What is the responsibility of our churches to adjust to the needs of the communities around us?

In Uzunagash, Kazakhstan, the Lord has transformed the ministry of the local church in order to support the community. Uzunagash is a smaller village in Kazakhstan about a 45 minute drive away from Almaty, the biggest city in Kazakhstan. 

There stands a church with an incredible legacy of ministry. Uzunagash began as a town around a prison in the 1700’s. This is when the first congregation in the city began. In its current building the Church for all Nations in Uzunagash baptized its first member in 1947. 

The church survived and thrived under the Soviet Union, reaching 300 members in the 1980’s. In the 1950’s the church came under persecution from the Soviet government. They looked to take the land the church was on. A church member pleaded with the local authorities, reaching the highest levels of the government. In 1961 the church land was designated to be a protected territory. This miracle is spoken of more than 60 years later.

Sergej Kadyrlukow grew up in the church, and in 2007 was named the pastor at the age of 19. He and his wife Svetlana stepped in during a difficult time in the church. The previous pastor’s struggles with alcohol left things in shambles, leaving a congregation of just eight older ladies.

Sergej joked that in 2007, he thought his job was to; “come and bury the remaining old church members and close the church up. Then we would go to Almaty.” He prayed for the Lord to give him a vision for the village, and in 2011 God gave the church a new direction.

The village of Uzunagash struggles with the education of children. Many don’t go to school and struggle with extreme poverty. According to Sergej, sometimes 5 or 6 families live all in 25 square meter rooms (270 square feet). The church started to do summer camps and vacation bible school.

Sergej remembered watching kids running around playing and all of a sudden throwing up. When Sergej asked why they were feeling sick, they told him they hadn’t eaten breakfast. Sergej found out most of these kids from the town haven’t been eating. One young girl told him she collects food on the ground from the Bazaar, and that’s all she could get. 

Faced with poverty and hunger, the Lord equipped the church to offer lunches and create a banja (Russian sauna) where the children could wash themselves and warm up. The cold of the winter in Uzunagash can be extreme. The Lord blessed the ministry, reaching up to 90 kids during their weekly gatherings and 25 kids consistently coming to Sunday school.

As the members of the church met and learned more stories from the community, the Lord broke their hearts for a new need. Children in Uzunagash don’t learn skills to make money in an honest way. This leads to many kids becoming thieves, drug dealers or completely dependent on others.

The church changed their model of ministry to teach kids skills they can make money with. The boys learn to weld metal and how to repair buildings.The girls learnt to sew so they can make beanbags, neck pillows and more. Sergej said, “Money you earn will always be better than the money you steal.”

Bible Mission has partnered with The Church for all Nations in Uzunagash, and helps to equip them for their ministry in the village. 

The church looks to pay the kids after work days when they help out to fix or make things on church grounds. They want to teach the positive part of working and gaining skills. Through this ministry the gospel is shared to the kids.

A boy in the church learned to weld at the age of 14. He started doing jobs around town, and at age 17 he bought his own car with the money he saved. He’s about to turn 21 years old and get married this year.

The church believes that by reaching the children of Uzunagash they will reach families! Bible Mission has helped to equip the church to be a Hope Center in Kazakhstan!

Hope Centers are safe places for children at risk to go where they will have nourishing meals on a daily basis, warm clothes, and even a place to stay and continue to receive care. They provide education/training opportunities for children to teach skills for a better future perspective. Most importantly, Hope Centers are a place where children will hear the Gospel. 

Hope Centers are always connected to the local church, providing a great tool for the local believers in their community outreach ministry as they serve families at risk, widows and people in need. Especially among unreached nations and in the Muslim context, good works are a great tool to share the light of the Gospel and the love of God.

Christina was just 13 years old and started coming to church to learn how to sew, and quickly became a part of their church family. Her mother was not a Christian. Christina prayed for her mother for over a year and shared the gospel with her in their house. 

In 2020 the church was closed for covid-19, on the first Sunday they opened their doors, Christina’s mother gave her life to Christ. The Lord had been giving her comfort during the pandemic through her daughter. Now according to Sergej, Christina’s mother is a "Church member burning for God and giving away the gospel. Praise the Lord."

Nikolai watched as his granddaughter started coming to the church to eat and participate in summer camps. He would come in occasionally, but didn’t commit to the Lord. He was drinking heavily at that time. Sergej thought Nikolai would die from his drinking, but last year God won and he was baptized!

There are so many stories of what God is doing in Uzunagash, through a church that was flexible and willing to follow the call of the Lord. In changing their way of doing ministry, God has moved and brought life. They honor the legacy of ministry by still pushing against darkness in their village, glorifying the Lord first. 

This Hope Center could use your prayer. Pray for Sergei and Svetlana, that the Lord would continue to strengthen them for the ministry ahead and give them his vision. Pray for the children of Uzunagash, that God’s hope would come to them, and pray for the church as they look to create sports fields.

The church in Uzunagash needs about $8,000 to make their volleyball fields and finish their new banja. Sergej has a vision of a safe place for children to come and play in the village, allowing them to share the gospel. If you’d like to help this church you can connect with us and help share the Gospel in Kazakhstan!

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Mark 10:13

And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

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