Your support increases growth of biblical leaders—despite adversity!
Rev. Larry Duncan
SGA Director of Training Ministries
Adversity in a chaotic world is spurring growth in SGA-supported Bible training across the former Soviet Union. The Lord is giving the fruit both in the churches and schools which SGA serves.
The landscape of our mission field is constantly changing. Today, we are seeing suffering in the countries we serve—suffering at a level not seen by some since World War II. Yet much like the early church, God uses such chaotic times to advance and grow His church. Churches are becoming aid centers, and hurting men and women who previously rested in comfort are now seeking hope in Christ. Many have lost everything. They are seeking the treasures this world cannot offer.
And rather than shrinking back in self-protection, faithful believers are stepping forward with hope and the Gospel. SGA has been there with them all along. But the new challenge is that there are not enough trained men to lead new and growing churches! God is leading us in a marked shift in recent months, from a massive response of humanitarian aid to a massive need for training faithful men.
This is happening through SGA-supported seminaries and Bible institutes, along with Antioch Initiative church-based training. Because of the exploding need, we must expand training of men and women for a variety of ministries in their local churches. Ironically, the main campus of Irpen Biblical Seminary in Ukraine has a lower attendance due to Ukrainians leaving the country in the midst of war—yet this spurred the establishment of extension centers for Irpen in Poland and the Czech Republic. In Israel, the Russian-speaking department of Israel College of the Bible has started a new Bachelor of Theology program with 19 students enrolled. This is the first bachelor-level program for Russian-speaking students at ICB, and it started after the tragic events of October 7th. Even with the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, the overall enrollment for the 2023-2024 term was 1,404. Graduates for the school year stand at 182 from the five schools.
Requests for additional training have come from Moldova, Poland, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Grace University in Chisinau, Moldova, has asked that SGA sponsor training for their pastors and future pastors over the next three years. Thirty men will be enrolled in two levels of training. This is the first training ministry effort in Moldova for SGA. In Uzbekistan, the church leaders deeply desire to train both existing and incoming pastors. In fact, SGA helped build the training center for the Uzbek Baptist Union back in the 1990s. Church-based Antioch Initiative training for lay leaders will be the starting point and will convene three times a year for the first few years. Russian-speaking instructors will be invited to teach along with American instructors. In addition, Uzbek churches are excited about engaging in advanced Antioch Initiative training to better equip their pastors to be more effective expositors of God’s Word. Then in Poland, two such classes are being started for our fellow servants there.
In yet another expansion of Antioch training, the Ukrainian Baptist Union is engaged in an effort to train 1,000 men over the next 12 years to be missionary pastors with the goal of 1,000 new churches! They anticipate as many as 10 locations for this training. Faithful Ukrainian churches are pressing on—despite adversity and chaos—to train more faithful servants.
To date, Russia has the most Antioch Initiative classes. Baptist Union leaders have requested advanced Antioch expansion to Tomsk in Siberia. With all the new training requests, the training ministries of SGA will more than double. In addition, SGA-supported Novosibirsk Biblical-Theological Seminary is growing with five extensions.
The opportunity is amazing, and the need is great. It is the perfect time and opportunity to invest significant prayer, finances, and personnel to further the training of faithful servants.
From the Students of the Antioch Initiative
Here are a few comments from students on the impact of Antioch Initiative training that began in Ukraine despite the war. Their location is being shelled daily. Yet the focus in Ukraine is on raising up a greater number of missionary pastors to plant more churches.
“These meetings and trainings inspire me and help me understand my calling and God’s mission for me. I see myself as a leader in nurturing and forming future leaders.” – Kostya
“This training inspires me. We started a home group with non-believers—something I hadn’t thought of before. This training disciplines me and helps me grow spiritually.” – Emmanuel
“Through this training, I learned the importance of evangelism and organizing new churches.” – Yura
“I heard about training aimed at establishing new churches and evangelism, and it greatly inspired me. A big thank you to you for the opportunity to have this training and fellowship.” – Dima
“We have had the opportunity to learn, and it is very valuable and inspiring for us. We sincerely thank you for your prayers and the opportunity to learn and serve the people who need it today. Please continue to pray for us.” – Yegor