NEWS PROVIDED BY
Slavic Gospel Association (SGA)
May 21, 2025

LOVES PARK, Ill., May 21, 2025 /Standard Newswire/ — Thousands of orphans and vulnerable children will attend church-run summer Bible camps across Russia, Ukraine and the nations of the former Soviet Union in the coming weeks.

It’s anticipated that around 80,000 children and teens will participate in the weeklong Bible camps — many from war-affected households or families struggling with deep poverty, addictions, or abuse.

“Many of these children and teens have lost hope, and their hearts are broken,” said Michael Johnson, president of Illinois-based Slavic Gospel Association (SGA, www.sga.org) that supports the Bible camps. “Some have been orphaned by war, others abandoned, and others have suffered abuse and neglect.”

The organization is the only U.S.-based ministry currently serving evangelical churches in Russia. It supports local evangelical churches across a vast region, covering 11 time zones.

“Local pastors are seeing more heartbreak, depression, and confusion in children and teens than ever before,” said Eric Mock, the organization’s senior vice president of ministry operations and a frequent visitor to the region.

The church-run summer camp ministry is an antidote to the growing hopelessness, Mock said, providing a caring, stable atmosphere that is often in stark contrast to chaotic home circumstances where alcoholism fuels violent outbursts.

“Instead of being surrounded by darkness, they’re surrounded by kindness and real joy,” said Mock. “It’s like nothing they’ve ever experienced before.”

‘Whole New Hope’
As a teenager, Ivan prayed that his alcoholic parents would change their ways. For a brief time, they sobered up — but then Ivan’s father began drinking again and deserted the family. His mother suffered a series of strokes and died.

Heartbroken, Ivan was encouraged by a local pastor to get involved in the summer camp ministry where his faith came alive as he responded to the Gospel and the compassion of the volunteers. “His heart was especially touched for the orphans,” Pastor Sasha said.

Ivan now shares with others the hope of the Gospel that he says saved his life.

“For Ivan and many others, summer Bible camp is just the beginning,” said Johnson. “They start going along to their local church and discover they have a whole new family, a whole new life, a whole new hope.”

Founded in 1934, Slavic Gospel Association (SGA, www.sga.org) helps “forgotten” orphans, widows and families in Ukraine, Russia, the former Soviet countries of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Russian-speaking immigrants in Israel – caring for their physical needs and sharing the life-transforming Gospel. SGA supports an extensive grassroots network of local evangelical missionary pastors and churches in cities and rural villages across this vast region.

MEDIA: To schedule an interview with Eric Mock and Michael Johnson, contact:
DeWayne Hamby at (423) 505-0041 or dhamby@inchristcommunications.com 

SOURCE Slavic Gospel Association (SGA)