East Europe & Russia Zone

"Where communism is no longer a threat to religious freedom, orthodoxy often is."

Since the fall of the former Soviet Union, the initial openness to the gospel has changed to suspicion of the West and a rejection of Evangelical churches in many areas. Where communism is no longer a threat to religious freedom, orthodoxy often is. Eastern Europe consists of the following ten countries: Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine.

Rapid Expansion in Ukraine
Under the leadership of our sister ministry, Ministry to Educate and Equip (www.mtee.org), lead by Dr. Ernie Campe, Vision has over 1,700 students through this region, and into Bulgaria. The greatest majority of students reside in the Ukraine, where greater religious freedom allows for our unique program, lead by Missionary Dr. Paul Shotsberger, to flourish. Further, with our recent networking with one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Europe (Ostrog Academy National University in Ukraine) our students can achieve government recognized awards, allowing for marketplace ministry, government jobs, etc.

Eastern European Expansion in Russia
Dr. Paul Shotsberger, director of the MTEE mission in Ukraine, helped establish a regional training center with one of our Bible colleges in Kaluga, Russia. Through this program, pastors of local churches are brought in for an extended period, taught the course material and then return to their local churches to teach a bible college in their own church. This enables us to expand the bible college network in a more efficient manner. One of our graduates started a school in Khabarovsk, Russia, near the Chinese border. Additionally a new school is scheduled to begin in Vladivostok.