Mission HistoryIn 1990, shortly after former Soviet Union countries underwent democratic and religious changes, the Christian Reformed Church of North America Synod authorized ministry in the Commonwealth of Independent States, with some specific ministry in the former Republic of Russia. The ‘Russia Ministries Council,' made up of several CRCNA agencies, developed a strategy and in the fall of 1995, invited Jeff and Natasha Busscher to become Field Directors for Russia/Ukraine. Adrian and Wendy Helleman also started teaching as CRWM partner missionaries at Moscow State University, staying there until 2001. The desire to enter into partnership with the Orthodox Church rather than antagonize the established church led to partnerships like the one with Hosanna Community, a youth discipleship program that arose out of reform movements. CRWM has also partnered with Russian-American Christian University in various ways throughout the years. In addition, CRC's Publisher, World Literature Ministries, has helped publish Reformed theological materials in Russia, starting with the 1997-1999 publishing project, Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. Two public Christian libraries were also pioneered in Moscow and St. Petersburg and a five-year program of teacher-training initiatives among St. Petersburg Christian schools was supported by Worldwide Christian Schools and other Christian education institutions. Read testimonies regarding the Siberia Mobile Libraries, one of the projects in Russia. CultureRussia has 140 million people. Geographically, Russia takes up 76 percent of the area that was once the Soviet Union. Approximately 80% of its citizens are Russians, 5% are other Slavs from Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland, and the remaining 15% are a mix of ethnic peoples. ‘Rus’ identity as a people grew hand in hand with the Russian Orthodox Church, which has dominated the religious landscape of Russia for over 1,000 years. Russia's histroy was untouched by the impulses of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. Today, Russia has about 1.5 million Protestants, similar to the pre-revolutionary period, despite a short-term awakening in the 1990s. Nearly 70% of Russians identify themselves as Orthodox Church believers, but the actual religiosity of Orthodox Russians is rather low, with only 3-5% being practicing believers. The average Russian applauds the State’s firm grip on power, and is satisfied with his/her level of personal freedom. The driving force in Russia is national and economic pride. Mission & VisionRussian Christianity remains comparatively immobilized when reflected against its own history and Christianity’s steady growth around the world. The early 1990s were a boom for the former Soviet people as they threw off forced atheism and began to investigate all forms of religious teaching. CRWM is committed to helping evangelicals in the Orthodox world bring about reformation in their sphere of influence. The main effort of CRWM is to develop evangelistic outreach through multi-confessional Christian libraries. We focus our efforts in partnership with churches who wish to grow and multiply in the northwest region of Russia. ResultsSt. Petersburg Christian Media Center and Library serves over 2,000 registered readers and unites several local denominations in teaching and bringing people toward an informed Christian commitment. The Center annually directs 15-30 new believers to join the church of their choice. Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM) nurtures relations with evangelicals in the Russian Orthodox Church and has developed the Media Center as a hub of inter-confessional dialogue and Christian educational outreach. The Christian Reformed World Missions Team in RussiaGary and Galya Timmerman, Ministry Coordinator More ResourcesVideos
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