Mission Eurasia works in Armenia and other countries in Eurasia to train and equip young Christian leaders for effective ministry.
While Armenia is a small country with a population of just over three million people, it has experienced a great deal of turmoil. In 1915, the Ottoman Empire committed the Armenian Genocide, which involved the deportation and systematic extermination of 1.5 million Armenians. This tragic event eventually led to the coining of the term “genocide” in 1943.
Armenia also controls Nagorno-Karabakh, a hotly contested enclave in Azerbaijan, where violence is still common, despite a truce signed in 1994. Due to this ongoing conflict, Azerbaijan and Turkey instituted a trade blockade of Armenia, which severely limited its economic development, creating high levels of unemployment and poverty. As a result, more than two million Armenians have emigrated to neighboring countries since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the annual emigration rate is 4-5 percent, the highest in the world. Today, there are as many Armenians living abroad as in the country itself.
Although Armenia is the world’s first officially Christian nation, the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church has become more of a cultural, rather than spiritual, institution. Most Armenians consider “Armenian” and “Christian” to be synonymous, but many of them have never even heard the gospel. In order to share the hope of Christ with the unreached, we are preparing our School Without Walls (SWW) students in Armenia for ministry in their own communities, transforming their schools, workplaces, and families with the gospel!
Prayer Requests
- Please pray for refugees impacted by the war that erupted in September of 2020 over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. While the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan has stopped and a ceasefire agreement has been signed, people continue to rebuild their lives. Pray they will put their trust in Christ during this time.
- Please pray that God would grow the evangelical church in Armenia so that even more Armenians would realize that their nationality doesn’t make them real Christians, but rather, they must put their faith in Christ.
- Please pray that God would use our SWW students to bring the hope of Christ to the people of Armenia, many of whom are living in poverty.
- Please pray that our SWW program in Armenia would grow so that even more Next Generation Christian leaders can be equipped with the tools they need to transform their nation for Christ.
Samvel’s Story
“There is nothing more beautiful than telling people about Christ and sharing His absolute and limitless love.”
“I am only 26 years old, but I have already spent seven years in prison after blowing up a car. My father died when I was very young, and I think this is what led to my bad behavior. While I was in prison, I regularly met with Aram, who is the pastor of a Pentecostal Church and fearlessly shares his faith. We often read the Bible together over the phone, and I also listened to all of his sermons. I always looked forward to our meetings, as well as the hymns we would sing together. Now, I attend Aram’s church, where I was recently baptized! To say that my life has been transformed is an understatement. I love my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and I want to serve Him with all my heart.
“Recently, Aram invited me to SWW, where he said I could learn how to live out my faith and grow spiritually. I gladly accepted his invitation, and I am so happy I did! I’ve made many new friends at SWW, and I also keep in touch with some of my friends from prison, because I want to be an example of God’s love in their lives. My SWW classes have better shaped my knowledge of Christ, and taught me how to share His love with others. The lessons are presented in the context of Armenian culture, which helps me understand how to effectively share the gospel with my non-Christian friends. God has already helped me lead many of them to Christ!”
