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A church in a once-closed city in Kazakhstan is having significant impact beyond its borders, thirty years after its founding by TMS Global cross-cultural witnesses (CCWs).

Karaganda was closed to outsiders under the Soviet regime. In 1994, not long after the fall of the Soviet Union, CCWs met with local believers and planted The Church of the Living Vine in the city. Today, the church is thriving under local leadership.

TMS Global President and CEO Dr. Jim Ramsay and his family arrived in Karaganda in 1996 and spent 10 years as CCWs there.

“We had a commitment to not build a complete dependency on us,” Ramsay says. “We did have an American pastor to start with. But I never led a small group. We tried from the beginning not to assume that we had to have leadership roles in the church. This is not an American church.”

In fact, for more than half the church’s history there’s been almost no American involvement.

During the church’s 30th anniversary celebration, Ramsay witnessed a group of teenagers get baptized at a lake not far from Karaganda.

“Watching those teens get baptized and be involved in leadership in the church really lets you see that this is here for keeps,” Ramsay says. “It was very special to see that next generation in the faith already taking leadership in the church.”

The Church of the Living Vine went on to plant two sister churches. Former members of the church now live in at least 11 countries around the world.

“They came to those other nations as immigrants, but they carried the faith with them,” Ramsay says. “And so, the church has had a significant impact beyond its borders.”

Ramsay gives the credit to God, and to local leaders like Damir*, who is now an international partner with TMS Global, training church leaders in discipleship across Central Asia.

“He became pastor of the church after the last American pastor left. He has a heart for discipleship and really believes strongly in helping people go deep in the faith.”

That depth is one of the reasons why The Church of the Living Vine has remained, even as other churches that formed after the collapse of the Soviet Union have faded away. That isn’t to say the past 30 years have been easy. Ramsay notes there were hard times while he and his family were there, and hard times after they left. But looking back he observes, “It’s worth it. God is faithful and He’s walked with us through the good times and the hard times. God is gracious, and the results have been significant.”

Ramsay says he carries many of the lessons he learned during his time as a CCW in Kazakhstan with him today. “A lot of my mission approach, my approach toward church planting, toward faith, was formed by these people,” Ramsay says. “I learned about the importance of life-on-life, intentional discipleship and leadership development. There are so many life issues that need to be addressed. Those don’t disappear just because a person comes to faith. As Damir once said, ‘We don’t just need missionaries, we need fathers [and mothers].’ I continue to be inspired by believers' willingness to put it all on the line and take on ministry challenges with very limited material resources and limited certainty for the future beyond reliance on the Lord.”

Ramsay is quick to point out that he and the other Americans didn’t do everything perfectly during the church-planting years. As local leader Damir said, “There were mistakes made. There were things done that maybe we wish were done differently. But the fact is, if these people hadn’t come, I would not be here right now.”

Your partnership with TMS Global helps make work like this possible. Thank you for investing in the long-term discipleship of Christ followers in Kazakhstan and around the world.

*Pseudonyms are used for security reasons.