OUR ULTIMATE GOAL: TO RAISE UP NATIONALS TO DO THE WORK OF THE LORD, IN THEIR OWN COUNTRIES, TO THEIR OWN PEOPLE, IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE…..
For 70 years, godless communism held the hearts and souls of the people of the Soviet Union in its iron grip. You could be tortured and sent to prison for owning a Bible or for telling others about Christ.
I have even met parents who had served prison time for the simple ‘crime’ of telling their own children about God!
But then in the 1990s a window of opportunity opened, and it was possible for us and others to share the Gospel in the countries of the former USSR, and literally thousands have come to Christ since.
Many of those doors have since closed….no longer can we do what we did in Belarus or Russia.
But there is an unprecedented open door in the coming weeks to share the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ with the youth of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Latvia (even with young people from Kazakhstan).
We plan to sponsor and support our Russian evangelism team, made up of Russian speaking young people who have come to Christ and who have been discipled through our ministry. They will use the powerful tool of the musical theater presentation ‘NEVER BE THE SAME,’ performing and sharing in secular youth camps and orphanages throughout the Crimea.
Pavel Pukho, Minsk, Belarus, shares the Gospel with a group of boys after an outreach
Typically, every summer, hundreds of thousands of young people come from all over the former USSR to attend these secular camps. It is something that began in Soviet times as the communists set up what are called ‘Pioneer Youth Camps,’ summer camps set up for the purpose of further indoctrination of Soviet youth.
Anya Borisenko, Kharkov, Ukraine, has just prayed with this girl and is following up
Those camps are still in place, and youth from all over the ex-USSR still attend, but they are secular in nature.
Our team goes in, sets up their stage, sound, and lights, in an auditorium or outdoor amphitheater, and the music, drama and comedy begins. The musical simply lays out the Gospel and the plan of salvation.
Although it is against the law for the team to have a public invitation, it is no problem since they are all Russian speakers. So they simply go out in the audience after the presentation and engage small groups of young people in conversation, often leading many of them to Christ.
On a typical night of outreach, between 30-90 will pray to accept Christ, and the names and addresses of those who have prayed are taken on decision slips, and the follow up process begins.
As you can see on the faces of these children, the team and the musical holds their attention marvelously
You can see that the potential for sowing the seed of God’s word among thousands of young people from many countries is tremendous.
But as we stand on the threshold of this amazing opportunity, in order for this opportunity to become reality, I need your help.
In order for the team to be able to work the entire second half of August, through the end of the summer, this twelve member team will need $20,000 in sponsorship. This will cover all of their expenses, housing, meals, travel, equipment, bus, etc. for their rehearsal and preparation period, all the way through their outreach period that will take them into camps that still have names like ‘Young Leninists.’
There is a mission field right here in the Crimea as young people have traveled from all over Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltics, and even Kazakhstan to come to these camps. In many cases, we could not go to these countries and share the Gospel. But here in Ukraine, and through this tool of musical theater, we can!
How long these doors will be open, we do not know. But what we do know is that they are open now, and we want to take full advantage of these opportunities, knowing as Jesus said, ‘Work while it is day, for night comes when no man can work.” (John 9:4)
As I think of these opportunities – to ‘invest’ our resources into these Russian speaking young people, giving them the opportunity to take the Gospel to their peers – I am reminded of Paul’s words: “Behave yourselves wisely [living prudently and with discretion] in your relations with those of the outside world (the non-Christians), making the very most of the time and seizing (buying up) the opportunity.” (Colossians 4:5, Amplified)
May we ‘seize’ and ‘buy up’ every opportunity. Please pray for us, and pray for this team….and please pray about ‘investing’ in these young people and their earnest efforts to take the Good News of Jesus Christ to their own people.
INTRODUCING SOME OF OUR RUSSIAN EVANGELISM TEAM, 2010:
Tanya Kutovaya, 29, Kharkov, Ukraine, is ARTISTIC DIRECTOR for the team, and came to know Christ through the Musical Theater Team back in 1993
Vanya, Okhlopkov is from Kiev, Ukraine, and came to know Christ through our Summer Discipleship Camp in 1998 when he was only 14 years old. He serves as Team Leader and Technical Director
Ksenia is the youngest member of our team at 13 years old, but has such a focus, seriousness, and desire to serve the Lord. She studies at the Kharkov School of Choreography and plays the part of 'Tiger' with great energy!
Antun lived in an orphanage since he was 13 years old, but came to Christ at camp when he was 11 years old. He is one of our adult orphan participants in our 'Fresh Start' transition program and just successfully finished his first year at the university in Kharkov. He plays the part of the villain, 'Harley the Hobo.'
Laura is 17 years old, from Rezekne, Latvia Orphanage, and is also one of our 'Fresh Start' participants living with her sister in our transition apartment in Rezekne near the Russian border. She plays the part of 'Clover the Clown.'
Arvid is from Minsk, Belarus and is studying to become a veterinarian. He plays the part of 'Harry Hyena.'
Galia Kustova has been on Full-time staff with us for 12 years and has served as our Administrator. She ably takes care of all thing logistical for the team including working with camp directors, setting up the team's outreach schedule.
