Across Israel, Russian-speaking families who have come from Russia, Ukraine, and Central Asia are hearing the Gospel through SGA-supported Russian-speaking congregations. SGA-supported Pastor Oleg K, who serves as SGA’s director of Bible training in Israel, recently sent an update about God’s work this past summer.

In his report, Oleg describes Bible training classes in several cities, a gathering where about 50 people who do not yet know Christ heard the Gospel, and six new believers were baptized. He also shares the testimony of Victor, a husband and father who lost nearly everything to addiction before the Lord drew him back.

Equipping believers to share Christ

Another year of Bible training has come to a close. To finish the year, students took part in a five-day intensive course on how to share the Gospel in Israel. Experienced teachers helped them understand the cultural, religious, and social setting of the people they want to reach.

Hebrew-speaking and Russian-speaking students studied side by side. Oleg says some of them often stayed after class late into the evening, sometimes until midnight. They talked about God and ministry, shared their struggles, and prayed together.

Bible training also continues in the cities of Haifa, Jerusalem, and Ashkelon. In Haifa, another round of training was recently completed. In Ashkelon, about 25 people take part in regular seminars at a new Russian-speaking congregation. Another 47 people have joined a course on what the Bible teaches about the family.

Oleg also began training seminars at a second Russian-speaking congregation in Ashkelon where he serves. He plans to continue them for several years, with Russian-speaking Bible teachers leading the classes.

Hearts opening to the Gospel

Oleg and his students hosted a gathering for elderly people in Ashkelon. A local leader named Alex, who works with Chernobyl cleanup workers and other groups, regularly opens doors for events like this. About 50 people who do not yet know Christ came and heard the Gospel.

Students and the people they serve in rehabilitation centers often come by for fellowship at Oleg’s home. They gather on his balcony to study the Bible, talk about Christ, and pray. Many of these men and women have spent years trapped in crime, drugs, and alcohol. Time with believers helps them see that a new life in Jesus Christ is possible.

Oleg is honest that sharing Christ in Israel is not easy. Many people do not want to hear about Jesus, and some become irritated when the subject comes up. Still, God is at work. People who have lost much are discovering that they can begin a new life with Him.

Six people were baptized at a Russian-speaking congregation in Jerusalem, where one of Oleg’s students serves as pastor. Several other students there are now serving in ministry as well.

Victor’s story: never too far for God’s grace

Victor saw a Bible for the first time as a young man studying at a military academy in the former Soviet Union. Later, while finishing his military service, he was given the Gospel of John and a small booklet with a prayer of repentance. He began praying it regularly.

After the Soviet Union collapsed, life fell apart for many people, including Victor. He turned to alcohol and drugs, and many of his friends died. Yet he kept crying out to God. A former schoolmate brought him to church, and his heart began to change. He went on to study at a Bible school, married his wife, Tanya, and in 1997 the family moved to Israel.

For a time, life was good. Victor drove a taxi, the family grew to four children, and his congregation asked him to serve as a deacon. But the pressures of war, terrorism, rising prices, and raising a large family became too much. He turned back to alcohol and drugs. His behavior grew harsh, and a court ordered him to live apart from his family. Soon he was homeless.

During that dark time, he met Sergei and Elena, a couple who served men struggling with addiction. Victor finished their nine-month Christian recovery program, but he relapsed. Addiction led to arrest and to a year in a psychiatric hospital. Looking back, he says: “Understanding alone is not enough when a person is enslaved by addiction.”

Even in the hospital, God did not let go of him. Victor began listening to the Bible for hours each day. He was then accepted into a recovery community, where mentors helped him rebuild his life one day at a time. Sergei and Elena visited, prayed with him, and encouraged him.

Today Victor continues his recovery. His criminal cases have been closed, and his driver’s license has been restored. After three years apart, his son has come to see him, and he prays that his daughters will one day reconnect, too. For the past two years, he has been back in church.

“God is teaching me patience and how to listen,” Victor says. “Sometimes I share one of Jesus’ parables or a story from the Old Testament. But I always try to do so prayerfully, asking for wisdom and for the right words at the right time.”

How you can pray

Oleg thanks every friend of SGA for their prayers and partnership.Through them, believers in Israel can keep sharing the Gospel, providing Bible training, and helping people find new life in Christ.

Please pray:

• For students in Bible training, that God will make them faithful and bold in sharing Christ with their neighbors.
• For the elderly men and women who heard the Gospel in Ashkelon, that they will believe in Jesus.
• For the six new believers baptized in Jerusalem, that they will grow strong in God’s Word.
• For Victor, that he will stay strong in his recovery and that God will restore his relationships with his children.