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Russia Mission Initiative

Bishop Hans Växby of MoscowThe Russia Initiative, which also includes the Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus, is a partnership among annual conferences, congregations, and institutions committed to church growth and development in that region. It is sponsored and organized by the General Board of Global Ministries.

The initiative began in the winter of 1991-92 under the leadership of the General Board of Global Ministries. Its primary purpose was to deliver food to Russia's Moscow Region.

Later Global Ministries expanded the project to include the re-establishment of Methodism in the former Soviet Union. The Eurasia Annual Conference was established in 1997, with expansion to four annual conferences in 2003 and a fifth annual conference in 2005. The Eurasia Conference emcompasses Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Rev. Nikolai Smirnov's tee shirt announces his plan to build a church in KrasnoarmeiskBishops See Church in Eurasia Area As Being on the Right Track

Global Ministries News
7/9/08: The 2008 theme for all five annual conferences in Eurasia was "Source of Life."

See Also:

Global Ministries Missionaries

arrow iconView a list of missionaries serving in the Ukraine, which is included in the Russia Initiative.


Photo: Bishop Hans Vaxby of Moscow. Photo by Jerry Chapman.