Though the iron curtain came down long ago, biblical resources are still hard to come by in Russian-speaking countries. Since 1995, Grace to Russia has been providing resources to fill the void. When the iron curtain came down, our founder took simple gospel tracts to Russia and began distributing them. He soon developed a team of translators and began publishing pamphlets, and then books, to help bring light to a darkened land. The Grace to Russia ministry quickly spread to all the Russian-speaking states of the former USSR. Our resources were eagerly received by people who had been kept from the truth all of their lives. As more people began coming to Christ, our focus changed to providing resources to strengthen churches and pastors to help them grow in godliness and continue to evangelize their culture. Even now, there are far too few resources available. Grace to Russia continues to work to meet the needs.
We continue to work because there are not enough Russian-speaking Christians to support a profitable Christian publishing industry. Because the market is so small, all Christian books produced in Russian are subsidized by supporters. Donations made through Grace to Russia enable us to provide Russian-speaking believers with reliable resources that would otherwise be unavailable in their language.
Many things have changed since 1995, but the battle for the truth rages on. There are more Christian resources available in Russian now, but there is also much more error being published. It seems that heretical views are always well-funded. False religions and bizarre distortions of Christianity are becoming more common in the former Soviet Bloc. In the face of increasing heresy, it is vital that genuine Christians support our brothers and sisters to help protect them from error and to teach them to disciple their neighbors. Grace to Russia works with a team of translators in Belarus to select books that will meet these pressing needs.
The opportunities in Russian-speaking countries are vast. The Russian language is the 8th most commonly spoken language on the planet. More than 170 million people speak Russian today. Because the Soviet Union demanded absolute uniformity, they all speak Russian the same way—there are no differences of dialect from country to country. But among these 170 million people speaking Russian, there are very few biblical Christians. Sound churches are hard to find. Pastors often have little training and few resources. These pastors almost always work another job to support themselves. Resources that provide sound teaching in such an environment can have tremendous influence. Grace to Russia is working hard to provide a steady stream of helpful resources to meet these needs. Will you join us in strengthening Russian-speaking believers?
Dave Stephenson
President
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