The Christians
Missionaries to Russia
 |
| Ministry Head |
Rev. Jeff Christian |
| Mailing Address |
Wyldewood Baptist Church
3030 Witzel Ave
Oshkosh, WI 54904-9371 |
| Office Phone |
(920) 235-5400 |
| Home Phone |
(920) 685-2429 |
| Fax |
(920) 231-3721 |
| E-mail |
jeffchristian@wyldewood.org |
Our Field
- God has called us to the Russian republic of Chuvashia. It has a population of approximately 2 million and is located 400 miles southeast of Moscow.
- The Chuvash are a Turkish people and make up over 60% of Chuvashia's population.
- In contrast to most of the other Turkish peoples living in Eurasia, the majority of the Chuvash embrace the Russian Orthodox faith. They were forced to convert from Islam during the reign of Ivan the Terrible.
- The headquarters for our work will be Chuvashia's capital city, Cheboksary.
- The Chuvash have their own culture and language. At present, the four Gospels are being translated into the Chuvash language.
- God has given us a great burden for the people living in small villages throughout Chuvashia. They are cut off from the larger cities and have become isolated from mainstream Russia.
Our Focus
- The need in Russia is threefold.
- Most important, Russia needs churches. There are hundreds of villages in Chuvashia. Our top priority will be to reach out to these villages and establish churches.
- There is a need for printed material. We plan to participate in several Scripture distribution campaigns sponsored by Russia Inland Missions. The campaigns will focus on evangelism and discipleship. New contacts will then be used to start Bible studies, and ultimately local Baptist churches. We will work alongside Couriers for Christ to distribute Bibles, tracts, and other doctrinal booklets for the purpose of discipleship after the campaigns have been completed.
- Russian Christians need to be discipled. We will implement a structured, weekly, one-on-one discipleship program to train new converts. A Bible institute will also be utilized to prepare men for full-time ministry.
Our Philosophy
- The trade language throughout Chuvashia is Russian. The Chuvash are bilingual, speaking both Russian and Chuvash. Therefore, we will use the Russian Synodal translation of the Bible as well as the Chuvash Bible when a reliable translation becomes available.
- We will be working with Russia Inland Mission, a Baptist organization created to assist missionaries in Russia.
- Our strategy is to provide aid to medical facilities and orphanages near our mission base. Such projects have proven to be an effective way of opening the door for evangelism.
- It is our position that the churches planted in Russia should be indigenous, Russian Baptist churches pastored by Russian nationals.
- We will emphasize the responsibility of national pastors to plant Baptist churches through local mission outreaches.
- We believe the local church is the sending agency for mission work. It is for this reason that we are sent out by the authority of Wyldewood Baptist Church.
Financial Support
Rev. and Mrs. Jeff Christian are sent as missionaries out of Wyldewood Baptist Church. Fiscal policies are overseen by the pastor, deacons, trustees, and treasurer of the church. As the sponsoring church, we support them financially, but the majority of their resources are given by other churches and individuals. The Christians are true missionaries, and they must raise their own personal support. All money given to their ministry is utilized to further the work, and no money is ever used to benefit the general fund of our church. All designated funds are used for the purpose that they were allocated for. Any supporting church or individual can obtain a copy of this ministry's financial statement by requesting it in writing to the church.
Checks should be made out to:
"First Light Baptist Mission"
Write "Jeff Christian" on the memo line of your check.
They should be mailed to:
Jeff Christian
Wyldewood Baptist Church
3030 Witzel Ave
Oshkosh, WI 54904-9371
All gifts to this ministry will be used as personal and work support for the Christians. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the church or Brother Christian. His phone numbers are listed at the top of this site.
Statement of Faith
To view a copy of Wyldewood Baptist Church's short statement of faith,
click here.
References
Dr. Frank Williams
Racine Baptist Temple
4835 Taylor Ave.
Racine, WI 53406
(262) 554-8079
Pastor Clayton Jones
Tri-County Baptist Church
Franklin, WI 53132-2404
(414) 529-9619
Dr. Ken Graham
Victory Baptist Church
5386 Highway 67
Benton, AR 72015
(501) 315-5005
Dr. Keith Gomez
Northwest Bible Baptist Church
9N889 Nesler Rd.
Elgin, IL 60123
847-695-4700
Pastor Doug Hammett
Lehigh Valley Baptist Church
4702 Colebrook Ave.
Emmaus, PA 18049
610-965-4700
To see a list of the missionaries supported by Wyldewood Baptist Church click here.
To see a list of resources provided by Wyldewood Baptist Church click here.
