The Lord has blessed the Church of God with many credible pastors and leaders in Eastern Europe and the CIS. With these four characteristics, our pastors and leaders have been successful in facing the challenges. The following articles provide a glimpse of the ministries in this part of the world.
Social Ministry in Latvia
From the very onset, the Church of God has been actively involved in social ministry. Here are just a few recent reports.
The Ceriba (Hope) Church of God in Riga, led by Pastor Janis Sadovskis, is regularly giving aid to 10-15 families via food packages. This work is partnered with an independent Christian social foundation. During the spring, Ceriba Church conducted a special festival for people from low-income families. About 100 families heard the gospel and received food packages. The Ceriba church invited young people from the local handicapped peoples association to their youth camps.
The Life Spring Church of God in Riga (Dzivibas Avots), led by Pastor Modris Ozolinkevics, has rented facilities in the one of the poorest sections of the nation’s capital in order to minister to these people. They offer free English classes, a weekly food pantry, and Sunday worship services.
The Jelgava Church of God, led by Pastor Agris Ozolinkevics, hosts a group of children every Thursday from low-income families. The church’s youth group ministers to them. This ministry was started by Missionaries Jerry and Terry Roberts and is now led by our church’s youth leader, Vadim Beliy. Gunta Matjuhova, our associate pastor, is ministering on a regular basis at two homes for elderly people.
The Bethele Church of God in Liepaja is active in ministering to street children. Several churches are working together in supporting a drug rehab center. They also distribute humanitarian aid coming from our churches in Western Europe.
Church of God Pastor Chosen as Leader in the Russian Evangelical Alliance
In March, the Russian Evangelical Alliance (REA, the Russian counterpart to the National Association of Evangelicals in the USA) celebrated its 10-year anniversary at its annual conference held in Moscow.
This alliance represents Baptist, Pentecostals, Methodists, Presbyterians, and other Evangelicals. At the outset of the 20th century, the Russian empire hosted as many as 6,000,000 Protestants. That number is down to approximately 1,000,000 (0.7 percent of the population).
One of the highlights of this year’s conference was the election of Mikhail Dubrovsky, pastor of the Father’s House Church of God in Moscow, as the executive secretary of the REA. Dubrovsky is a graduate and now adjunct faculty member of the Eurasian Theological Seminary in Moscow (ETSM).
ETSM Graduation 2013
Recently, the Eurasian Theological Seminary in Moscow (ETSM) celebrated its ninth commencement ceremony. Twenty-six students from Russia, Ukraine, and Armenia walked across the stage to receive their diplomas and degrees. Congratulations to our graduates!
Academic Dean Alexei Gorbachev states, “I was happy to see six of our bachelors graduate who had begun their training seven to 10 years ago, and they have become much more mature during this time. We had a good time talking and praying with them during the days they stayed at seminary. I saw that they were happy.”
Bulgaria and Turkey
National Overseer Dinko Zlatarov has submitted the following report from our churches in Bulgaria and the outreach of the Church of God in Turkey.
Bulgaria: Twenty-one people have declared their decision to follow Jesus by being baptized in water. Water baptism services were performed in Sofia, Petrich, and Tvurditsa. Additionally, a new church construction has started in the town of Skobelevo. The church is expected to be finished in an year. Also, the Church of God received governmental funding from the Ministry of Religion toward the completion of the church in Tvurditsa.
Turkey: Our missionaries are provided a mobile projector to play video lessons recorded by Eddie Brooks at the Stewart Road Church of God in Michigan. This “Foundations of Christianity” course was long-anticipated and brings the believers to a new level. Our missionaries are more effective, because of the van purchased for this mission. The Lord opened doors to several new families, who were evangelized and accepted Christ.
(Source: Church of God World Missions. Tom Rosson.)