Who were the mentors in your life that shaped you? I have been incredibly blessed with tremendous men of God who served as my mentors throughout my life. Daryl Nuss was the one who shared with me about Jesus back in the early 90’s. At the time he was the head of Student Venture ministry. Daryl has kept in touch with me through the years. We still visit once a month to talk about ministry and discuss a book we are reading together. Then there was Bill McKinley, whom I met during one of his missionary trips to Russia. He was the man who baptized me, and I can honestly say that I have learnt more about Christian leadership from him than anyone else. My first pastor in Moscow was Rick Thompson, with whom I have kept in touch through the years and who was a man that shaped me as a pastor. Paul Hindalong, who was on the same trip as Bill McKinley, taught me what it means to be a husband and a father. I was also incredibly blessed by close friendship with Dr. Bill Bright and Dr. William Lane Craig. I would not dare to call them my mentors, but I cherish our conversations that taught me so much about ministry -- even without them trying to teach me anything about ministry. I am profoundly grateful to each and every man that God has placed in my life and used to shape me into the husband, father, and minister I am today.
It was also incredibly painful to lose my mentors. Bill McKinley passed away several years ago, and Rick Thompson went to be with the Lord unexpectedly just this past fall. The passing of these great men of God has left a gaping hole in my heart. I miss talking to them and constantly wish I could ask them for advice about something. But their passing has also led me to start thinking that maybe it is time for me to pass on what they invested in me to the next generation of Christian leaders.
Back in May, I shared about a trip to Israel where I participated in teaching a preaching class with “City to City” ministry. This teaching opportunity finalized my certification process as one of the trainers for City to City, and we have just wrapped up our first modular in the two-year program called “Incubator for Church Planters.” We have had over 25 church planters from 12 difference cities that are leading 15 different church plants. These great men came from all of Russia and Belarus to attend this course. However, what made this course special were four men in particular. There was Konstantin Kudelko from Brest, Belarus. I met him just this past fall, but I immediately saw a kindred spirit in this young church planter. I was surprised however, when he approached me a couple of weeks after we met and asked me to mentor him personally. We have been meeting online on a monthly basis since then to talk about ministry and encourage one another. Konstantin is attending the Incubator as a “trainer in waiting.” He is going through the “Train the Trainer” course with City to City, and I hope he will join the ranks of trainers in the fall of 2026.
There was also Alexander Zholobov from Kirov, Russia, who recently planted Vyatka Bible Church in his city. Vyatka is the old name for Kirov, which was renamed after a revolutionary during Soviet times. Alexander was one of my students at New Life Bible College in Moscow back in the days when I taught there and served as the rector of the school. There was Vladimir Volkov from Tver. Vladimir was also one of my students back at the New Life Bible College. As a matter of fact I visited Tver on a number of occasions with missions trips that we put together for the students of the Bible College. Back in those early 2000's we have helped Vladimir's church. 25 years later Vladimir came to study because they are planting a new church in Tver.
Finally Vitaly Zanin also joined this course. He is a pastor of the newly planted “Freedom Church” in Moscow. For years he was the coordinator of the Youth Ministry for the Baptist Union in Russia. But back when he was a teenager, he attended a Bible Study that I led with teens. So, it was great to reconnect with these two men and see how God is using them and shaping them right now. It is a great privilege and blessing in ministry to pour into these men and see how God is using them to challenge and shape me in my own ministry.
Yours in praying and hastening the day of revival in Moscow and Russia,
Constantin and Alexandra
P.S. In my next newsletter I will share about one of our courses for adults that we use to shape our church members and help them discover just how solid the foundation of our Christian faith really is.
THREE PRAYER REQUESTS:
Please take a moment right now, after you fnished reading this e-mail, to join us in praying for God:
- To bless our Lent Season. We have successfully kicked off Lent with a special Ash Wednesday service. But it will be the first time in over 12 years that our Good Friday evangelistic service will not be at St.Peter and Paul Cathedral. Please pray for a smooth transition to a new place and a large turnout from those that do not know Christ.
- To raise necessery funds for us to purchase our own building. I shared in my previous newsletter about our capital campaign that we just launched. Check it out if you have not yet and if you can please share about it with as many people as possible especially with the missions board of your church.
- To bring peace to Russia and Ukraine. Moreover, ask God to use this conflict by bringing reconciliation and revival to these countries.
