Reaching places of potential in Central Asia

In one primarily Muslim country in Central Asia*, it’s against the law to try to convert someone to another faith. The church there operates largely underground, informally and in houses. It’s also incredibly young, beginning after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Against this backdrop, Langham Scholar Marat** is faithfully shining the light of the gospel. While working toward his PhD, Marat is still living in his country, deeply involved in ministry. He shepherds a house church, teaches theology, organizes youth discipleship and outreach ministries and translates key biblical resources.

Get involved: Support emerging leaders like Marat

That’s a testament to who Marat is. But it’s also the reality of a church as young and undeveloped as the one in his country (where less than 2% of the population is Christian, according to the Word Christian Database) and in most of Central Asia. There’s huge potential and need, but not enough leaders—yet.

Shepherding a young church

Marat, along with two other Langham Scholars from Central Asia, feels this responsibility deeply. They are part of a small handful of Central Asian church leaders with formal theological training. That means they are pioneering a young church, bringing a gospel message many have never heard.

The first step is identifying and equipping young leaders like Marat. With the training that comes with getting a PhD in theology, he and other leaders Langham Partnership supports multiply their impact by discipling others through mentoring, teaching, pastoring and writing.

“The church is still fledgling. The theology of the church still is developing. … Leaders need to be trained very well in the Bible, the way they understand, present, preach and proclaim the message,” Marat says.

Without this training, many pastors fall back on Muslim customs and norms. Marat says, “There has not been enough break from Islam, which still [influences] what they teach, how they pastor, how they do church here.”

Why local leadership matters

Another challenge is overcoming the idea that Christianity is a Russian or Western religion. Islam is accepted, but becoming a Christian is seen as a betrayal of one’s Central Asian identity.

In another country in Central Asia, Langham Scholar Azamat** will be one of the first Christians with a PhD. Raised in a Muslim home, he spent years wrestling with his family’s faith before hearing the gospel in college and deciding to follow Jesus.

Azamat, Marat and Temir**, a Langham Scholar from a third Central Asian country, are thinking deeply about questions of identity. They hope to train others to present the gospel for what it is — not a religion by Westerners for Westerners but a source of hope and life for the Central Asian context, as well.

Temır says, “It’s very important to have resources in [Central Asian] written by [Central Asians] for [Central Asia], if we want to share the gospel effectively and contextualize it to [Central Asian] culture.”

The impact of Langham support

With Langham support, Temir has already produced a basic lexicon of theological terms in his language, and he is now writing a resource that will present core Christian doctrines in a way that’s accessible and relevant to people in his context.

Because of faithful partners like you, Temir, Marat and Azamat are planting new seeds of deep faith in regions with huge potential for gospel growth. Through their ministries, thousands of others will also be equipped to faithfully spread the good news.

“Organizations like Langham, when they support people from that context, train them and send them back, I think it perfectly serves that purpose of multiplying and growing,” Temir says.

*To protect our scholars and Langham programs in Central Asia, we have omitted names of specific countries.

**All names have been changed for their protection.