IGOR & OLGA PROKOPYEV

SERVING RUSSIAN ORPHANS DURING CHRISTMAS

2012-01-23T10:46:00.000-08:00

Dearest Ministry Partners,

As you may remember from our previous communications, Abner, Nelly, Olga, Nate and Sveta, Katya and other volunteers from Light of Hope Church go to two orphanages to share the Gospel with orphans and try to meet their material needs every month.

On January 8th, the team visited a couple of orphanages to celebrate Christmas with the kids there. Two sisters Olga and Alla from the children’s ministry at Good News church joined out team this year. They put together a very good program with different games and skits, all teaching the story of Christ’s birth. It was a good fun time! Then we blessed the children with Christmas gifts.

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CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION AT LIGHT OF HOPE CHURCH

2012-01-23T09:15:00.001-08:00

Dearest Friends,

Olga and I are writing to let you know that Light of Hope Church is doing real well! We would like to thank you all for your prayerful and financial support you sent in to help us plant this "beautiful rose of God"! We are blessed to report that God is taking good care of the congregation! The saints celebrated Christmas this year in an entirely different way! It was great fun! The Russian Christmas is on the seventh of January, so for our Sunday service, on the eighth, we had a Jesus's Birthday Party! Abner gave a message about Jesus’ birth and what it means for this world! It was awesome! Then the fun began!!! I will let the pictures tell the rest…

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SERVING STREET KIDS AT LIGHT OF HOPE SHELTER

2012-01-16T10:25:00.000-08:00

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SERVING JESUS AT FOLSOM LAKE PRISON

2011-12-30T16:17:00.000-08:00

Dear Ministry Partners and Friends,

Thank you so very much for your prayers and financial support you sent in this month! The month of December was spent closer to the town of Placerviller, CA serving people in that area.

Right before Christmas I had an opportunity to go and teach the Word at Folsom Lake Prison, which is not very far from Placerville. Some 80 inmates showed up for the service that afternoon! As soon as everyone got into the chapel, the praise and worship team started singing Christmas songs and giving thanks to the Lord! All of us stood on our feet and worshipped the Lord from the bottom of our hearts! It was a full-blown praise band with a couple of guitarists, bass guitarist, keyboarder, drummer and a couple of vocalists! I loved their worship! It was lively too! The name of Jesus was magnified!

Pastor Nick shared from the Book of Philimon and I shared from the Book of Luke. The focus of my teaching was on living out the gospel in every aspect of our lives and walking in the Light of God knowing that the Father is busy saving souls through us! It was so obvious the Lord anointed His Word! It was so easy for me to do an alter call that afternoon! More than 10 people came forward for prayer. I was blessed to see some of them giving their lives to the Lord, or recommitting their lives and getting right with Jesus! It was a powerful service! We all had a blessed time at Folsome Lake Prison! Hallelujah!!!!

KLIMOVSKOYE INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY SEMINAR

2011-12-30T09:45:00.001-08:00

During the week of the 11 - 18 of December Svetta and Nate were able to do an Inductive Bible Study seminar in a nearby suburb of Cherepovets called Klimovskoye. Alexey’s wife Luba is from there and he organized the seminar. Sunday the eleventh, Svetta and Nate announced the seminar and preached the sermon. They taught from Acts 8 about Philip and Simon the Sorcerer. They held the seminar on their Wednesday evening Bible study and on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

The church is rather small. More than half the church came to the seminar, totaling 10 people. So far it was one of the best seminars they have taken part in. Usually, as they get into the word, people tend to have a hard time because of misunderstandings and false doctrines they have been taught. People especially start to argue when they go through Jude. But in this church there was little to no resistance. They were very receptive, not only to the IBS method, but also to the doctrines that are taught once you let they Bible speak for itself. They were greatly encouraged! At one point one of the men said that he had been asked to do a Bible study once, but he didn’t know how to do it, but next time he would be able to.

That is the reason we are doing these seminars. Our desire is not just to give people fish, but to teach them how to fish. I believe that as we continue to do this the Lord will grow His seeds. This will be the last seminar we do for the year of 2011. So far Alexey and Nate have been able to do three seminars together this year. They already have about three lined up for 2012 starting in February. They pray and hope to do a seminar every month.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND BLESSED NEW YEAR!

2011-12-23T14:59:00.000-08:00

Dearest Friends and Partners,

On this special day Olga and I would like to express our deep appreciation for your beautiful friendships and partnerships you blessed us with through the years!!! You are the Gift from Heaven!!!!! Thank you so very much for your love, prayers and support!!!!!

May your lives be filled with God's tenderness and love, His perfect peace, and joy on this Holy Season and throughout the year! Wish you lots of great happenings in the Lord Jesus on Christmas Day!! We pray all these Christmas happenings will bless your hearts tomorrow and always!

Merry Christmas and very blessed New Year to you and your families!

With much love and respect,

Igor and Olga Prokopyev

SERVING JESUS AT CALVARY WOODLAND, CA

2011-12-23T12:58:00.000-08:00

PROCLAIMING THE LIVING WORD...

LISTENING CAREFULLY...

SERVING THE WORD TO THE BODY OF CHRIST

HAVING FUN IN THE SON...

ENJOYING THE WORD...

SINGING A NEW SONG ...

PRAYING BLESSINGS UPON THE CHURCH

PRAYING AND WORSHIPING JESUS IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD!

VICTORY TODAY IS OURS!

KLIMOVSKOYE TRAINING SEMINAR THIS WEEK

2011-12-12T15:15:00.000-08:00

Dear Ministry Partners,

Please pray for ICM of Russia Crew as the guys travel to the small town of Klimovskoye which is about 30 minute drive from Cherepovets, our hometown this coming Wednesday. The Good News Church of Klimovskoye has invited us to come and teach their core people how to study the Word of God verse by verse, chapter by chapter and book by book!

Alex and Nate and Sveta will travel there to equip the saints and encourage them to go around and do the work of ministry! The seminar starts this coming Wednesday and ends on Sunday this week!

Please pray for all the seminar participants as they dig deep into the Word and learn how to carefully observe the Word of the Lord, interpret it within the context, and apply it in their personal life!!!

Thank you all for your prayerful and financial support this month! Mega huge blessings to you too!!!

SERVING JESUS IN ST. LOUIS, MO.

2011-12-12T14:39:00.001-08:00

DECEMBER UPDATE

2011-12-12T14:15:00.000-08:00

Dear Kingdom Partners!

Olga and I and ICM of Russia Crew are very thankful for all God has done in 2011! By the end of this year we have conducted more than 12 Inductive Bible Study Seminars in Russia and the Former Soviet Union, training about 1000 participants in Inductive Bible Study. Our staff in Cherepovets has done Alpha courses, has shown Jesus Film and travel to orphanages to serve less fortunate kids in the area. How great is our God! Light of Hope Shelter still continues to work with street kids in Cherepovets helping them to get to know Jesus in a very personal way! The world economy is in terrible condition, yet God has supplied all our needs in all this work we were able to accomplish in 2011. For that we praise God! Also, Olga and I would like to thank the many who have contributed to ICM of Russia. Much fruit has come from your gifts! May the Lord our God bless you all for your prayers, financial support and encouragement!!!

Please prayerfully read through our previous and new posts! We covet your prayers for an increase in our monthly donations. Our prayer is that we would see 50 people more giving $20 a month or 10 people giving $100 a month; however the Lord wants to work out the math, we covet your prayers for an increase of $1000 a month as we travel to Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgystan, the Caucasus, and around the United States. This year is blowing by and we are excited to see what the Lord has in store for Olga and I in 2012.

SERVING JESUS AT U-TURN FOR CHRIST REHAB CENTER

2011-11-30T15:33:00.001-08:00

CHRIS LEADING US IN PRAISE AND WORSHIP

SPIRIT OF WORSHIP FELL ON US...

FREEDOM IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF WORSHIP...

IGOR DECLARING THE WORD OF THE LORD

YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH...

... AND THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE...

GOD IS MIGHTY TO SAVE YOU FROM ADDICTION

IGOR PRAYING FOR THE BOYS...

GRACE OF GOD LED US TO REPENTANCE...

CHANGE ME, O LORD!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU!

2011-11-22T12:26:00.001-08:00

As Thanksgiving approaches for all our friends and partners, Olga and I are grateful for the great things God is doing in Russia in the area of ministerial training! And we are honored to play a role in God's plan for this part of the world!

However, it is only with the prayers and gifts from friends like you that we are able to train the current and next generation of pastors and church leaders in Russia and the former Soviet Union.

In His joy,

Igor and Olga Prokopyev

PISMO BEACH TRIP IN PICTURES

2011-11-20T23:39:00.001-08:00

BEAUTIFUL HOUSE OF THE LORD

PASTOR PAUL INTRODUCING PASTOR IGOR

PAUL, JR LEADING US IN WORSHIP

STRONG PRESENCE OF GOD IN THE ROOM

SPEAKING THE BLESSING INTO PEOPLES LIVES...

YES LORD WE RECEIVE THE BLESSING...

DECLARING THE WORD OF THE LORD...

ENJOYING GOD'S WORD...

ENJOYING GOD'S PRESENCE...

PROCLAIMING GOD'S TRUTH....

FEEDING ON THE BREAD OF LIFE...

PRAYING BLESSINGS ONTO PEOPLES' LIVES IS FUN!

JUST BEING PRAYED FOR...

JUST FINISHED PRAYING OVER OUR PRECIOUS BROTHER...

SERVING JESUS AND HIS PEOPLE IN PISMO BEACH, CA

2011-11-18T16:27:00.001-08:00

Greetings in the Name of the Lord!

Olga and I just returned to Pollock Pines from our missions trip to Pismo Beach, Central Coast! It went real well, praise God! Olga and I were blessed to see some 90 believers gathering for praise and worship and teaching of the Word! I had a terrific time teaching inductively out of Gospel of Luke! Olga and I spent some time in prayer with people who came up to us at the end of the service. We found the congregation to be a very alive church. Pastor Paul asked us to come back in January. Olga and I would come to this church in a heart beat because the fellowship with the saints in that church was very fruitful! One night Pastor Paul invited his friends to come over for dinner and fellowship and we had a ball with the group! We prayed, ate and God led us into a discussion that really blessed our hearts! After church some people came over to the house we stayed at, we had a wonderful time of fellowship and getting to know each other. We met a lot of cool people there! It was a fruitful time with this church! What struck me the most is that they have the same New Testament church concept that we have. Yes, we did have much in common! Unity of God always excites me! Thanks for praying for Olga and I! God has again answered your prayers. He is so good to us and always has been!

SERVING RUSSIAN ORPHANS IN SUDA AND KRIVETS

2011-11-18T08:37:00.001-08:00

breath-taking message...

Olga doing a craft with the kids...

Abner doing a Bible study...

Like I informed you in our earlier comminications, on Saturday the November 12th our ministry team visited the orphanages in Suda and Krievets. "It was a tremendous time with the kids!", - Nelly said to us as we were fellowshipping with her over Skype the other day! Olga and I are so blessed to see how Olga, the manager of Light of Hope Ministries, Nelly, Abner, Nate and others got the vision, caught the fire and run today with the vision God has given Olga and I in 1995. You might remember our story when the Lord spoke to us to go out and reach the unchurched! We prayed and fasted for God's leading and direction and He spoke to us from the book of James and sent us to the orphans to celebrate their birthdays! In the past we would come on special days and holidays but today the team makes monthly trips to these orphanages and we see the fruit from doing so! Coming regularly hascaused many of the kids to become more responsive and warm towards us. They long for the affection that we give them and we do believe that what we are saying is becoming interesting to several of them. There are a few kids that don’t participate, but we continue to love them and to pray that the Lord would open their hearts to the Gospel! Please keep on praying about and supporting our orphanage ministry!

kids working hard doing the craft...

The topic this time was Jonah and obedience to the Lord. The kids watched a cartoon of Jonah and the big fish, and then Abner did a Bible study and a short discussion of the story from the Bible encouraging the kids to be obedient to the Lord and His word. The team had prepared a craft for the kids. We cut out and colored fish and wrote 1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,” on the back. We pray that this verse and the story of Jonah would plant seeds in their hearts and that they would land on good soil. We believe that these seeds will one day produce the fruit of repentance and new life.

The ministry team plans to continue to go to the orphanages every month. The next trip will be for the New Year and Christmas celebration. Please pray that the Lord would now be preparing their hearts to hear the Gospel message and that the team would be filled with the Spirit as they tell them of the love of Jesus. We thank you even today for praying and sending support our way so that we could buy Christmas gifts for the kids. Olga and I know that Light of Hope Church of Cherepovets and Light of Hope Fellowship of Anisimovo will be participating in Christmas evangelistic event spiritually and financially! We need your help too as we are getting ready for all these events! Thank you all for taking interest in all we do in our ministry! Olga and I and all the guys appreciate your involvment with ICM and Light of Hope Ministries!

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SERVING JESUS AND HIS PEOPLE IN IZHEVSK, RUSSIA

2011-11-17T10:19:00.001-08:00

Alex and Nate came back to Cherepovets all excited and blessed by the time they spent with the church in Izhevsk, Russia teaching an IBS seminar from Oct. 29th to Nov. 4th. The seminar was held at a seminary at the Works of Faith Church. On Sunday Alex preached about Cain and Abel at their three services, and Nate introduced himself at each of the services. It went really well.

The guys had five morning and evening sessions from Monday through Friday. The beginning of the seminar is always a mixture ofconfusion and excitement. The first assignment leads them through Mark 2, the healing of the paralytic and gets them digging into the word finding things they have never seen before. This gets the participants excited. However, it usually takes a while for them to get the hang of outlining and charting on their own. Most of them are not used to digging for themselves or thinking about the scriptures on their own. By the time they got done with the second assignment they were getting it. By the end of the seminar the students were tired, but they caught the idea and many expressed their intentions to continue using this method to study the scriptures at home.

Alex and Nate were most encouraged by a message Alex received on Vkontakte (the Russian Facebook) the week after the seminar. A woman wrote to thank Alex because before the seminar her husband did not take an active role as spiritual leader of their family and didn’t read the Bible claiming it was uninteresting and not understandable. However, after our seminar he was encouraged to study the word and has been gathering his family to study the Bible. This is a great example of how giving people this study method can change the lives of Christians, setting on fire those that were previous in a lukewarm stupor... (click on READ MORE)

Alex and Nate were also invited to speak at two different home groups. Alex went to a group with business men and politicians and Nate was invited to a home group for the leaders of the youth ministry. Alex taught from Romans 13 and encouraged the men to change the way they do business if they really want to make an impact in Russia for good. Nate taught from 1 Samuel 3 about the calling of Samuel. This was the first time Nate has tried to lead a Bible study in Russian. It went rather well. He still has a long way to go, and would not teach a study on his own in a larger group, but it is till encouraging to see that he is that much closer to being able to preach and do seminars in Russian without a translator.

This trip has opened the doors to come back and do more seminars in some of the smaller churches of the area, as well as to go to a different church farther east. The Lord is moving us forward. Pease help us bring this life-changing course to wherever the need is! Olga and I are excited to see what the Lord is doing in and through ICM of Russia Crew!

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INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY TRAINING IN IZHEVSK, RUSSIA

2011-11-11T09:55:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends and Family!

Olga and I are so very much excited to let you know that the Izhevsk IBS training went just fabulous! Thank you for your prayerful and financial support you sent to us this month!!!! ICM of Russia Crew just got back home from the missions trip to Izhevsk safe and sound! We praise the Lord for all Jesus has done in the guys' lives and through them during that trip. Nate and Alex were sent to the Izhevsk Works of Faith (Church of God) to bless the Body of Christ with this life-changing course! First time Pastor Alexander invited us to come to his church a couple years ago and just loved the course! This year he contacted us and invited ICM of Russia ministry team again.

Nate emailed me saying that they are working hard on our newsletter for this web page. The guys have a lot on their plates! The Crew will go to the orphanage on Saturday to administer God's Word to the orphans! Abner and Nelly, Nate and everybody are so very excited that to this day the doors are opened for us to come in to the orphanages that are run by the state and do Christian services there! Please pray for ICM of Russia and Light of Hope Ministries as the Lord leads!

ALELUIA, ALELUIA, AAAAALLLEEEELLUIAAAA!

2011-10-27T07:18:00.001-07:00

TOUCH ME, USE ME, LORD!!!

2011-10-27T07:08:00.001-07:00

ALLELUJA FOR HE IS MIGHTY TO SAVE!

2011-10-27T06:43:00.001-07:00

PRAISE REPORT FROM ANISIMOVO, RUSSIA

2011-10-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family in Christ,

Lena

Olga and I are writing to let you know the exciting news! We got a praise report from pastor Andrey Sorokin the other day from Anisimovo. He informed us that a couple of young girls came to the Bible study last week and gave their lives to Jesus! For that, we praise Jesus! "I am so encouraged! ", Andrey said. Their names are Tanya, and Lena. After they invited Jesus in to their hearts, they drew a picture of their hearts and put down the following: "Jesus abides in my heart". Svetlana, Andrey's wife who did kids' church never asked them to write anything down. Obviously, the girls were lead by the Spirit and professed a powerful statement in writing! Please pray for the girls as the Lord leads!

Tanya

Lena

Olga and I would like to thank all of you, dear brothers and sisters who faithfully give to our ministry! Your support makes the difference in lives of the many! Thanks a million! We love you, Kingdom givers!!!

OCTOBER 2011 | MONTH IN REVIEW

2011-10-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Ministry Partners,

This past month was a real blessing! God has given us an opportunity to visit with our grand baby Eva, we went to Suda orphanage and ministered to the kids there, then we packed our suitcases and came over to the States to recharge our batteries, meet with our friends and partners who can't wait to see us, love and believe in us.

Eva turned 1, she learned to walk at 8 month and now she can go for a walk with us, hallelujah! Oh, she is so precious, needless to say, we had a ball with Eva and my son Arthur and his wife Olga. We love being grand parents, although sometimes we do not feel that way!!!!!! We also spent time with Olga's folks in the village and my dad in Cherepovets before we left for the States. Indeed, we had mixed emotions, on one hand God called us to travel to the States and on the other hand, we did not want to leave family, friends and our ministry partners.

Orphanage Ministry. As you may remember Olga and I pioneered the work in orphanages in Cherepovets, Krivets and Suda, Russia after the Lord came down to us one day in 1995 and told us to reach to the orphans. At that time, Olga and I would spend much time traveling to different churches, denominations and ministering to pastors, leaders and believers with the productive Bible study course. It was obvious, God wanted us to reach unchurched as well. We obeyed the voice of God and went to Russian orphans, they just loved the Good News, they loved the message that brought them freedom from past aches and sin in their lives. To this day, they are happy to see us as we come visit them. ICM of Russia life-saving crew continues doing Bible studies, crafts, sports, games as we visit orphanages. The kids are totally engaged as Abner or Andrey or I share from the Word, they just love to play games as Nelly leads us! I just got a praise report from the team the other day, they went to see the kids again a week ago! It went just fabulous, they said. I praise God for each and every ICM of Russia Crew member who joined the vision and ministry through the years! I look forward to seeing more people involved in the ministry. Olga and I would like to thank each and every one of you who had been standing by us in the ministry all these years!

We arrived in the States in the beginning of the month. It was a long trip: we spent like 11 hours in the car going from Cherepovets to Moscow to catch our plane. It was a smooth but long flight , 9 hours from Moscow to New York and some 6 hours from NY to Sacramento. This year it took us five days to adjust and get over our jet lag. On Tuesday we went to DMV to fill the papers out to put our car back on the road. After we got our car insured, we drove to So. California for a couple of meetings. The meetings went very well. I had an opportunity to minister to the children in one of the churches in Redlands encouraging them to pray and become missionaries to advance the Kingdom of God wherever they go! It was awesome! Next day we were given a thank you card from fifth graders! I was ministered in a very powerful way as two boys showed up and handed us a card! Thank you, Lord for using us elsewhere! Olga and I are praying about how God can use us here even more so! Things are starting to develop and we are waiting to see what the Lord has planned for us! We are excited to be back ministering in the States! Please keep us in your prayers as the Lord leads!!!

THANK YOU CARD FROM 5TH GRADERS!!!!

2011-10-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

WE JUST LOVE MINISTERING TO LITTLE PEOPLE ALL AROUND THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!

MINISTERING TO THE CHILDREN IN REDLANDS, USA

2011-10-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

MINISTERING TO ORPHANS IN SUDA, RUSSIA

2011-10-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

FINISHED REMODELLING STREET KIDS SHELTER

2011-10-04T04:29:00.001-07:00

ENTRANCE, HALLWAY

LIVING ROOM

DOOR TO THE BATHROOM

DOORS TO THE STUDY ROOM AND THE OFFICE

STUDY ROOM

NEW SAFE

OFFICE

DIRECTORS DESK

SOCIAL WORKER'S DESK

MEETING POINT

KITCHEN

BATHROOM

THANK YOU FOR STANDING BY US IN OUR MINISTRY!

2011-10-03T03:01:00.001-07:00

ICM OF RUSSIA LEADERS' FORUM 2011 (GROUP PICTURE)

2011-10-03T02:01:00.000-07:00

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers and sisters to dwell together in unity!

ICM OF RUSSIA LEADERS' FORUM 2011 (DAY 3)

2011-10-03T01:44:00.000-07:00

I AM COMING BACK TO THE HEART OF WORSHIP...

I SURRENDER ALL.... (SVETLANA, WORSHIP LEADER, CHEREPOVETS)

SINGING TO THE LORD A NEW SONG...

PROPHESYING ON THE INSTRUMENT....

WE SURRENDER ALL....

EQUIPPING THE SAINTS FOR THE WORK OF SERVICE...

FEEDING THE SAINTS WITH GOOD FOOD ;0)

ENJOYING GOOD FOOD AND FELLOWSHIP!!!!!!!

WORSHIP PASTOR ALEXANDER FROM BELOZERSK LEADS US IN WORSHIP...

SWEET, SWEET PRESENCE OF THE LORD FILLED THE ROOM

WE WORSHIP YOU, ALMIGHTY GOD...

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU, JESUS...

I WORSHIP YOU, O LORD!

TIME TO DIVE INTO THE WORD OF GOD!!!

SVETTA (CHEREPOVETS) AND ADRIAN (BELFAST) TEACHING PASTORS, LEADERS AND BELIEVERS

ICM OF RUSSIA LEADERS' FORUM 2011 (DAY 2)

2011-10-03T01:26:00.000-07:00

MIKE, ALEXEY, NIKOLAY LEAD US IN PRAYER AND WORSHIP!

WE SURRENDER ALL.....

UNTO JESUS WE SURRENDER ALL...

I SURRENDER ALL...

I SURRENDER ALL

UNTO JESUS, WE SURRENDER ALL...

I SURRENDER ALL...

UNTO JESUS, I SURRENDER ALL...

ALEXANDER (WORSHIP LEADER, BELOZERSK), ANDREY (PASTOR, ANISIMOVO), IGOR (ASSOCIATE PASTOR, KREMENCHUK)

I SURRENDER ALL....

ASSOCIATE PASTOR ALEXEY (VOLOGDA) AND LANCE (BELFAST) EQUIPPING THE SAINTS!

COFFEE BREAK (PASTOR AVENIR'S WIFE IRA AND NATASHA FROM CHEREPOVETS)

COFFEE BREAK (PASTOR JIM FROM BELFAST, SVETLANA FROM VOLOGDA)

COFFEE BREAK (PASTOR VICTOR, VOLOGDA)

ILYA (SEVERODVINSK) ENJOYING THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD DURING THE BREAK!

ALEXEY TIMOCHKIN (WORSHIP PASTOR FROM CHEREPOVETS)

ICM OF RUSSIA LEADERS' FORUM 2011 FOTOS

2011-10-03T00:44:00.001-07:00

THE BEGINNING OF THE FORUM 2011

OPENING SESSION... WE CAME HERE TO GIVE IT ALL TO THE LORD!!!!!

CORPORATE WORSHIP IS AWESOME!!!!

SVETLANA, SVETLANA, ASSOC. PASTOR IGOR, AND ILYA ARE IN LOVE WITH JESUS!

PASTOR GARRIK AND PASTOR MIKE JUST LOVE TO SING PRAISES!!!!!

PASTOR KONSTANTINE LEADS WORSHIP THIS MORNING!

PASTOR ALEXEY, PASTOR KONSTANTINE, ILYA BLESSED US WITH ANOINTED WORSHIP!

PASTOR AVENIR LOVES THE LORD!!!!!

PASTOR AVENIR AND IRA KALINKIN (CHEREPOVETS)

PASTOR YURI AND ALLA NAVETNY (KIRILLOV)

PASTOR VICTOR AND ALYONA KOT (VOLOGDA)

PASTOR KONSTANTINE (SEVERODVINSK), PASTOR GARRIK (CHERKESSK), LUCY (SEVERODVINSK), ADRIAN (BELFAST)

TEACHING THE WORD OF GOD! PASTOR IGOR (CHEREPOVETS) AND PASTOR JIM (BELFAST)

EQUIPPING THE SAINTS IS MUCH FUN! PASTOR LEWIS (BELFAST)

ICM OF RUSSIA LEADERS' FORUM 2011

2011-10-02T08:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Partners of ICM Russia!

September 13-17 Olga and I did our Annual ICM of Russia Leaders' Forum. It has been our 8th year that we are able to get ICM of Russia ministers from all over the former Soviet Union, pastors, associate pastors, and worship pastors who had been sharing our vision and partnering with Olga and I for years together to spend quality time in God's Word and His presence! Jesus called Olga and I to encourage, train and equip pastors, leaders, and believers for the work of service!

Nate and Sveta, Andrey and Svetlana, Avenir and Ira, Nikolay and Svetlana, Alexey came to the Forum this year to be better equipped and encouraged for the work of ministry they do in Cherepovets with us. As you may remember some years ago, Olga and I had a privilege to train Alexey Alexandroff, Avenir and Andrey how to study and teach the Bible inductively and sent them out to do Inductive Bible Study seminars different parts of Russia. They have traveled all over the place and done IBS seminars different denominations and now they give pastoral care to the people at Light of Hope Churches in Cherepovets and Anisimovo. All these guys are working hard in the Kingdom of God! For that, we praise the Lord!!!

Garrik came all the way from the Caucasus to participate in the Forum. He was 16 years old when I met him at church that invited us to come and do IBS program many years ago. We spent a couple of years to trained him to teach IBS seminars in the Caucasus. He had been traveling with us for years and about 8 years ago the Lord laid it on his heart to start The Ark Church in Cherkessk. Now him and his wife Tanya are taking care of more than 100 believers in their church. Brother Gor, Garrik's associate was not able to come this year unfortunately. He had to stay behind and work in Cherkessk.

Pastor Zhenya Zharoff from Ukraine couldn't come this year as well, but he had sent his associate who travels and does IBS seminars in Ukraine. His name is also Igor, he is a neat guy... loves the Lord from the bottom of his heart! He came to the Forum this year for the first time and just loved it!!!!

Pastor Victor Elizaroff who oversees several churches in the northern part of Russia and Light of Hope Ministries Severodvinsk brought seven ministers from his church to Moscow this year. They are Konstantine and Luda, Andrey Kachan, Lucy, and Dmitry are working with the youth, street kids and homeless people in the city of Severodvinsk. Ilya, who serves as a worship leader at Victor's church in Severodvinsk joined ICM of Russia vision a couple of years ago and came to the Forum for the first time this year.

Pastor Victor and Alena Kot from Vologda brough their associate Alexey and Svetlana this year.

Pastor Yuri and Alla Navetny from Kirillov had been coming to our Forums for a couple of years already, they just love the Word of God and the teamwork we strongly believe in.

Pastor Vitaly and Julia from Belozersk joined our vision for Russia many years ago, unfortunately they were unable to come to the Forum this year but sent two brothers Alexander and Alexander who effectively teach and lead worship in their church in Belozersk. These guys came to participate in the Forum this year for the first time and got tremendously blessed by the teaching, prayer and fellowship we had in the Holy Spirit.

Every year our dear friends and partners from Northern Ireland from Jordan Victory Church come and participate in our Forums. Pastor Lewis and Gwen Smyth came alongside Olga and I to help us advance the Kingdom in the former Soviet Union long time ago! This time they brought 7 people from JVC to help ICM of Russia teach, preach, equip, train, do body ministry and develop friendships with Russian churches. Thank you guys for being so faithful to ICM of Russia! We love you loads! For the last few years, you have been leading us through John Maxwell's Million Leaders Mandate handbooks, training us how to be and raise up better leaders in the Kingdom. Thank you, Lewis! Thank you Gwen for coming over! Jim, Adrian, Alice, you are special! JVC, you are awesome! Many years ago Lewis and I became close when we realized that the Lord had laid it on our hearts to go in Jesus name and build up people of God through equipping them for the work of the ministry and encouraging them to follow Jesus whatever cost. It is always good to get ministers together, spend time in the Word, prayer and fellowship with each other encouraging each other in the Lord, going out and ministering to the nations together! We are encouraged to continue in the ministry no matter what!!!!! Thank you again for coming and partnering with us!

Everyone enjoyed the conference! So many pastors came up to Olga and I after the Forum and thanked us for being obedient to the Lord and doing His Will in our life! I am so excited to let you know everyone just loved the power of the Word and enjoyed the fellowship with friends in the presence of the Lord! Everyone left the Forum 2011 encouraged and ready to show people love in our ministries!!!

We won't be able to see each other for another year or so, therefore all of us pastors can't wait to see what God is going to bless us with in 2012. The Lord spoke to me that He is going to come even stronger on us next year and bless ICM of Russia even more so!!!!! Olga and I expect God to move in a way we never saw Him moving in our midst before. Many pastors testified that they were tremendously blessed by being able to develop strong friendships and participate in each others lives and ministries in the future. For that, Olga and I give thanks to God!!!! He is mighty to save! He is mighty to change us into His image! He is mighty to equip His people and send them out to do His will!

ANISIMOVO LIGHT OF HOPE FELLOWSHIP FOTOS

2011-09-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

TOWN OF ANISIMOVO

GALINA'S PLACE

TEACHING A NEW SONG TO THE CONGREGATION

LISTENING TO THE WORD (MARK 1)

DISCUSSING THE TEACHING AT THE TEA PARTY...

SVETLANA SERVING TEA AFTER THE SERVICE...

ENJOYING THE FELLOWSHIP...

Light of Hope Fellowship of Anisimovo

2011-09-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Partners and Friends of ICM of Russia,

I would like to say big big Thank You for your prayers and financial support you sent us this month! As you may remember a couple of years ago the Lord spoke to Olga and I about a new church plant in a small town of Anisimovo, where Olga was born in 1971. Andrey who was trained by us to conduct Inductive Bible Study Seminars relocated his family to Anisimovo last year and started a small Bible study this year! For that, we praise the Lord!

Andrey ministers to the small group of believers each Sunday at 12pm. When he has to work Sundays, we come or send ICM of Russia ministers and partners to fill in the pulpit. The group is small, Olga's mom Valentina comes to the services, my Dad Eugene when he lives in Anisimovo just loves to come and study the Bible with Andrey. Andrey's mom Galina is handicapped, she can't move around no more, we decided to hold services in her place which blessed her in a very powerful way! Galina is very blessed to be able to hear the Word and participate in the service. Sasha, the young guy got saved a couple of months ago, he comes to the service each and every Sunday saying he wants to know more about God. There's another elderly woman there in the village who gave her life to Jesus a year ago, Nina is her name, she is pretty weak and unable to come to the services, Andrew comes to her place on Sundays before church and reads the Bible and prays with her. I wish you could see the joy in her eyes when we come to read the Scriptures with her! Svetlana, Andrew's wife ministers to the kids who come to the service, their names are Lena, Zhenya, Ulyaana, etc.

Please keep this church plant in your prayers as the Lord leads! In Russia if you are not Russian Orthodox you are considered part of a “cult.” So many people in this village are resistant to Andrew and the gospel, thinking that we are trying to deceive them, take their property, and even take them into the forest and kill them. Strange ideas have gotten into their heads, but they believe it. They are very provincial. Andrey and his family need prayer for strength and wisdom, and the people need the Holy Spirit to touch them and break through the lies of the enemy that has them so trapped. Please keep them in prayer as they seek the Lord and to spread his kingdom in the hearts of men!

ORPHANAGE BACK TO SCHOOL project

2011-09-05T04:32:00.000-07:00

Dearest Friends and Partners, last Saturday we have done our annual Back to School Evangelistic Project. ICM Russia and Light of Hope ministry team went to two orphanages in Krivets and Suda to bless the kids there with school supplies. Often times the orphanages are not able to order the materials that their kids will need, or if they can they will always get them so late that they might as well never got them. Thanks to the support given both from the members of our Light of Hope Church and from the generous help from our Irish and American supporters we were able to provide for each and every kid with what they need to be prepared to go to school.

In Krivets.

We led the team of four: Abner, Nelly, Sonya, and Nate. It was a great trip! The kids were very happy to see us. The orphanage workers were happy to see us as well, which was nice, since sometimes they are very leery of sectarians. We gathered the kids while Abner did a short message encouraging them to study good at school because it will prepare them for their future. Then he asked them if what they learned at school would help them not to sin and enter heavenly places, and they all agreed it would not. He continued to tell them about the freedom and salvation of Jesus Christ and how Jesus has changed his life. Then we gave them their school supplies and played games.

Nelly prepared several games to play and the kids had a great time. They don’t have very much and for us to come spend time with them is a big deal, even more than the material blessings at times. It is a blessing to see the once shy kids come out of their shells and have fun in the Son!

Olga and I, Nelly, Abner, Andrew, Olga Petrushova, other ministers from our church have been coming to these orphanages for quite some time now and some of the kids prayed Jesus into their hearts. We know the kids pretty well. Cyrill in particular prayed Jesus into his heart some years ago and was very receptive to our messages. This time he was proud to show me his certificate of baptism. In the Russian Orthodox Church they issue a certificate when you are baptized. The teachers of the orphanage take the kids to the Orthodox Church every now and then. Cyrill has always been listening very careful. But we don't think the message has fully sunk into his heart. Please keep this young man in prayer that the seeds of faith would continue to grow and blossom in to salvation.

Talking to Cyrill who showed me his Baptism Certificate

We hope to be able to spend more time with these kids in the following months. We would like to go out the orphanages monthly and teach them skills for life like how to manage money, how to cook, how to sew and knit, and to do a small Bible study. When we brought this up to the orphanage leaders they were very receptive of the idea. Keep this in prayer please. That we would be able to do this and that this would produce fruit in the lives of these kids.

Thank you for your prayers and all that you have given. I can’t say enough that is through your prayers and support that we are able to do these things. Please continue with us in the ministry as the Lord leads you.

In Suda.

click here to see more pictures :)

PREACHING THE WORD OF GOD AT VINEYARD CHURCH IN KIEV

2011-08-31T13:54:00.000-07:00

UKRAINE IBS TRAINING FOTO GALLERY!

2011-08-31T06:05:00.000-07:00

UKRAINE IBS TRAINING

2011-08-31T02:38:00.000-07:00

The training in Ukraine was a blast for everyone! Ministers and Christian workers from Vineyard Church and New Testament Church of Kremenchuk loved going verse by verse as I was teaching Inductive Bible Study Seminar. Often times we wish we could stay around with the ministers and leaders to disciple and teach more Bible basics. This training was definitely the avenue to invest into church in Kremenchuk, Ukraine. The group discussions were very lively! People wanted to answer and comment at the SAME TIME! Olga and I got tremendously blessed by people and the way they were responding to the teachings! Please pray the Lord would set up more opportunities for us to teach different denominations and confessions different parts of the world. Please keep us in prayer. Pray that the Lord will provide for what we need to be able to continue in the ministry. We need to buy train, bus, or plane tickets, foods, accommodations, gas, seminar supplies, and print teaching manuals. The Russian railway company raised prices recently. Food prices in the train went up as well. And no one can help it! We try to stay with Christian families as we come to the site but very often we have to go find a room in a youth hostel: people at church cannot afford to lodge us because of poverty and poor living conditions. A lot of big families live in very small apartments. As missionaries we do not need much. All we need is a bed to sleep, a clean shower, and a toilet and... you won't believe it.. we paid $26 per person per night in a youth hostel in Kiev. Please pray we have enough finances to do the work of service and bless ICM of Russia and Light of Hope ministers with love gifts so that they could provide for their families on a monthly basis. There is a lot we need to do in this world, and we cannot do it without the help of the Lord! If the Lord leads you become a part of our ministry there is prayer, contact, and support information in the right column. Thank you for your open hearts for missions!

Pastor Eugene took us to the church in Kiev, Vineyard Church to witness the work God is doing there. Praise God the church has grown since it was planted a couple of years ago. Sergey, the pastor of the church is focusing on ministering to the youth in the community. The vision Sergey and Zhenya have is awesome! They aim to raise up a new generation of the Ukrainian believers with a strong foundation in the Word of God. Olga and I praise God for these guys, they love the Lord, and are really hungry for His Word! One thing that is unavoidable to notice is thirst to worship the Lord and poverty of the people at church in smaller towns. The Lord has great plans here in Ukraine. Pray we will seek His will and direction in the ministry!

We just made it back home safe and sound! We are tired but it is a good tired! We are going to be home for a few weeks and off to Cherkessk, the Caucasus, September 9-13, to teach Covenant Church! Please pray for this time of refreshing! We love you all! Thank you for your prayerful and financial support!

INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY AT "GRACE OF GOD CHURCH" IN KIRILLOV

2011-08-20T23:25:00.001-07:00

PASTOR ANDREW LEADING WORSHIP

WORSHIPING THE LORD IN HIS PRESENCE

PASTOR YURI AND CHURCH LEADERS AND THEIR CHILDREN

TEACHING THE INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY

STUDYING THE WORD

BREAKING THE BREAD OF LIFE INTO SMALL BITE-SIZE PIECES

GOD'S VOICE IS MAJESTIC!

ALLA, PASTOR YURI'S WIFE FEEDING ON THE WORD OF GOD

IBS SEMINAR IN KREMENCHUK, UKRAINE

2011-08-18T12:55:00.001-07:00

While we were making preparations to go to Kandalaksha I got a call from Vineyard Church of Kremenchug, Ukraine. The pastor of the church invited Olga and I to come and bless the church and other churches in town he is going to invite with the Inductive Bible Study Seminar. We prayed about it and God filled us up with peace to send Alex and Nate and Sveta to Kandalaksha and Olga and I will go to Ukraine.

Please pray for Olga and I as we travel to Ukraine on August 23, 24. The seminar starts on August 25 and we finish it on August 29. We will have more than 40 Ukrainian ministers attending. Back to Russia on August 30. Please pray for traveling mercies and open hearts and minds for the participants! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

IBS SEMINAR PREP TIME

2011-07-12T02:53:00.000-07:00

KANDALAKSHA TOWN

DEAR PARTNERS AND FRIENDS,

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT THIS MONTH!

PLEASE PRAY WITH US FOR OPEN DOORS IN THE TOWN OF KANDALAKSHA, RUSSIA. WE WERE INVITED TO COME BLESS "STEP BY STEP" REHAB CENTER WITH THE INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY SEMINAR.

WE AT ICM RUSSIA STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT REHAB OCCUPANTS WILL LEARN HOW TO STUDY THE WORD VERSE-BY-VERSE, CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER, AND HEAR THE TRUTH! ONLY THE TRUTH WILL SET THEM FREE!

EVERYONE ON ICM RUSSIA TEAM IS CONVINCED GOD WANTS US TO MOVE FORWARD IN THE MINISTRY. FRIENDS, IF YOU FEEL LEAD BY THE LORD, PLEASE HELP US TRAVEL THE WORLD WITH GOD'S WORD BY BECOMING PART OF OUR MINISTRY THROUGH PRAYER AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT. PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION ON THE RIGHT AND SEND YOUR LOVE GIFTS TO ICM DESIGNATING YOUR GIFT TO IGOR AND OLGA (RUSSIA). THANK YOU FOR YOUR FRIENDSHIPS, PRAYERS AND FUNDS FOR US TO CONTINUE IN THE MINISTRY.

SERVING LESS FORTUNATE KIDS DURING OUR CAMPING TRIP

2011-07-11T22:45:00.000-07:00

BACK PACK TOUR

MAMA NADYA LAYING THE TABLE

KODAK MOMENT

MAMA TANYA HELPING...

TENT REVIVAL :)

ALESSYA BULDING THE FIRE

SPORTS

GAMES

OLGA COOKING YUMMY FOOD! COME TASTE IT!

READY TO TASTE IT?

YEP, WE ARE HUNGRY...

MAMA NADYA IN A TENT...

KATYA AND MAMA TANYA IN A TENT

DINNER TIME AFTER THE SERVICE

AVENIR HAVING DINNER AFTER THE SERVICE

TIME TO MEDITATE ON GOD'S WORD

NEXT MORNING...

WASHING DISHES...

TAKING PICTURES...

WATCH ME CLOSELY.... THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT...

GONE

WOW! - THEY SAID

IT IS YOUR TURN NOW, KIDS!

MOMS GOT IN THE WATER TOO ;0)

PLAY TIME

COOKING AGAIN...

BON FIRE PREP

MOMS ARE READY AND WILLING...

KIDS ARE READY TOO!

EVENING SERVICE

AVENIR DOING INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY...

SALVATION AND BAPTISM TIME (MAMA TANYA GOT BAPTIZED)

SPEAKING BLESSINGS ON TATYANA

EVERYONE IS HAPPY FOR TANYA

LUNCH TIME

BON FIRE IN ACTION...

LAST DAY OF A TRIP

WE DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE :(

PLAYING IN THE SAND

GETTING READY TO LEAVE

PACKING...

GO RUSSIA GO IN JESUS NAME!!!!!!

EQUIPPING THE SAINTS AT LIGHT OF HOPE CHURCH

2011-07-08T21:29:00.001-07:00

Praise Band in Action...

Worship God all you people of the Lord!

His Mercy endures forever!

God's Love preparing our hearts for His Word!

Teaching the Word of Life!

Reading and receiving the Word!

Hebrews 5,6

Blessing and dismissing the Church

KIDS PROGRAM AT LIGHT OF HOPE SHELTER CHEREPOVETS

2011-07-01T00:47:00.000-07:00

MISSIONS TRIP TO KIRILLOV

2011-06-30T23:46:00.000-07:00

THROUGH WORSHIP, I.B.S. TEACHING, PRAYER AND STREET EVANGELISM IN THE TOWN OF KIRILLOV...

EQUIPPING THE SAINTS

2011-06-30T01:59:00.000-07:00

THROUGH WORSHIP, I.B.S. TEACHING, AND PRAYER FOR THE STUDENTS OF THE WORD IN THE CITY OF VOLOGDA, RUSSIA

UPDATE FROM RUSSIA

2011-06-30T00:48:00.001-07:00

Dear Partners in the Ministry,

Thank you so very much for your prayers and support this month! The month of June was very busy for Olga and I and the rest of ICM Russia Crew. As you may already know that we believe in training and equipping the saints for the work of ministry. We appreciate your prayerful and financial support because you enable us to travel and teach Inductive Bible Studies all over the former Soviet Union and to the ends of the Earth. A lot of people, most of whom are ministers, gather for a joint search for God and learning how to study the Word of God line by line and chapter by chapter and build a dynamically growing church or ministry.

On the first evening of the opening of the conference, which is accompanied by a live worship we give an inspiring teaching on how important it is for all of us hear the Word of God and obey it in our practical life. We encourage people to read the passage carefully asking questions of observation, interpretation and application.

The next day begins with a lively teaching on how crucial it is to break the Bread of Life into small bite-size pieces so that we could effectively chew on the Word and meditate on God's will for us and all mankind. In this message, we speak of a radical study of the Word in which people do not just say that they read their Bibles, but really take heed to what God has to say to them through the prophetic Word so that they might live for Christ and His will. Three step study: Observation, Interpretation of the Word and Application leaves nobody indifferent; we encourage the participants to really hear God and dig deep into the Word so that they could get true revelations and new solutions in their personal relationship with God.

ICM Russia ministers teach the principles of productive Bible study. Practical advice on how we can teach through the Bible in our home Bible studies and congregations is shared. They speak of the fruitful work of the Holy Spirit as we teach and preach the Word inductively in our ministries.

The culmination of the conference is the laying on of hands and prayer for the participants. We pray the participants may apply what they have learned at the study, believe in God, in His power to live and to fear nothing. It is a very blessed ministry in which the Word of God penetrates people’s hearts and changes their lives. At the end of our services we prayed for people individually knowing the Father's heart! We are called to pass on the blessing to ministers of the Gospel so that they can have their case continued in the future. This prayer is a landmark for all of us who participated in the conference. This is what we believe in and do in our service.

LIGHT OF HOPE CHURCH

2011-06-09T00:23:00.000-07:00

Again and again Olga and I would like to thank you, our dearest partners, friends and family for your prayerful and financial support you have been sending to us all these months so that we might stay in the ministry full time in 2011. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

Avenir prays blessings upon the church!

Church body has grown a bit...

That past Sunday was a huge blessing from the Lord! On Sunday evening after we were done ministering to people at the Good News Church, Olga and I came to the Light of Hope Church we planted a year ago. What a joy to see people growing in the Lord! Our kids blessed our hearts!

Sending children to kids church!

Speaking words of encouragement and wisdom...

The Word of God makes people think, rejoice and worship the Lord!

The Word ministered to many that night! Truly we had a great time of fellowship in the Spirit and God's Word! After the service was over we celebrated our 2011 family re-union having tea party and time of fellowship with our friends and ministry team!

I got the blessing sharing my heart with my dear friends and family!

It is a small but very loving Body of believers! We enjoyed every minute of our ministry there! It was so much fun to share my heart with my church! Avenir is doing a great job teaching the Word productively and advancing the Kingdom in Cherepovets!

People of God are precious!

Communion time was just awesome!

SERVIN'AT GOOD NEWS CHURCH

2011-06-08T23:35:00.000-07:00

DEAREST PARTNERS AND FAMILY,

Olga and I were invited to do and Inductive Bible Study at the Good News Church of Cherepovets that past Sunday! The Place was packed and that's the beginning of June when people go to their summer gardens to do the soil work. God has given hunger to His bride, that's for sure!! We worshiped the Lord from our humble hearts and went to the Word of God!

Praise Band

Just enjoyed our time of prayer...

People of God listened to the Word with great interest and thankful hearts!!!!

It was my great pleasure to share from the Book of Ephesians

People of God worshiped the Lord as we were reading from the Book!

Peace of God filled the room as I was teaching...

God's presence was so strong... for that we praised the Lord!

Communion time was just awesome!

Breaking of the Bread

We had church that morning!!!!!

Thank you all who sent your prayerful and financial support for Igor and Olga to enable us to go in Jesus name and equip God's church with His prophetic Word!

THIS COMING SUNDAY

2011-06-03T23:34:00.000-07:00

Dearest Partners in the Ministry,

This Sunday at both Services, Olga and I will have the great privilege to be speaking at the Good News Church and Light of Hope Church in Cherepovets. Please please please pray that Jesus speaks through me, opens ears and hearts to hear and for God’s will to be done! Thank you!!!!!

BACK IN USSR

2011-06-03T23:24:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

That was a sadly ordinary way to start a newsletter; however, the news we're sharing in this letter is (in our opinion) happily extraordinary. Olga and I wanted to take this opportunity to share about our summer plans. Now that we've been back in the States for several months, God has opened the door for us to return to the missions field in Russia for a while! We'll be there, doing several different projects over the course of the trip. We can't imagine quite what it will be like, but we're very excited, and we ask for your prayers as we prepare for this journey of faith.

Following is our tentative itinerary:

*May 31: New York --> Moscow. Moscow --> Cherepovets. (Flying in an airplane for a very long time. Riding in a bus for another very long time.)

*June 20 to July 2: Cherepovets -->Kirillov (Will be doing street evangelism, revival meetings, Inductive Bible Study Seminars, and hanging out with all the wonderful people we haven't seen these past months!)

*July 10-25: Kirillov --> Anisimovo. (We will be doing street evangelism, revival meetings, Inductive Bible Study Seminars, and helping Andrey and Svetlana put on new church in the town of Anisimovo)

*August 18-30: Missions trip to Ireland (We will be working with Pastor Lewis Smyth of JVC and his team of pastors over there)

*September 10-14: Cherepovets -->Moscow. Moscow -->Cherkessk (Will be doing leaders' and womens' conferences in Cherkessk with Garrick and Tatyana Kurgynyan)

*September 14 - 17: Cherkessk - Moscow (Taking hot showers, using indoor restrooms, and otherwise recuperating from our missions trip to the muslim Cherkessk. Hanging out with ICM Russia staff and partners at ICM Russia Annual Forum)

We expect to have fun on this trip, and we also expect to see the Lord work in us and through us as we walk through this door He has opened. Please pray for His blessing on us and on the teams we'll be serving with. We thank you in advance for that support, and we look forward to sending out another extraordinary newsletter sometime this August! If you want more information, please send us an e-mail.

"You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and nation,
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth."
Revelation 5:9-10

SHARING ICM RUSSIA VISION

2011-05-27T22:52:00.000-07:00

LEADING A HOME BIBLE STUDY

2011-05-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

ALIVE AND WELL IN AMERICA

2011-05-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends, Family and Partners in the Lord!

Here we are - still in America - still alive and active in the ministry and thankful to the Lord for bringing us here in 2011. As you all know, Olga and I are full time missionaries with the Intensive Care Ministries which has effective Bible study programs to train and equip pastors, leaders and believers for the work of ministry. ICM of Russia is reaching hundreds of Christian workers though holding life-changing seminars and conferences all over the former Soviet Union. Your prayerful and financial support enables us to travel each and every month to minister to ministers and believers in the Lord Jesus Christ! We also reach street children in the city of Cherepovets and Severodvisk, Russia through feeding, clothing and kid's Bible teaching programs. Similarly, their drinking moms and dads are being reached and giving their hearts to the Lord! And for that, we praise Jesus, our Savior! We are grateful to serve with such a compassionate and effective ministry! This year before we came to the States, the Lord spoke to us out of the Book of Isaiah 55:5: "Behold, you shall call a nation (America) that you know not, and nations that do not know you shall run to you because of the Lord, your God and of the Holy One of Israel..."

The Lord uses us here in America in ways we never thought of. Wherever we go, doesn't matter if it is the church or the ministry, Christian school or public school we see young adults and children who love to sing praises to Jesus and memorize Bible verses. We want to see the same heart of worship in our youth, adults and kids in Russia. While in the States, we are living in the Russian Mission Hospitality House here in Pollock Pines. Our friends and partners has been meeting here for worship, prayer and Bible Study. As missionaries we are invited to different churches and home fellowships to lead Bible Studies and share our vision with believers here in the States. Olga and I just love it when we are being used by God! We enjoy seeing God's mighty hand upon us and our fellow missionaries in Russia who are now leading churches: and teaching IBS wherever they go, for instance Garik and Tanya in Cherkessk, Abner and Ira in Cherepovets, Zhenya and Natasha in Krememnchug. Andrey has relocated his entire family, his wife Sveta and two children to the town of Anisimovo (Olga's hometown) to start a home fellowship there. Alex is doing mission work all over the place as well. Nate and Sveta recently came to the States to have a wedding here. They are leaving for Russia in the month of August. ICM Russia partners Victor and Luba from Severodvinsk effectively lead the church they planted in their hometown and teach Inductive Bible Studies all over the place. Yuri and Alla, missionaries in the town of Kirillov joined ICM Crew last year and are enjoying friendships and ministry we do together. Vitaly and Julie decided to partner with ICM Russia several years ago and joined our ministry crew last year as well. They run a small church in the town of Belozersk. Victor and Alena are ministering in the city of Vologda and teaching through the Word of God to their congregation. ICM is a very effective ministry because we all has a passion to pass the training we received unto others. "Others first!" is our motto.

In the month of April, Garik held an Inductive Bible Study seminar in Cherkessk where he was able to gather together more than 50 different church leaders and Christian workers for IBS Training Course. Many ministers of the Gospel from various backgrounds came to study the Word and experience God’s awesome Grace. Garik said that some leaders are now teaching the Word inductively in their ministries, churches, home fellowships, families and communities. This is one of the ICM outreaches that helps to train and provide experience for the students of the Word.

It is so awesome to realize that God equips us with everything we need to go in Jesus' name and advance the Kingdom in Russia, Ukraine, the Caucasus, America and... God has called us to go to the ends of the Earth, hasn't He?! We love our Lord! Yes, Olga and I like it here in America because the people are very nice and friendly and of course, the food is different :0) We have adjusted to the hotter climate. The Northern California scenery is beautiful and breathtaking!

Spiritual atmosphere: there are various religions active here in America, as a result of that, a lot of people here are confused and suspicious; there are many seeking for truth along with spiritual legalism and strongholds. God is opening doors for us to reach out to the seekers and break down the strongholds in the mighty Name of Jesus.

Networking: The Lord is helping us make connections with different ministries and churches here and the local pastors in the Placer area. This is very helpful, we are able to effectively share ICM Russia vision with Christian community here. We have preached the Word at several churches in the area. The pastors have expressed a sincere interest and willingness to help us spread the Word in the former Soviet Union and to the ends of the Earth. Also, some of the pastors plan on coming and bringing people over to Russia to work with ICM Russia Crew. Together we will train and equip the saints and reach out to the lost. Olga and I are praying and expecting God to move in our lives in ways we never saw Him moved before. Please join us in prayer for Intensive Care Ministries. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We treasure all our partners, friends and family! Love you loads!

IS AMERICA A MISSION FIELD?

2011-03-21T15:18:00.001-07:00

In my opinion the answer is "yes" because

1. In America like everywhere else in the world, people kill the unborn and sometimes already born children believing they cannot afford them (please google this topic)

2. In America like everywhere else in the world, human sexuality becomes a "democracy" or "freedom" to do anything people want to satisfy human sexuality.

3. In America like everywhere else in the world, people make money their god. They trust in their money and some of them even stamp their god "in God we trust"

4. In America like everywhere else in the world, people are confused saying: I do not know who to believe or Is this right or wrong?

5. In America like everywhere else in the world, church bells are ringing, church plates are being passed around, church choirs are singing, church leaders are teaching but... people are still relying on a human saying: Pastor, you tell me which way to go...

6. In America like everywhere else in the world, people say: I am right and you are wrong!!!

7. In America like everywhere else in the world, people say: No one's right and no ones' wrong, do what you want, you are god.

Now, what do we do about America?

YOUR LOVE-GIFTS 4 ICM RUSSIA

2011-03-16T00:12:00.000-07:00

Dear Kingdom Giver,

Have you considered supporting the vital work of the Intensive Care Ministries of Russia? We pray you will join the believers who have partnered with ICM Russia and who are now benefiting from God's gifts and harvest events in the field. Please visit our June 2007 posts in Running With Vision archive to learn about ICM Russia projects and explore how you can support the work of this unique ministry and reap the harvest in your life through your giving! Contact us at igorprokopiev@hotmail.com or call 530.409.6310 and we will be glad to help you get started and involved.

ICM is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) tax-exempt and non-profit organization. All donations given in support of our ministry are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by the law of the Land.

Partners Visit From Severodvinsk

2011-03-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

This last week ICM Russia Crew and Light of Hope Church Cherepovets were blessed to receive a team of our friends and partners from Severodvinsk . The guys had a great time serving Jesus together!! As you may remember, Pastor Victor partnered with ICM Russia in 1995 and now we have great and close friendships. Olga and I have been going to his church to teach the Inductive Bible Study seminars for many years. The team from Severodvinsk consisted of their worship team, dance team, Alpha team leaders. The alpha team leaders did a seminar on the Alpha program and we hope to start using in to evangelize and disciple new believers. On Sunday the worship team lead us in a time of deep, exciting, and Spirit filled worship, and pastor Victor lead us through the parable of the sower and the different type of ground in Mark 4, teaching how the fruit of the Kingdom of God can be produced more abundantly in our lives. Monday was a holiday in Russia and no one worked, which allowed Victor to continue teaching about what the true fruit of the Kingdom of God is. The church was full and people were blessed by Victor’s deep yet simple and understandable teaching of God’s word.
We are continually blessed when we get to spend time in fellowship with pastor Victor and the people from his church. It is a great example the effect the solid, balanced, and inductive teaching of God’s word can have on people. The people in his church are strong, well founded, understanding, and fruitful children of the Lord. This example is encouraging to us and is what we hope Light of Hope will become for the city of Cherepovets. People are hungry for this kind of teaching of God’s word. Teachings like freedom in Christ, Grace, true fruit, true worship, and the basic foundations of the Faith, are in really short supply! People are beat up and tired from the legalism and unbalanced teaching that is prevalent in Russia today. However the people’s faith is strong, real, and waiting to be fanned into life by the Spirit moving through the word of God!
Sunday night there was a great time of fellowship as the team form Severodvinsk and many people from Cherepovets, totaling about 28 people, crammed into Nate's apartment for a time of tea, fellowship, conversation, and even an impromptu worship season. A full band was put together. A transformer was found for Nate's amp, which we were able to use to plug in a base guitar and a small drum machine, once Alexey was able to rig a way to plug it in. There was a guitar player, base, drums, a shaker (made from a plastic water bottle filled with rye grains), and someone on the spoons. It was a great time. We partied way into the night as only good Christian folks can.
We look forward to more times like this as we work together to further the Kingdom of God. Please keep both churches in prayer that the Spirit would continue to work through His word as pastors teach through the Bible. Pray that we would be able to implement the Alpha program here in Cherepovets. Join us in praising the Lord in all He has done for us, and ask that we would be open and responsive to His boundless grace. Thank you!

click here to see more pictures

NEW BEGINNINGS REHAB PIX

2011-03-09T11:00:00.001-08:00

THANK YOU, ICM RUSSIA

2011-03-09T10:57:00.000-08:00

DEAR FRIENDS AND PARTNERS,

Olga and I just got a thank you letter and some pictures from "New Beginnings" Rehab Center in Archangelsk, Russia. ICM partners from Severodvinsk and Archangelsk are doing a great job taking good care of drug and alcohol addicts in their communities! We as a ministry pray and support them in their vision!

Dear Igor and Olga and ICM Russia partners,

Thank you for your prayerful and financial support which we received from you last month. Your generosity will make a difference in the lives of our rehab occupants. The funds raised will go toward rehab facility rent. You are making a difference!

Thanks again for your kindness,

Victor Elizarov, Mike and Dmitry

A.M. with JESUS

2011-03-06T09:28:00.000-08:00

I can't change the direction of the wind but I can adjust the sails to reach my destination!

Wisdom and the search for it, that is what I was meditating on this morning when I had quality time with the Lord! I knew that things learned are often suspect. But they need to be lived first. The most disturbing news of this hour, day, year, is "where are the wise?" There are so many who claim the role. Speakers of all sorts, each with credentials, or maybe even lies, that appoint them as heirs of wisdom. 24 hours a day they fill our lives. They try to change the direction of the wind (our values) to influence our lives. The Lord spoke to me this morning saying that no one can change the direction of the wind but God the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit! And as for us, human beings go, all we can do is to adjust the sails of our lives to reach our destination! I would love to encourage all of us to be watchful at all times and adjust the sails when needed to reach our destiny with God's help! Mega huge blessings to you all!

EQUIPPING TERNOPOL SAINTS

2011-03-01T20:36:00.001-08:00

Eugene Zharoff, teaching IBS seminar Level 2

TERNOPOL IBS SEMINAR

2011-02-28T13:56:00.000-08:00

Eugene (right) is teaching... pastor George (left) is translating...

Dear Partners!

ICM Russia Crew just returned from a trip from a city of Ternopol, Ukraine! The traveling time was 8 hours on the train in a very stuffy compartment! Olga and I have been there before... and know how good it is to come back home!

The missions trip went very well! The journey took a team of two men to Ternopol, Ukraine to do an Inductive Bible Study Seminar with our host Pastor George Markey, of Calvary Chapel Ternopol. Eugene and Igor did Level 1 and Level 2 seminars so that people who want to serve the Lord and minister to people could learn how to lead a Bible Studies in their homes and teach through the Word in their churches. ICM Russia team had an enthusiastic group of mostly committed Christian workers at the seminar from a couple of churches in Ternopol. They were very responsive to the teaching, especially to the message that the church today needs to hear the Truth of God's Word. The enemy has invaded many churches with lies. Truth sets people free, lies lead to bondage.

Click on the image to enlarge it...

The group that decided they want Level 2 was composed of mostly lay workers and a few pastors. It kept Eugene and Igor busy training and equipping them to prepare their sermons and outlines for their Bible Studies! The weather was cold but praise God for His strength each day. Pastor George did a wonderful job of organizing everything. He participated in starting Calvary Churches in Ukraine from his early childhood and the Lord is using him, his assistants and their families in a wonderful way! In Ternopol we had a good group of black students and Christian workers who caught the Inductive Bible study concept.

Thanks for praying for this trip! We greatly appreciate all the prayers! The country of Ukraine is filled with corruption which has also invaded the church. Pray the Ukrainian Church will teach the truth of God's Word! Thanks again and blessings to you all!

In His Joy,

Igor and Olga

SUDA ORPHANAGE CHRISTMAS

2011-02-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is our vision to visit our children in the nearby orphanages on Christmas Day, January 7th and celebrate Jesus Birthday with them! We do this evangelistic project under the umbrella of Light of Hope Childrens' Center. This year a team of both Light of Hope Childrens' Center workers and people from the Light of Hope Church went to the orphanage in the nearby town of Suda. The guys did a skit about how every New Year brings changes in our lives, and how those changes are brought by miracle of Christ’s birth.

We have been going to this orphanage and the children have been listening to the story of Jesus’ birth for several years. We always offer kids the opportunity to give Jesus a birthday gift. When kids say: We are so sorry but we didn't get a gift for Jesus, - we then encourage them to give their hearts to Jesus as a very dear Christmas gift! This project is a great opportunity to point kids to the birth of Christ. Some of them received Jesus in to their hearts. And for that, we praise the Lord! Only by the Grace of God they are what they are today and His grace to them was not without effect! Every year they are filled with joy and excitement to remember this miracle and to spend time in fellowship with us. After our Christmas skit we spent time playing games with the kids and handed out Christmas presents. The time was fun and filled with laughter!!!

We are thankful to the Lord for the privilege of sharing a little piece of our hearts with these kids as we bring them the Good News and love of Jesus Christ. We are blessed to be able to take part in the lives of these kids.

Olga and I would like to say a big Thank You to all our supporters for making it possible for us to minister to these kids through your prayer and support. Please join us in prayer for the souls and hears of these children abandoned to the care of the state. The Lord desperately desires that every one of these kids would come to a saving knowledge of Christ; that is what we hope to give these kids.

click here to see more pictures

NINA'S NEW BED & MATTRESS

2011-02-24T11:56:00.000-08:00

Sister Nina waiting for the bed to be fixed...

Pastor Yuri fixing the bed...

Nina with her father and her step-mother sitting on the new bed...

IGOR, THANKS FOR YOUR GIFT!

2011-02-24T11:26:00.000-08:00

Beloved Kingdom Givers,

Yesterday Olga and I received a thank you letter from Nina, a handicapped sister in the Lord from the church in Kirilov, Russia! She became paralyzed from her waist down at the age of 25. We came to visit our sister before we left for the States. The minute we entered Nina's abode the Lord spoke to us about giving Nina a new bed and a comfy mattress. We handed Pastor Yuri $400 to go to Moscow IKEA store to buy a new bed and a very comfortable mattress for her.

Nina sent us a thank you letter through Pastor Yuri and in turn, Olga and I would like to thank you, our dear friends and partners for enabling us to do good and bless less fortunate people around us! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for the love-gift you sent our way in February!

Dear Igor and Olga,

My family and I so appreciate your generous gift! There are dozens of ways you could put the money to good use but you decided to buy me a new bed. I cannot put it in words how blessed I am to receive a wonderful gift of love from you. My father and my step-mother are not Christians and they were shocked by God's love. Thank you so much for shining it through you and helping make my handicapped life more comfortable!

May my God richly bless you and keep you as you travel and spread the Word! I am praying for you with no ceasing! Can't wait to see you!

Yours in Jesus,

Nina

P.M. WITH JESUS

2011-02-23T00:07:00.000-08:00

There’s a proverb that I love, it says: “Pay attention to small beginnings because they just might get big.”

My friend, as you work your job this week, please pay attention to details because you never know where it can take you. Please don’t get discouraged, keep dreaming of the Lord… keep working the dream with the Lord…

What an amazing thing that the life that we are living today, that sometimes seems so ordinary, could be very extraordinary! And the whole world is sitting there and watching it all happen. From the bottom of my heart I would like to wish you to keep living your finest life! Now, listen to God carefully and meditate on His words:

Psalm 37:4,5 " Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass."

KIDS IN ANISIMOVO

2011-02-21T11:22:00.000-08:00

"I beseech you, therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your BODIES a living sacrifice... which is your reasonable service."

It was so much fun to present my fat body a living sacrifice!!!

They are still stomping all over my body... and it feeels goooood!

RUSSIA, THANKS 4 YOUR GIFTS!

2011-02-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

Dearest Friends and Supporters!

Olga and I just got a Thank You letter from Pastor Moses from Uganda! It is a beautiful letter where he thanks Russian believers for the love-gift we were able to send to Uganda through Pastor Dan.

In turn, I would like to thank all our supporters for staying focused and committed to ICM Russia vision! You guys rock! Olga and I love you all a LOT!

Dear Russian Family,

Please receive a few pictures of the aid we gave to children using the love we received from you. I want to say thank you to the church in Russia for standing with us, your love has reached the heart of Africa. Though we received that gift in October 2010, we decided to wait till when kids are starting school and purchase clothes for them.

The school year started last week and Yesterday Feb 13th we hosted 370 kids at Ziri Commuinty Church where they received at least a piece of garment each. I told them before handing out the clothes that the purchase was made possible by the love of the Russian people, you could see that they even didn't know what Russia is! Anyway, on behalf of the church here I want to thank you for extending your helping hand. May the Lord bless you richly.

Pastor Moses Ouni

TERNOPOL, UKRAINE

2011-02-19T11:33:00.000-08:00

Dear ICM Russia Partners and Friends,

Greetings to you in the Name of the Lord! I am writing to let you know that Olga and I are sending the team to hold training seminars in Ukraine! They are off to Ternopol this coming Sunday afternoon, Feb. 20th. Please keep us and ICM Russia Crew ( Eugene and Igor) in your prayers. We'll be doing IBS seminars (Leve1 and Level2) from Feb. 21-28.

Please pray for a fruitful time of teaching and that the participants will get catch the concept. Pray for safety and good health. Thanks so very much!

In His joy,
Igor and Olga Prokopyev

CELEBRATING KIDS' BIRTHDAYS

2011-02-16T11:49:00.000-08:00

There are some people who take their birthdays as yet another day and there are orphans who don't have much in their lives, therefore we at ICM Russia do all we can to encourage them to get extremely excited and look forward to celebrate their birthdays with us in a very special way! Hope you will enjoy some pictures from Orphanage #1 we visited before we came to the States this year!

We try to be creative as we go visit our kids on their birthdays! We usually start with the Word to let them that birthday is a special day that the Lord has made so that we might celebrate and be glad in it! We encourage the kids to enjoy each and every activity during the day because it is their day! We encourage them pray, sing, dance, have a special party! Each year they invite us as their family to celebrate with them. Long time ago the Lord gave us the vision to come and throw birthday parties for orphans and street children where friends come with gifts and there are loads of games played! Gifts still remain the important aspect of birthdays.

Dear partners and friends, thank you so very much for your love gifts you sent us so that we might be able to channel the blessings to less fortunate people in Cherepovets! Please keep on praying and supporting ICM Russia in 2011. We need your prayers and support! May the Lord richly bless you! God's grace is sufficient for you and us to continue in the ministry together!

TRIPS TO NEVADA & CALIFORNIA

2011-02-11T09:03:00.000-08:00

ICM pastor Victor Eliezaroff teamed up with Olga and I to travel and do some ministry in Northern California and Nevada recently. It was Vic's first time in the States. When he arrived to the hermitage in Pollock Pines, after we picked him up at the airport he said to us, "The minute I arrived in New York! I felt so blessed by the Lord! America is a great country and a good soil to invest into!"

Olga and I agreed by saying to him, "It is time for us, as Russian missionaries to say Thank you, America for facilitating the revival God brought about in Russia in early 90's. And all we need to do to thank our brothers and sisters in the States is to pray for America and send missionaries to the States so that they might come alongside the American believers and do ministry work together. You have to know this: a lot of American missionaries, a great number of them are gone to India, Africa, Beliz, Israel, South America, the Philippines etc, etc. They are not there in the States anymore to help people get right with Jesus. They are busy preaching the Gospel in other countries, praise the Lord!

After a very short but fruitful ministry visit, Vic and Olga and I are reflecting on what God had done in us and through us while in the States. Although we kept Victor on his toes with ministry and trips, he never seemed to tire of serving, he was getting tired of trips we took in the country but he never seemed to tire of serving people. For that, we praise God! This trip to the States just made him hungry for more time here! Now he feels called by the Lord to send youth from his church to the States on short-term missions trips so that they might give of themselves and get this Jesus culture "bug" and bring this phenomena to Russia. Victor mentioned once that the "bug" will help the immune system of the Russian church to become strong and healthy.

At the moment Victor and the church are praying for further guidance and confirmation from the Lord on when and where at this point. The Lord has brought about our friendship in a very miraculous way, and we are excited to see what plans Jesus might have in us working together on this project. Please be praying for this man of God and his church in Severodvinsk, Russia.

Thank you, our dearest friends and partners for all your prayerful and financial support! We truly appreciate all you are doing for Olga and I and for ICM Russia! We love you dearly!

AMERICA: MISSION FIELD?

2011-02-09T20:45:00.000-08:00

"Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His harvest..."

Olga and I strongly believe that the United States is the most overlooked mission field. We pray that God brings revival back to this land through a bold mission work and declaring of the Word of God! The Lord doesn't hate the sinner. He wants him/her into the Kingdom! Our message in America is not one of condemnation but a means of escape to a righteous life that can only be found through following Jesus Christ.

P.M. WITH JESUS...

2011-02-09T11:03:00.000-08:00

PRAISE THE LORD IN HIS SANCTUARY!

LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE THE LORD!

PRAISE HIM ALL YOU, PEOPLE OF THE LORD! FOR HE IS WORTHY!

PRAISE HIM WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS AND FLUTES!

RAISE YOUR VOICE AND PRAISE THE LORD!

PRAISE HIM ACCORDING TO HIS EXCELLENT GREATNESS!

PRAISE THE LORD WITH THE SOUND OF THE PIANO!

PRAISE HIM FOR HIS MIGHTY ACTS!

WORSHIP THE LORD! HE IS WORTHY TO BE PRAISED!

PRAISE HIM WITH YOUR FRIENDSHIPS!

PRAISE HIM WITH LOUD CYMBALS, WITH CLASHING CYMBALS!