Earlier this year, 29 men and women walked across the stage of the Church of God’s Eurasian Theological Seminary in Moscow (ETSM) and received their diplomas and/or certificates – our largest graduating class ever. This includes our first cluster of graduates from the family/marital counseling program and the Christian counseling program. Additionally, we handed out 13 certificates in Christian ministry. We are so grateful to be a part of what God is doing in Russia.
Our guest speaker at graduation was Nick Park from Ireland, a long-time friend of ours and adjunct faculty at ETSM. Other guests included a guest teacher from Cleveland, Tenn. – Emily Brown Stone, who had just taught an intensive in family/marital crisis counseling.
Later in June, Tom spent a week in Moscow with the leading bishops from our churches in Russia and Ukraine, along with our staff and external experts in order to lay out a strategic plan for the coming years at ETSM. The changing demographics of Russia, and in particular of our churches in the former Soviet Union, are forcing us to re-examine our goals, methods, and strategies. Look for us to become more modular and focused on training teachers in a new network of extensions. In the meantime, we once again have a prayer request: That we receive a good and qualified group of new students in the coming year. Please pray with us for the upcoming student cohort.
–Tom and Claudia Rosson