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.

Sunday’s Victory Day in Russia commemorated the 65^th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. In Red Square, Russian soldiers joined ranks with troops from the U.S., France, Britain and Poland in marching in the Victory Day parade in Moscow.

Foreign leaders who planned to attend Sunday’s parade included French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Hu Jin Tao. Kyrgyzstan was represented by the head of its interim government, and other leaders from Central Asian countries also attended the showcase in Moscow.

Some observers felt that the Victory Day invitation to world leaders communicated Russia’s desire to strengthen its presence on the global stage.

Victory Day celebrations often have been marred by terrorist attacks, and Sunday was no exception as a bomb exploded in Dagestan near a Russian military base in this Northern Caucasus region.

Russian Ministries encourages Christians worldwide to continue to pray for stability and peace in this region of Russia and in the countries of Central Asia.

Lasting victory and peace, however, will be proclaimed this summer as at-risk children and troubled teenagers hear of Jesus’ victory over sin and death at Russian Ministries’ evangelistic summer camps across the former Soviet Union.

This month, a faithful and generous ministry partner has presented Russian Ministries with a matching grant challenge of $15,000 for the evangelistic summer camp ministry.

That means that your investment in the evangelistic summer camp ministry will go even further in helping to send children and teenagers to life-changing summer camps.

• $50 will help give one child one 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 our evangelistic summer camps.
• $150 will help send three children to camp.
• $200 will help send four children to camp and provide Bibles and Christian literature for them.
• An even greater investment of $500 or $1,000 will help send ten or twenty children and teenagers to a life-changing week of summer camp.

As a special thank-you for your gift, you will receive a print of original artwork by a Russian Christian artist, Anastasia. Anastasia not only was orphaned as a young child but also copes with a physical disability. Neither has stopped Anastasia from using her artistic talent for God’s glory.

Help us meet the matching challenge today with an online donation to the evangelistic summer camp ministry.

If you’re on Facebook, you can also join the evangelistic summer camp cause.