Fruitful Work in Kazakhstan | July 2019

Dear friends,

Two EPC World Outreach church-planting teams began work in the former Soviet Union in the mid-1990s. One team planted Holy Trinity Church in southwestern Siberia. The other team planted a presbytery of churches in Kazakhstan – now known as the Evangelical Reformed Church (ERC). In March of this year these two church-planting streams converged in a wonderful way, and EPC World Outreach’s Ed and Nan McCallum were there to see it. 

For the past six years EPC World Outreach’s International Theological Education Network (ITEN) has partnered with Holy Trinity Church’s Reformed Bible School to train students to understand the whole story of the Bible, interpret it within its context, and apply it to seeking the lost. Just before Holy Trinity Church was received into the ERC, eighteen students from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan came to Holy Trinity for two intensive seminary classes – Theology 1 (taught by the director of Baltic Reformed Theological Seminary in Riga, Latvia), and Church Planting and Development (taught by Ed and Nan McCallum). This convergence of theology and church-planting was a wonderful picture of ITEN’s core mission – to train trainers who will equip their own people to live on mission for the Glory of God among the unreached. 

Holy Trinity and the other churches of the ERC are in many ways the children of EPC World Outreach. But they are adult children who dream of birthing their own children. ITEN has committed to partner with them in this “full-cycle church-planting”. Holy Trinity Church is working to launch an online classroom using Third Millenium’s Russian-language curriculum, and now has an experienced church-planter on staff focused on outreach to their neighbors with least access to the gospel. And the ERC churches in Kazakhstan are starting a network of house churches. This is reformed theology at its best – deep roots and strong, fruit-laden branches.

By Ed and Nan McCallum, ITEN Associate for Site and Program Management & ITEN Program Assistant

Community Life

More about the Kazakhstan Ministry

If you are interested in following the Kazakhstan ministry and learning how you can support our brothers and sisters in Christ through prayer, sign-up to receive Azim’s monthly email, as he and his family serve faithfully in this way. You can also watch this video to learn more about this ministry.

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If you feel called to support the development of the ERC in Kazakhstan as they continue to grow disciples, you can do so by clicking below.

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Pray for the Tatar of Russia

The Tatar of Russia are an unreached people group in 11 countries, including Kazakhstan. To learn more about the Tatar, you can view our prayer card. If interested, we would be happy to send you several of these cards, to pass out to friends and church members. Simply email us below.

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