Church planting in the eternal ice

Temperatures as low as minus 60° Celsius make survival difficult - and the ministry of those who bring the Good News to peoples in the far reaches of Siberia and beyond the Arctic Circle.

We have been working in Siberia since 1994. And since 2006, we have been making regular forays through perpetual ice. Behind the Arctic Circle live about 70 unreached ethnic groups that are on the verge of extinction. Some of these groups have only 200 people left. Their villages are scattered, with an average of 500 to 800 kilometers between them.

Alcohol is the No. 1 killer here and serves as a form of currency; there are no cash or credit cards. Everything is exchanged for highly sought-after spirits. Anyone who survives a drunken brawl can easily fall victim to a quarrel, because reaching for weapons is almost a reflex here. Medical care is non-existent, and the simplest diseases multiply the graves. Thus these peoples die out little by little.

Jesus can turn the fate of these people around. They too have the right to hear the Good News and receive new life. That is why we are doing everything we can to plant churches in their villages. However, this requires dedicated and courageous people who are willing to go there - and stay. Our Bible school in Angarsk, founded in 1997, is a kind of base camp and junior forge for young people.