa, Ukraine. Representing dozens of churches across Ukraine, these young people also represent a new generation of young Christian leaders who want engage culture with the gospel of Christ.

The conference theme, translated as “Gravity,” focused on resisting the pull of evil and secularism and remaining faithful to God’s call on these young lives.

Paul Tokarchuk, executive director of Russian Ministries’ in-country affiliate, the Association for Spiritual Renewal (ASR), was the featured speaker at the two-day conference, which was done in partnership with Connect International and the Brotherhood of Independent Baptist Churches of Ukraine.

A young Next Generation Christian leader, Tokarchuk also shared the training opportunities Russian Ministries and ASR offer through School Without Walls and the ministry opportunities these students and other young Christian leaders have for outreach such as Project Hope during Christmas, and the upcoming Easter evangelistic outreach and gift distribution, the Gift of Life.  Other ministry opportunities were also presented at the two-day conference.

“Our lives are ministry. The more we give, the more we will receive,” declared Mikhail Fadin, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Moscow, motivating young people to become more actively involved in ministry. Pastor Fadin spoke at the conference along with Paul Tokarchuk.

Together, Russian Ministries and ASR are committed to mobilizing, motivating, training and equipping the Next Generation for leadership and ministry.

Find out more about the Gift of Life project here.

Khristos voskres! Voistinu voskres!

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

This ancient Russian Orthodox Easter greeting takes on its true meaning as Next Generation Christians across the former Soviet Union bring Resurrection hope and new life to at-risk children through a variety of Easter outreach events in places like a nearly forgotten orphanage in Pology, Ukraine.

All 40 children at the small orphanage are either from the streets or troubled families. But this orphanage is only a temporary stop for these children, who will soon move to a permanent orphanage or return to their families.

These lost and drifting children—and thousands of others like them all across the former Soviet Union—are trapped in a system that can’t offer them the security they need now or the hope they need for the future.

Tatyana, a young Next Generation Christian, recalls her visit to the orphanage last spring. “After our play about the Resurrection, we distributed the gifts, and the children’s joy was never-ending. They showed us their gifts and asked us to come more often and stay longer. We would like to participate in events like this more often, and bigger and better.”

This spring, God has given Russian Ministries an opportunity for “bigger and better” Easter evangelistic events that will reach even more children and young people in more countries of the former Soviet Union.

Local School Without Walls ministry teams of Next Generation Christians plan to distribute 10,000 Gift of Life boxes. Each Gift of Life box has Easter candy, toys, clothing and a copy of My First Bible, or other age-appropriate Bible or Scripture books geared for children. In addition, ministry teams plan to distribute 5,000 Gospels of Mark to students at higher educational institutions along with a specially designed insert that will explain the resurrection of Christ. Local outreach teams estimate that the impact will double to 30,000 as each child/student who receives the gift/Christian literature is expected to share it with one other person.

The gift boxes are distributed to children who live in

•orphanages or even on the streets,

•shelters,

•and families with great material need.

This year’s Gift of Life outreach will be coordinated through the Christian Youth Center in Ukraine through which young potential leaders will work to mobilize their churches, participate in the outreach program as well as in follow-up programs and events.

Russian Ministries is grateful to God to see that, as a result of its efforts to train the Next Generation through School Without Walls, these young Christians are now creating innovative ways to bring hope to these hurting children.

Support the gift of Life outreach this Easter, and help young Next Generation Christians in the former Soviet Union give the gift of eternal life and Resurrection hope to needy children and young people for whom Jesus came.

Khristos voskres! Voistinu voskres!

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!