Next Gen Rising in Novosibirsk

"I love getting to be a part of Eurasian Missions, and the work that's being done there, to spread the gospel!" exudes Willie O'Quinn, from the Lawrence church of Christ in Kansas, USA, as he introduces this video, about the rise of the next generation of disciples making disciples in the church in the capital city of Siberia, in the Russian Federation.

The church in Novosibirsk has invested in eight next-generation young ministry interns, who "have inspired the entire youth to dream big," says Quint. Those initial eight became twelve paid interns, some of whom have been sent to strengthen and inspire other smaller churches outside Novosibirsk. This gift, of being able to send young people who are connected to a larger church and are receiving ongoing training in ministry, is greatly needed and much appreciated by these smaller churches, whose ministry leaders in many cases are living a very long way away from their mentors and the ongoing training and support of more mature leadership. The distances between churches that the Eurasian churches must deal with are enormous. The Novosibirsk church maintains an active connection of discipleship and mutual spiritual support with churches in the Ural mountains (1600 kilometers or nearly 1000 miles to the west), Vladivostok (3500 miles to the east) and other smaller churches in the Siberian region. The appearance of a young ministry intern or two, with fresh faith, paid for and being trained by the larger, stronger Novosibirsk church, is of tremendous value to the health and growth of the smaller churches in Eurasia.

As these young ministers have set their hearts on seeking the kingdom first, some have been blessed to find their life partner along the way: to date, four weddings have taken place among the recent crop of young Siberian interns.

Following are some personal quotes that give us a brief glimpse into their hearts:

Daniel: "I feel gratitude when I think about what [Jesus] did for me; it inspires me to serve."

Lena: "I would love to move to some city where there is no church, and to preach the gospel there."

Sergey: "I have a dream, that God would use me as an evangelist, as an orator, so that I could tell many people who do not know God about him; that through my words they would want to come to know him."

Tanya: "Knowing that God wants to shape me even more into the likeness of Christ, even through difficult circumstances, motivates me to move forward, even when it's hard."

Vlad: " I was initially very inspired by the opportunity to serve God, being able to devote all my time to ministry. What keeps on inspiring me is seeing the change in people's hearts and in people's eyes."

Yana: "I want to encourage young people to always be open with the people who mentor them, because in this way they become open to more opportunities for God to work through them."

Anton: "I would like to serve God in some majority-world country, maybe in Africa or Latin America, to lead a church there; to give hope to the hopeless, to those who have no hope."

Yaroslavna: "It's really important to me that young people could come to know God better, for them to build their lives on his foundation, and because of that, to see new young leaders rise up."

We invite you to follow the Novosibirsk youth ministry on Instagram at ncoc_youth.