Russia

After the tremendous social and political upheavals of the twentieth century, Russia is still undergoing a time of change and transformation. How to make the gospel real and Christianity relevant in the middle of all these challenges?

“We want to see vibrant communities of Jesus followers among the least reached in Russia.”

We are in the region of Siberia and in a Muslim area of Russia. We also train and send people to reach unreached people groups of Russia. There are about 90 different groups spread all over Russia of whom around half have not heard the Gospel.

We have a good team comprising of foreigners and Russians. Our team has around 40 people including families. Though we are all from different places and cultures, we all fight for one dream and one purpose: “We want to see vibrant communities of Jesus followers among the least reached in Russia”. Therefore, we continuously seek new ministry opportunities for people groups that have hardly or never heard the gospel before.

We are now working to reach 4 different areas in the Siberia region and a Muslim Area of Russia. This part of Siberia has many different people groups, and many religions such as Shamanism, Buddhism, Animism, and some Muslims as well. The Muslim area can be divided in many “nations”, and it is probably one of the hardest parts of Russia to reach, for religious, historical and political reasons.

What we do?

Discipleship Centre (DC): Mentoring, leadership training and mobilizing young people are seen as one of the priorities by the local church in Russia. OM Russia is pleased to help achieve these goals by providing a place of growth and training. The goal of the DC is to propel young Russian Christians into active ministry by helping them discover their gifts and by training them to use those gifts more effectively. Our students go for Short Term Missions in remote and unreached areas almost every month, and also have the opportunity to stay for our second year program. The second year program is a year that our students will be able to serve full time in an unreached area whilst still being trained and to be better equipped for the task of sharing the Gospel.

OM Russia Discipleship Centre is privileged to have provided discipleship and leadership training to more than 150 Russians over the last decade. Now scattered throughout Siberia and beyond, these men and women of God are serving to further the Great Commission.

Short Term Missions (STM): Mainly during the summer we receive many teams from outside of Russia to help us to reach those groups we aim. The trips usually on 15 days projects, but we have also longer possibilities. That is a great opportunity for you get to know our mission and to be part of it reaching the unreached people of Russia. (For more info: contact ShortTerm.ru@om.org or go to http://www.ru.om.org)

Evangelism and church planting among Central Asians: Migrants have been coming from Central Asia to Russia for many years. Because of the economic situation in their countries, they come to try to achieve a new better life.

According to Russian Migration Service statistics in 2016 we have 3,848,000 immigrants in Russia. Most of the immigrants are Muslims and they are from unreached people groups who need to hear the saving message of Christ. They can't openly speak about Christ as Lord in their own home countries because of the control of their Muslim relatives.

Having worked among migrants, we can see that there is more openness toward God's Word in Russia amongst these people.

Sending Russians into Mission: One of OM Russia’s goals is to motivate the local Russian church to be a witness to the utter most ends of the earth, in obedience with Jesus’ command in Acts 1:8: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." To this end, we are actively involved in sending Russian missionaries out to help fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission.

Christian camps: Christian camps are a very effective and culturally appropriate way of reaching the young generation with the Gospel in Russia. Russian children have long summer holidays and going to a summer camp is very common. As sharing the Gospel openly with adults becomes more and more difficult in Russia, church leaders recognize the value of children’s ministries. So in this we can reach both the kids and their parents with the Gospel.

We also have some camps designed to reach disabled kids, who are usually ignored, stigmatized and isolated from the society. Here they can overcome their limits and learn realize how capable and valued they are.

Children at Risk: Poverty is one of the main problems in Russia. Some children don’t have a caring family and a place to feel safe. They might find a place to sleep in alleyways, behind walls of graffiti, next to discarded alcohol bottles or perhaps in the decaying wood frame buildings scattered throughout the cities. They are teenagers without a family who cares.

OM Russia strives to respond to the needs of children and teenagers at risk - to give them a chance of social acceptance, love, care, food, medical help, legal assistance, and to help the families of these children to learn how to build a healthy atmosphere of love and acceptance.

Sports ministry: We realize that the sports ministry provides a great opportunity for evangelism and discipleship; that the sports ministry gives unique possibilities to connect to youth and younger adults in the unreached areas.

We now have a continuous football training for kids and teenagers in a Muslim area as well as a Gym for adults to practice CrossFit. Besides those groups, during summer we have many sports camps.

Drug and HIV/AIDS prevention: OM Russia's ministry to those affected by HIV/AIDS or drugs continues to seek to impact people through prevention.

We raise awareness amongst those who are not infected to know more about the problem of HIV/AIDS in Russia; and supports groups for those already affected. We are also building bridges between local churches and this community on the periphery of society.

Prison Ministry: In partnership with the local church in Russia we reach imprisoned people in the region of Siberia. Over 15 thousand prisoners serve their sentence in this region. We realize that there is a great need to spread the Gospel among them and want to make maximum use of this opportunity.

How you can get involved:

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