The 150th mission school in Eurasia opens for new efforts from the Caucasus

The Caucasus was the target for the first missionaries from the congregation in Jerusalem. This happened when James was leading the church. Then Andrew, Bartholomew, and Thaddeus were sent out according to documents from the first centuries. In Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, these disciples have been given saint status.

When I visit the Caucasus, the Christians also tell about the first Baptist baptism, which was held in the Kura River, flowing through Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi. It was organized on August 20, 1867, by Martin Karlweight, who was a German speaking missionary from Lithuania. From Tbilisi, the evangelical faith then spread to Baku, Yerevan, Vladikavkaz, and Ukraine.

Historians believe that this was the beginning of the Baptist movement in the Russian Empire. By the time of the Soviet Union’s collapse in the early 1990s, the All-Christian Union (Baptist Union) had grown to over 550,000 members. At that time, however, many evangelical Christians, like Mennonites, and Pentecostals were also part of the community. After the breakthroughs of glasnost and perestroika, several of them applied for their own registrations.

Georgia has now become a hub for a new wave of pioneering missions. From there, the enthusiasm to reach unreached peoples and untouched areas with the gospel is spreading. In June, the graduation for Eurasia’s 150th missionary school was held. The training was the result of collaboration between Caucasian and Swedish churches, as well as Jesus4Eurasia, IBRA and Avainmedia from Finland.

Students from eight different countries are now moving forward to serve Kurdish congregations in the area between the Caspian and Black Seas. They are also stepping up previous efforts among minority groups in China, Russia, and Iran. During the training, we heard several testimonies of how the revival is spreading even in war zones, breaking new ground and encouraging many victims of war..

Even in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan, the gospel is being spread to new people. The early Christian history in the Caucasus seems to be repeating itself – right in front of our eyes. While zeal of missions is stagnating in some Western countries, Christians from the East are stepping up and spreading the gospel to people groups who haven’t yet heard about Jesus Christ. In this way, obstacles are being removed for the Lord’s second coming. Prace the Lord!

Rauli Lehtonen, Jesus4Eurasia

The text has been published in the Swedish Christian newspaper Världen Idag (The World today) on July the 22nd 2026. The blog is translated from Swedish by AI.