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Churches Help Russian Children Hear the Gospel
CHICAGO, IL (September 30, 2005) - Children at two Russian orphanages are now
hearing the gospel via radio because of a cooperative venture of three
Evangelical Covenant churches.
After Mike McAllister led a missionary team from Creekside Covenant
Church to run a week-long camp for the orphans in 2004, he determined
that when church members returned this year, they also would leave an
ongoing Christian presence. That desire led him to contact Daniel
Johnson at Christian Radio for Russia, which operates the New Life Radio
Satellite Network.
They agreed that providing satellite dishes so the orphanages could
receive the Christian programming would be an excellent way to leave
that ongoing presence. Johnson knew of other Covenant churches that were
interested in supporting missions in Russia and put them in touch with
each other.
The congregations - Bethany Covenant, of Mt. Vernon, Washington, and
Country Covenant Church, of Elgin, Illinois - were eager to help
Creekside with the effort by raising funds for the satellite dishes.
"The initiative shows how different congregations can pool their mission
efforts to share the love of Christ to children and adults throughout
Russia," Johnson says.
With the money raised, the folks from Creekside in Redmond, Washington,
traveled to the Vologda region of Russia, where members again led a
summer camp - and helped install the satellite dishes. When not helping
to install the satellite dishes, team members, who ranged in age from 17
to 62, ministered to 100 children at the summer camp. Half of the
children were from two local churches, and the other 50 were from the
orphanage.
The children can now hear programming like that broadcast shortly after
Creekside members arrived. "The station can be a year-round presence
that can affect the children as well as the teachers," McAllister says.
The church plans on continuing its ministry in Russia. "We are expanding
this ministry to be more than just summer camps," says McAllister. "We
want it to be a partnership with the local churches."
It is an ambitious undertaking. "We plan to implement sponsorship
programs that will fund spiritual mentoring by local church leaders
called to children's ministries, repairs for the orphanages and
transition help for when the children leave the orphanage," McAllister
says. "This transition period is difficult and critical for these
children," he adds, noting that 10 percent of the children will commit
suicide in their first year. "We plan to sponsor some of these children
to live in Christian homes for the first few years."
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