One only must talk to pastor Andrew Ryzhkov for one minute to discover that he is excited about his Savior and the work God has called him to do. Ryzhkov is the pastor of Calvary Russian Baptist Church, a growing congregation of believers in the Alpharetta/Cumming area north of Atlanta. However, his ministry extends far beyond his local church and reaches into Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Andrew and his wife, Inna, are from Belarus, a nation in Eastern Europe with a population of 9.2 million people, most of whom are not professing Christians. However, Ryzhkov believes there is a spiritual movement taking place in the nation. Twenty years ago, there were only 250 evangelical churches in Belarus. Today there are 800.
Growing momentum
“The number of evangelical Christians in Belarus has moved substantially in recent years from one/half percent to 5%,” declares Ryzhkov, “and I believe if we can get to 10%, we will have the kind of momentum that will bring a revival of Christianity to the nation.”
The pastor from Belarus is also committed to reaching Russian-speaking Jews in Israel. Israel has a population of 9.76 million people, and Israel is home to a core Russian-Jewish population of 900,000 with an enlarged population of 1.544,000 non-Jewish members of Jewish households.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by J. Gerald Harris and originally published by the Christian Index.
