SLAVIC GOSPEL ASSOCIATION

Reaching the “Forgotten Russia”

January 18th, 2010

A Biblical Challenge for 2010 and Beyond

They who had no news of Him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand (Romans 15:21).

The “forgotten Russia.” That might sound like a surprising choice of words coming from a missions organization that has been dedicated to reaching the lands of Russia for 75 years. But it’s true.

Now that nearly two decades have gone by since the Soviet breakup, many believe that Russia has largely been reached with the Gospel. But here’s the real truth. Thousands of towns and villages still have no clear Gospel witness — some 90 percent of the communities! Something must be done, and that’s why SGA president Dr. Bob Provost recently announced a new emphasis called Challenge 75 — Reaching the “Forgotten Russia.” Our initial goal is to sponsor and equip 75 dedicated Russian missionaries for two years as they minister in these least-reached regions of Russia. Eric Mock, SGA vice president for ministry operations, said that the coming year will be an exciting one.

There are still too many cities and villages in the lands of Russia with no Bible-preaching church, and local bodies of believers are God’s means for advancing the Gospel to the nations. Therefore, we are excited for the upcoming year as we reinvigorate our commitment to evangelism by seeing more churches planted, and these churches equipped to reach their communities. Our immediate goal is 75 supported church planters, but there are over 600 nationals who are ready to reach their own people across the countries we serve. These faithful missionaries will both proclaim the Word of God, and equip others to do the same.

The Gospel is Central to Everything

The primary means of equipping of these men is training them to preach and teach the Word of God. We will be working with our partners to maintain support of fixed location schools, while increasing our strategic training in various locations and countries through such ministries as the Antioch Initiative. As Eric explains, there will also be a major emphasis on youth and children’s ministry, and evangelism — the proclamation of the Gospel — is central to it all.

We have seen that ministry to youth and children are the avenue in which new churches are often planted. God is raising up a generation of youth in these countries — youth that represent the next generation of pastors, missionaries, lay leaders and parents who will stand for their faith, and who are hungry to hear the truth from those who first live that truth out in their lives. Many of the youth and children will be the ones who will carry the Gospel message to parents and relatives — families that might otherwise be unreachable. Additionally, these youth are often those most active serving in these churches, reaching the impoverished, neglected, orphaned, and homeless children in their communities. Therefore we will continue our efforts to serve local churches as they minister to youth and children, such as through support of training youth leaders, and equipping children’s ministries through Orphans Reborn and Immanuel’s Child.

Our heart for Challenge 75, and indeed for all of SGA’s ministries, is to see the Gospel go forth with even greater vigor in 2010. Please pray with us as we help our Russian brothers and sisters increase the number of vibrant, sound Bible-preaching churches that are dedicated to reaching their communities with the Gospel. For more information on Challenge 75, please visit our special web page, http://www.sga.org//C75.