Azerbaijan is a Muslim-majority nation that shares a border with Armenia. Like Armenia, it was also incorporated into the Soviet Union for several decades and continues to suffer the same fate of many former Soviet nations, even in independence: corruption, weak education and health care, and an unreliable judicial system that stifles progress. 

In recent years, presidential term limits were abolished, and term lengths were extended from five to seven years. This, combined with highly questionable elections, has pushed Azerbaijan toward autocracy. Economically, Azerbaijan has an oil-based economy that consequently fluctuates with oil prices. While some measures have been taken to diversify the economy, progress is stunted by corruption and other political endeavors like the decades-long conflict with neighboring Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Between 85 and 97 percent of Azerbaijan’s population are culturally Muslim and roughly 0.22 percent are evangelical Christian. Religious laws remain restrictive regarding registration requirements for religious bodies (like churches), limits to proselytizing by foreigners, control over religious literature, and harassment of “non-traditional” religions like Jehovah’s Witnesses and evangelical Protestant Christians. Despite these difficulties, the evangelical church in Azerbaijan is growing over 1 percent faster than the global growth rate of 2.6 percent. It is a land of gospel need but also of gospel opportunity.

Thanks to your support, our School Without Walls (SWW) program has surely contributed to boosting this statistic as the initiative continues to grow and our students continue to fearlessly share the gospel with their neighbors. In 2023, you supported our SWW ministry training for 70 enrolled leaders, 23 of whom graduated from the full two-year program. Not confined to Azerbaijan, our efforts can affect neighboring Iran where roughly 17.5 million ethnic Azerbaijanis live. For Western missionaries, Iran is nearly impossible, however, the doors are open for our SWW students and those they share the gospel with.