Multiplying hope in the North Caucasus

In a predominant Muslim republic in the Russian Federation there are only a very few Jesus followers as the Islamic religion is very much connected to the strong cultural identities of the local people groups.  

But about two years ago, a team started to organise Young Life clubs, to reach teenagers and young adults with the gospel. From the start, the clubs were well attended. Due to the Muslim identity of the local culture, these clubs do not have an evangelistic character, but are a platform to meet people through sports, cultural events, English teaching, conversations, and other activities.

Through different conversations team members intentionally try to point towards the gospel and share their testimonies, which in turn leads to more questions. In November 2023, the team started their first small group with eight young people joining them for Discovery Bible Study and prayer.

Faith and volleyball

One of the participants is Rustam*, a 17-year-old urban teenager from a Muslim family. Rustam liked to play volleyball with the team in one of the neighbourhoods. As they built relationship through the clubs, he invited the team to his birthday party. As this was on a Sunday, the team explained to him that they would be coming after the church service in the afternoon. This basic Christian practice was enough to spark his interest and he wanted to join the church service on his own birthday as well.

Rustam joined the small group and attended a winter camp in the mountains for young people who showed interest in the gospel. This was a special time where the team could speak in more depth about the meaning of the gospel and repentance. Not long after this camp Rustam decided to follow Jesus and repented of his sins.

Reconciliation and repentence

Since then Rustam has continued to walk with Jesus, and recently told the team about how he shared the gospel with one of his friends.

He said, "I went out to play volleyball with our friends and God blessed me with a conversation with one of my friends, Madina*. Because of my sins, our contact wasn’t as friendly as it has been before, and I hadn’t tried to reconcile with her.

"As everyone had left, Madina and I had a very good conversation. Praise God! I was glad to hear that she didn’t held any grudges against me. At a certain moment Madina shared with me, 'I could accept the Christian faith (in the orthodox church) but it wouldn’t mean anything.' 

"This was an opening to start an exceptional conversation, where I could explain that you can accept Christianity outside the (orthodox) church, what it means to repent of your sins and what it means to be baptised, what we believe and how we live. I also was able to share with her some verses from the Bible. I could see that she understood my words and it was visible that God was at work in her. She now has a little understanding about God and Christianity. I just hope that she will fully discover that God is Love and Truth in her life.”  

Testimonies like these of Rustam show that God is at work, even in the most unreached parts of North Caucasus. Gospel witness of local people will be vital to see the church in the North Caucasus multiplying among local people groups in the region. 

Rejoice that Rustam is willing to share his faith with his friends. Please pray that he will grow in his walk with the Lord and that he will be strong in his faith when the days of resistance and persecution might come.

Please pray for the team as well. Now more people show interest in our faith in Jesus, this is also likely to lead to resistance and persecution in this area. 

*name changed