Irkutsk is a Siberian city of more than 587,000 people, located on the banks of the Angara River (a tributary of the mighty Yenesey River). The city is a major hub of the Trans-Siberian Railway and also considered the gateway to beautiful Lake Baikal, the deepest fresh-water body in the world. Please pray for SGA-sponsored missionary pastor Sergei Abramov and evangelical churches lifting up Christ in this strategic region.

Samara is the sixth largest city in Russia, with more than 1.1 million people. Located some 500 miles southeast of Moscow, Samara was known as Kuibyshev in Soviet times and was a closed city due to a military missile development program located there. Please pray for SGA-sponsored missionary pastor Vyacheslav Tkachenko and local churches in the Samara region as they proclaim the Gospel.

Sergei Abramov
SGA-Sponsored Missionary Pastor
Irkutsk, Russia

My ministry in Russia’s Irkutsk region includes many outreach activities including music ministry with my group, Time to Live. The Lord has opened two new ministry directions for us with our music — prisons and workers’ dormitories.

We now have the opportunity to organize Christian concerts in these places. We also visit hospitals and educational institutions and preach the Gospel there. Thank you, brothers and sisters, for your sacrificial service to the Lord for the advancement of His kingdom here in Russia!

Our group participated in Victory Day observances, and our approach was to draw an analogy from a Soviet hero of the Great Patriotic War (World War II), Alexander Matrosov. He was a legendary soldier who sacrificed his life to take a dug-in, fortified German gun position.

On a much larger scale, our Lord Jesus willingly gave His life to save us from our sins and deserved punishment in hell. Many people came to our concert, and we handed out Russian-language New Testaments. Afterward, we were invited to a gala luncheon and had the opportunity to share the Gospel with many more people.

Last spring, we conducted an outreach over several days, traveling more than 1,200 miles and evangelizing in Khazan, Nizhneudinsk, Taishet, a prison, the village of Solyanaya, Buzikanono, Shetka, Chuna and Lesogorsk. Some 300-400 people attended our meetings and several repented, receiving Christ as their Savior.

In the summer, we took part in a youth conference to inspire young believers to give their lives in service to God. We also visited a prison for non-violent criminals. Three brothers from Angarsk regularly visit there, and they invited us to come and sing. About 150 prisoners attended, and many wept as they understood their sorrowful, lost condition. Please, pray for these men!

Pray also for me as I continue to help train Christians in music and worship. This helps so much as we conduct our evangelistic outreaches. We can truly say … He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord (Psalm 40:3).

We rented halls in Korablino, Novomichurinsk, Skopin and Ryazan. We invited children to the local community centers, where we distributed gifts, prepared skits and puppet programs. Many were children who attend church only on major Christian holidays, but do not yet come to Sunday school or church. The children and adults liked the programs very much and expressed their appreciation. It is too early to speak of long-term results, but there is always the opportunity for them to come and hear the Gospel, and of the Lord Jesus Christ. We cordially thank you for your help and support!

Ryazan, Russia

Editor’s Note: While commonly used in Eastern Europe, the term “Gypsy” is considered offensive by the Roma people.

Vyacheslav Tkachenko
SGA-Sponsored Missionary Pastor
Graduate of Samara Theological Seminary
Samara, Russia

I thank and praise the Lord for you, dear co-workers in Christ’s cause! The Lord is blessing our church abundantly, and I trust He is blessing you as well.

A whole family brought together in Christ's love.

In the past year, our church was preparing for one baptism, which ended up being three! God had different plans than ours, and our church got to experience His wonderful grace in action. As you’ll see, one thing led to another.

One day some time ago, a man named Nikolai came up to me after church. He is the husband of Natasha, a Christian sister in our church. We had all been praying for Nikolai’s salvation for a long time. He told me that he had prayed for God to forgive his sins about ten years ago, but Nikolai’s repentance was not sincere. His life did not change.

But in 2010, Nikolai sincerely repented at last, and his life changed drastically. We all rejoiced, and I began to talk to him about baptism. The day of the baptismal service came. Along with Nikolai, two new believers named Tatyana and Lubov (who were from different villages) were to be baptized after the service. They joyfully testified before the church about their journey toward God.

Then after those baptisms were conducted, Nikolai and Natasha’s daughter—also named Tatyana—ran forward and said she wanted to repent! Tatyana often attended our youth services and had heard about reconciliation with God since her childhood. Our church rejoiced as one more sheep was found by the Good Shepherd. There is one more daughter in their family, named Olga, who needs salvation. Please join us in praying for her!

Baptisms can turn into impromptu evangelistic meetings as unbelievers sometimes pause to watch.

The Lord gave us a beautiful warm day along the Volga River, where we conducted these baptisms. There were many other people already gathered on the riverbank, and they listened to our preaching. Our church people had also invited unsaved relatives to the event, and we handed out souvenirs to the people. We thank you for your regular prayers for us!

Editor’s Note: Join us in praising the Lord for these wonderful testimonies and witnessing opportunities. Your faithful support helps make Vyacheslav’s ministry—and that of our other faithful missionary pastors—possible. Pray that the Holy Spirit will continue His work in the Samara region, and will add many new souls whose names are in the book of life (Philippians 4:3).

Our feature article by Vyacheslav Tkachenko, SGA’s missionary pastor in Samara, Russia, reports a wonderful baptismal celebration. It is typical of a beautiful riverside or lakeside baptism service. The church had gathered rejoicing that a beloved husband had been saved and would be baptized. To their great joy, the Lord surprised them by sending two other new believers who shared their testimonies and requested to be baptized.

Then, when they were getting ready to leave, the baptized husband’s daughter repented of her sins and trusted in Christ as Savior and Lord. Once again, the Lord had gloriously answered many prayers and sent them all home rejoicing exceeding abundantly. Such exciting things often occur during baptismal services across the lands of Russia.

I recently preached again at the Russian Bible Church, a zealous congregation consisting principally of young professionals in Moscow.   Listening to many of them pray fervently is a great blessing. Their prayers for one another’s witnessing at work or at the university explains how the Lord is continually adding to their number. SGA founder Peter Deyneka’s motto, “Much prayer, much power,” explains the steady growth of this exciting new church.

As you receive this, summer camp planning is underway throughout the CIS.   Last summer, SGA sponsors helped send 13,000 children to camp. There were 34 sponsored camps in Muslim countries, where 2,700 children attended and 583 received Christ as their Savior and Lord. Overall, 2,100 orphans and 239 homeless children were able to go to camp. More than 2,100 children received Christ, and more than 1,200 children began to attend Sunday school. Please join us in prayer that the Lord would enable SGA partners to send even more Russian-speaking children to camp this summer.

All your prayers and support are deeply appreciated. Please especially be in prayer for our new training initiatives in Israel.

Mass Exodus from Russia?  

A recent Los Angeles Times article claims that Russians have been leaving their home country in “droves,” largely due to economic struggles and political limitations.

National Audit Chamber head Sergei Stepashin says roughly 1.25 million Russians have left in the last 10 years. He added that the exodus is so large, it’s comparable to the number of those who fled during the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.

Bad economic times make ministry much more difficult for the Russian missionary pastors sponsored by SGA partners. Especially challenging are rising fuel costs. Pray with us for God’s continued, gracious provision for the sake of the Gospel.

London Law Firm Targets Belarus President

A group of citizens from Belarus has hired a London law firm to report alleged torture by the regime of Belarussian president Alexander Lukashenko. Through the law filing, the citizens group claims that they were tortured by the regime after last December’s disputed presidential election.

After the election, hundreds of demonstrators and opposition candidates were arrested and detained—many claiming torture. The European Union imposed a travel ban on President Lukashenko and other government officials. The legal filing is a bid to bring private prosecutions against the president wherever he travels.

As the current regime is placed under increased Western pressure and scrutiny, pray with us that our brothers and sisters will not face repercussions that will hinder their ministry and the proclamation of the Gospel.

Across Eastern Europe, including Russia and several former Soviet countries, there is a people group known as the Roma. More commonly, they are known worldwide as Gypsies, but this word is highly offensive to them.

Due to cultural prejudices and some of their own cultural characteristics, Roma are often seen as outcasts of society. But like every other man, woman and child on the face of the planet, they need to hear the Gospel, and come to … the repentance that leads to life (Acts 11:18).

SGA-sponsored missionary pastor Piotr Tokar labors in Russia’s Belgorod region, where there is a sizable Roma population. And according to Piotr, the labor is indeed hard.

“Whenever I meet a Roma man or woman, I always try to tell them about Jesus Christ. It is not customary for Roma to talk to people of other nations (like Jewish people did not talk to Samaritans in John 4:9). They believe other people are inferior. In fact, one Roma Christian told me, ‘If it were not for Jesus, I would not even start to talk to you as you’re not a Roma, to say nothing about a joint meal with you at the table!’  

“The Lord is doing miracles among them as I tell them about salvation and what God has done for us. And they forget that they are talking to a stranger. I thank the Lord for knocking on the door of their hearts, as most of them listen to His Word about salvation. I pray that it will remain in their hearts and that they will remember the Word of God.”  

The Roma people hunger for God's Word.

There is a now a Roma church in Kursk with 30 members. The pastor, Andrew, is also Roma, and came from Ukraine. From the very beginning of his ministry, there were Roma coming together around him, and a Bible study group was formed.

Piotr’s prayer request is for SGA partners to remember not only him as he labors in the Belgorod region, but also for Pastor Andrew and the entire work nationwide among the Roma people. The work is hard, and for Roma, the change in lifestyle is enormous — turning away from fortune-telling, stealing, drinking and drug abuse. But when Jesus changes their lives, their lives are changed indeed!

And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach (Colossians 1:21-22).

Please pray for Pastor Andrew and for his ministry among the Roma people in Russia!

Dear Partners in the Gospel,

I am writing to ask you to pray for the father of Sergei Gladishko, the director of SGA’s Regional Ministry Center in Kiev/Irpen, Ukraine. Sergei wrote today to inform us that his 80-year-old pastor/father, Ivan, suffered a stroke earlier this week. His right side is currently paralyzed and he is unable to speak. I am including Sergei’s personal note and request below . . .

“On March 10, 2012, my father celebrated his 80th birthday. He is a pastor in the village, which is 10 kilometers away from his home. Every Sunday, he rode on his bicycle to the church. He was always present for the services. This past winter, another pastor drove my father to the church in his car. It was a big help to my father.

 On Monday, April 23, we had planned to visit our brothers in Khmelnitsky on the back end of a missionary trip. But my brother called and to tell me about my father. We immediately changed our plans and rushed to be with him. Missionary pastors Vasiliy Furta, Bronislav Zilkovskiy and Aleksandr Ovsienko were with me.

 I’d like to ask you to continue your prayers for my father and his health. Everything in the hand of our Lord and is under His control! Thank you for all your assistance! May God bless you abundantly!”

We are thankful to the Lord for Sergei Gladishko, his family and their faithful, diligent service to Christ. Please do join us in intercession for Pastor Ivan Gladishko. I will update you with information on our website as matters warrant.

For our Savior,

Bob Provost

Among the first was a report from churches in the former Soviet nation of Georgia, where the Immanuel’s Child outreach touched the lives of needy children from both unbelieving and believing homes …

This year, we held celebrations in all of the Sunday schools. We purchased gifts with the funds sent by SGA partners, and distributed them along with the Star of Bethlehem greetings. Unsaved children and their parents were overwhelmed! Our Sunday school kids stood together with friends they had invited and sang songs together. The Christmas storybook we gave them was being read gladly—even by the parents! A few days later, all the children were invited to the Central Church in Gurjaani.   The sanctuary was packed, and almost 40 percent of the 170 children who came were from unbelieving families. And they even came for a second joint service, which lasted for about four hours. There was much joy and the children did not want to leave!

In one Central Asian Muslim nation, a   local church reached some 200 children through SGA-sponsored Christmas ministry. For security reasons, we are unable to report the location. We also had a wonderful report from Russia’s Smolensk region, where SGA-sponsored Orphans Reborn teams reached more than 600 children with the Gospel and gifts provided by SGA partners.

Next month, we will be sharing more wonderful reports from Immanuel’s Child and other Christmas outreaches. You can also see more reports via our website at http://www.sga.org. Please pray that many children will respond in faith to the life-changing Gospel!

*Russia’s Yenesey River is the fifth-longest river in the world, flowing a total of 3,434 miles. It runs south to north through Siberia. One of the key SGA-sponsored children’s summer camps is held along the banks of the Yenesey near Krasnoyarsk.