Be a Part of Russia’s Historic Harvest Before Time Runs Out

By Jeremy Burns Dec 5, 2014

Be a Part of Russia’s Historic Harvest Before Time Runs Out

As much of the Western world eyes Russian aggression in fear of a new Cold War, another threat is growing within Russia’s borders. Despite enjoying a brief respite from religious oppression after the fall of the Soviet Union, evangelicals in Russia are facing a rapid erosion of religious freedom amid government restrictions.

Hannu Haukka—president of Helsinki, Finland-based GCM (Great Commission Media) Ministries—says that the mainline media have been seized and declared off limits to the evangelical denominations of Russia. Social media have now been tethered with the threat of stiff penalties to “offenders” who do not follow government guidelines.

“Russia will close down,” Haukka quotes one Christian leader in Russia as saying. “It is only a matter of time. Now is the time to seize the little freedom our churches still have. We must do what we can, without delay, to evangelize Russia.”

GCM Ministries is looking to help evangelical churches in Russia reach the lost. With the window of opportunity for outreach seemingly closing, a conference of approximately 1,000 pastors from across Russia challenged GCM Ministries in May to supply them with 5 million copies of a key ministry booklet, one that has helped lead many to Christ in 40 of the nation’s key cities.

To help spread the word about this exciting and urgent campaign, Haukka sat down with Charisma for an exclusive interview:

Charisma: Tell us a little about GCM Ministries.

Haukka: Jesus’ last words are our highest priority, that is, evangelism targeting whole cities with high-impact, 30-day media saturation campaigns, working with thousands of churches on the ground. To date, we have conducted campaigns in 77 cities. The campaigns tend to shake whole cities, as in the days of the Acts.

Charisma: Your recent Russian booklet campaign has the potential to fit that billing. What’s the key with these booklets?

Haukka: Each evangelistic book contains powerful transformation stories from Russia, the four spiritual laws, the prayer of salvation and the first steps of faith in Jesus.

Charisma: Why is the need so pressing?

Haukka: Russia has taken a big turn to enforcing control of media and thousands of Bible-believing churches in Russia. Freedom of religion in Russia is coming to an end.

Charisma: What sort of response have Russian churches been experiencing from the booklets thus far?

Haukka: Delivery of 1 million evangelistic books to Russia’s more than 2,200 churches by Great Commission Media Ministries has played a major role in an unprecedented harvest. One million Russians have prayed the prayer of salvation in the past 18 months. One million additional copies will go to press soon. A photo report will be provided for each donation.

Charisma: How can our readers help?

Haukka: Your gift will serve to lead many to Jesus! Each book costs 30 cents, which means: