An Ice Forest in Siberia
So how cold was is it Siberia? Not as cold as you might think. It got down to freezing at night, but warmed up nicely during the day. A couple weeks later and things might have been different, but we beat the harsh Siberian weather! We met 2 hours outside of Krasnoyarsk in a remote rural area referred to as an “Ice Forest”. It was truly a beautiful place!
A team of 3 of us went to do a 2 day training with leaders from Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirsk, two of the largest cities in Siberia, and leaders from several churches in Western Mongolia. Krasnoyarsk is infamous for its connection to Soviet Gulags in the area. Russia is 1.2% Evangelical Christian. Mongolia is 1.6%. It is a humbling and powerful opportunity to be able to help shape, encourage, and grow the Church in hard to reach parts of the world like Siberia.
Sergei: From the Mafia to the Ministry
Everything we do through Taking New Ground is about catalyzing movements of reproducing churches in hard to reach parts of the world. Why is this so important?
“The vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for 1) the numerical growth of the body of Christ in any city, and 2) the continual corporate renewal and revival of the existing churches in a city. Nothing else—not crusades, outreach programs, para-church ministries, growing mega-churches, congregational consulting, nor church renewal processes—will have the consistent impact of dynamic, extensive church planting.” ~Tim Keller
In the picture above I’m standing with Sergei and his pastor. Their church has grown to 150 members, and now Sergei and 5 families are launching out to start a new church. You don’t have to be a large church to multiply, in fact, the longer you wait the harder it becomes to counter the comfort and inward focus that can easily take hold of churches. If reproduction is in your DNA, then it’s never too early to be thinking about multiplication.
I sat down with Sergei one afternoon and listened to his story. He began with his death, literally. Sergei has a history of involvement with organized crime in Russia. One night, he was beaten very badly in a fight, and he woke up in a hospital. He began trying to pull off all of his monitors and IV’s to leave, but the doctor told him, “Stop! You were literally dead 5 minutes ago.” That was a turning point in his life and a friend plugged him into a rehab program where he met Jesus. Sergei is now a passionate follower of Christ with a great energy and strength.
Sergei has been meeting with his launch team (see third picture) for a year now. They are renting space and starting services October 28th! Pray for Sergei and his church!
Pasha’s Impact: Beyond borders to Mongolia
Mongolia is 1.6% Evangelical Christian. We work with leaders from so many nations where there is very little Christianity. I’m drawn to help these people, to turn the needle on the dial a little, and to take new ground for the Kingdom of God. The work we do has consistently led to the multiplication of leaders and churches with missional cultures that start even more new churches. The interesting thing to watch has been how this growth spreads beyond borders. When people get a clear glimpse of the broader mission we are called to be a part of it makes them look beyond their cities, counties, and even countries.
Pasha is one of the network leaders we work with in Russia. Pasha lives in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, a very target rich environment from an evangelistic perspective, but his understanding of the Great Commission, and how God can use him, has opened his eyes to bigger dreams. Pasha has been working with a group of churches in Western Mongolia, and they were there with us in Siberia for the network meeting. We spoke in English, it was translated into Russian, and the Mongolians sat in the back with headphones as the Russian was then translated into Mongolian. Despite the differences in our languages, it was clear that we were one family on mission for God together!
Year End Giving
Our mission is to take new ground for the kingdom of God by catalyzing movements of reproducing churches in hard to reach parts of the world, and we’re doing it…but we need your help to continue!
As we head into the end of the year please consider joining our financial support team. By supporting Taking New Ground you become a part of the work that God is doing to grow his church in hard to reach parts of the world!
