Eastern Europe and Muslim World

By David Devenish

Terry has asked David Devenish to comment on those with whom he is particularly identified through his work in Eastern Europe and the majority Muslim world. He has overseen their growth and development and is well known among their churches.

Andrey Bondorenko,

Krasny Luch, Ukraine

A couple of years ago I asked David Devenish, ‘What can be done to mobilise churches for an active devotion to mission?’ ‘Churches must be saturated with the truth about the nature and the perspective of the kingdom of God, and about the Glorious Church!’ he responded. It caused me to study this topic deeply and pass it on to the ministers in our churches, and fill the atmosphere of the church life with this teaching. ‘Let your kingdom come and Your will be done ...’ For me, it’s not just a passage of Scripture or the words of a well-known prayer, but the inner cry to God for changes, so much needed by everyone. I want to see the church that reflects God’s wisdom and glory; the children of God that show ‘the new creation in Christ Jesus’ to the world; the society that is being transformed through the spreading, the presence and the influence of the righteousness of God shown by God’s children!

Now I focus on the following things.

First, developing churches according to the New Testament pattern - restoration of the values and practices of the New Testament churches. We use the materials that Terry shared at the International Forum and at the conference as a ‘plumb line’. To do this work we need many more people than we have in the apostolic team now. So, I started to teach a group of pastors whose hearts care for the churches and long for the advance of the kingdom of God. Together with this team we will develop the eldership teams in our local churches, and help to develop charitable and social work. For example, we are planning to open a private Christian school in Krasny Luch.

Second, planting new churches is a serious challenge. We know from experience that it’s difficult for small churches to plant new churches, and it’s vitally important to learn to unite resources and work out common strategies of church planting.

Third, I focus on raising young people and getting them involved in ministry. I regularly participate in and speak at the youth conferences and training seminars, helping young people from different churches to grow in ministry.
Fourth, I feel responsible for spreading balanced Biblical teaching among other movements and families of churches. I accept invitations to teach at conferences and to preach in base churches.

We believe that Ukraine will be a blessing for many nations; so, we pray and actively discuss the perspectives of our work abroad. A few years ago the Lord told us that He is going to use Russian-speaking emigrants all over the world as base stations for the spreading of the international mission. For instance, there are 200-300,000 Russian-speaking people in London; more than 200,000 in Portugal; in Italy, France, Germany - hundreds of thousands!!! For the progress of this work, we need to mobilise the resources (human and financial) of the Ukranian churches and to develop partnership with churches in those other countries, especially those of Newfrontiers.

We haven’t got any experience of working in other nations, so we highly value the opportunity to be a part of the work that is already done by others.
Recently I was invited to visit small groups of believers in Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland. Russian-speaking emigrants are open for the gospel!

David Devenish comments: It is a privilege for me to comment on the work and ministry of Andrey’s father, Anatoly Bondorenko. Anatoly started serving and planting churches in Soviet Union times and became a spiritual father not only to Andrey, his natural son, but before that to Valery Seleznev in the Caucasus and to Yuri Seleznev in Crimea. When I first met Anatoly in Armavir, our hearts were joined as we shared a vision of an end-times glorious church, which was a burden he had carried even during the years of persecution. Anatoly has now retired from senior leadership but still gives helpful advice and input for which we are grateful.

Andrey has responsibility for a number of churches in East Ukraine. He is an excellent Bible teacher and has a clear vision of the way God is leading him forward. The fruit of his ministry is seen not only in his base church in Krasny Luch and the churches he is serving, but also in the way he is received by others both within our family of churches and elsewhere. I believe God will use him to establish many churches, and to be able to bring the values of New Testament church life to a wider sphere and help us in our mission to change the expression of Christianity across the world.

I believe Andrey’s apostolic gift is growing and that he will become a father to many in the future. He is able to influence the leaders already in his sphere and is well received by them.

Karen Khachatryan
I came to the Lord in 1990. In 1994-95 during my study at Regent University’s extension in Kiev, Ukraine, God spoke to me about a new vision. The vision was about raising up new churches that are based on the knowledge of the grace of God. After returning to Yerevan in 2000 I started RHEMA church. In 1999 I met Terry Virgo, Martyn Dunsford and Malcolm Kayes, whose ministry left an imprint on my life. This was the first time I met people who so deeply knew and lived the grace of God. From that meeting a sincere friendship and strong cooperation was born. It is impossible to under-value the immense input that came from our mutual visits, and participation in different leadership, prophetic and missionary conferences both in the UK and in Armenia. I would like especially to emphasise Jeff Moss, Martyn Dunsford, David Devenish, Malcolm Kayes and Andy Delves, whose friendship and ministry helped me to know more about the kingdom and do more for the kingdom. Today most of our achievements and who we are, are defined by their input in us.

Though the church is functioning in many spheres, I would like to highlight six spheres that motivate me most.

Preparation of leaders – Several leadership schools have played an important role in the formation of my leadership theology and leadership skills. As a leader I understand the need of healthy leadership ministry for the body of Christ. I serve as the representative of John Maxwell’s EQUIP leadership ministry in Armenia.
Preaching the gospel of God’s grace – Unfortunately, most of the churches today don’t have the real knowledge of the grace of Jesus. We preach the gospel of the grace of God to help to build the faith and identity of people on only the grace of God.
Five-fold ministry/church planting – I believe that the church in general and the local churches in particular will be healthy and strong only when New Testament apostolic ministry is restored, and as a consequence, five-fold ministry is restored. The example of Newfrontiers apostolic team, led by Terry, is one of the best examples for us. We try to raise up such an apostolic team’s ministry in Armenia. Up to now we have planted six churches that are under apostolic care. In the near future we are going to plant three more.
Prophetic ministry – This is a ministry for which I have a special heart. I believe that the living church of Jesus first of all must be a prophetic church. In this field David Devenish has a substantial input for us. Today this ministry gains a momentum and I am happy to see how it penetrates every sphere of the church’s ministry.
Youth ministry – The Lord has blessed us with many talented young people. This is also a pleasant challenge for us to involve, prepare and release them in their divine calling and ministry. I love to observe how God changes their lives and makes them His passionate ministers.
Mission – Armenia is an island in the ocean of Islam. My and our church’s vision is to use our strategic geographic position to reach the nations around Armenia. I believe that one day we will send out many who will change the destiny of nations.

David Devenish comments: To be present in the vibrant, missional church which Karen has established and leads in Yerevan is a wonderful experience. It is a church that is already having an impact in the nation, full of the grace of God and creativity.

Karen’s apostolic call is evident both in that base church and the other churches they have planted but he is also a great example of the apostolic passion to reach the nations of the world, particularly those bordering Armenia. I commend Karen as one who embodies the New Testament values in which we believe and also as a teacher of the Word of God who brings fresh insight to the Scriptures from an Eastern perspective which many of us from the West can miss. For that reason he has been well received as a speaker at conferences within the sphere I lead both in the Russian-speaking world (Karen can preach in Russian as well as Armenian and English) and in our conferences for the 10/40 window.

Valery Seleznev
I was born in a Christian family in Sevastopol, Ukraine, the second child in a family with nine children. My mum was constantly praying for her children, going to an underground church in the time of communism during the persecution. Since my childhood she’s been prophetically shaping me, sharing the vision of God, that I will be like the apostle Paul planting churches. So I always knew that one day I would come to God and would serve Him.

I eventually came to Christ at the age of eighteen. That day I met with God and my life was drastically changed. God’s plans became mine and a huge desire to serve gripped my heart. My mum brought a word from the Lord to me to serve in the North Caucasus in the southern part of Russia. In 1981 I moved to Armavir where I started a cell group. In 1982 I married Luba and asked her not to be just a wife, but to help me in ministry and share both life and ministry.

The church grew up very quickly; God added new people every day. At the time of my first years in ministry Anatoly Bondorenko from Ukraine helped a lot; he was fathering me and shaped me regarding apostolic work in the region. I always had that passion for seeing the gospel of Jesus preached and churches planted. The big picture of a glorious church of Restoration motivated me all these years. I started sending out leaders from this church to start churches in a region and served them as I could. There was a time when God spoke to me about a team and I said, ‘God, I just can’t do it, help me. Team is not a concept of the churches in Russia.’ Praise God He always provides His servants. He sends His servants to help His church become spotless and beautiful.

In 1993 God brought Martyn Dunsford to us. The first meeting was dramatic and we immediately felt God has joined our hearts. A few years later Martyn brought David and Scilla Devenish to Armavir. That was the beginning of a new era: grace, team-work, apostolic ministry, all these values were underlined and deeply rooted in our family of churches. We are really thankful to Newfrontiers for shaping us during all these years; you were changing the expression of Christianity in Russia.

Of course Simon Pettit’s words at our Newfrontiers Russian-speaking conference ‘Remember the poor’ resonated in my heart. At that time we had already initiated several ministries such as the Rehab Center for drug addicts, Christian school, ministries for the refugees, orphans and prisoners. Now there are many more ministries that have been developed during the last few years. We are serving disabled children, we are working in four different prisons, having cells in cells (our God has a wonderful sense of humour!). We started the Social Rehab Center for the homeless and ex-prisoners where they are also taught some working skills. Our church works with local hospitals, and we started a Social Care Centre where we provide poor people with clothes and other things.

Now I am serving more than 50 churches and church plants apostolically. Armavir Church has become the apostolic base.

David Devenish comments: It has been amazing to see both the growth and the change in the apostolic sphere based in Armavir. Valery has a passion for preaching the gospel, planting churches, serving the poor and reaching out to the many diverse people groups in the troubled North Caucasus region. He has recently taken on responsibility for overseeing apostolically the churches we work with in Dagestan since the tragic death of Artur Suleimenov (pictured above). I know both the leaders and churches there are grateful for his input.
We have also seen the truth of grace and the ability to work together as a family of churches served by teams both apostolically and in the local churches demonstrated in the sphere led by Valery which has been a real example in that cultural context.

I have worked with Valery for many years. I have seen the fruit of his apostolic call. The churches in the Caucasus are now entering a vigorous new church planting phase as they seek genuinely to reach the unreached regions.
They are also starting to plant churches elsewhere in the Russian Federation.

Yuri Seleznev
Another developing apostolic sphere is based in the Crimea in South Ukraine. This is led by Yuri Seleznev who is based with his wife Victoria in Sevastopol, where he leads a church of around 600. Other churches have been planted in Sevastopol and elsewhere in Crimea. There is another base church in the north of Crimea, in Armyansk led by Sergey Smolyar, who serves on Yuri’s team, which is also involved in planting churches from that base. Yuri is increasingly serving other churches elsewhere in Ukraine and has taken on oversight of the Newfrontiers church in Moldova. There are now three churches amongst the Crimean Tatars where remarkable miracles have been experienced.

I also commend Yuri for his apostolic work which has developed very quickly over the last few years with real vision and purpose to establish and care for churches. Again works amongst the disadvantaged are a characteristic of this sphere.

Vladimir Gorbochev
Vladimir Gorbochev with his wife Ludmilla are based in Makejevka in East Ukraine and a family of churches has now gathered to him across East Ukraine and increasingly into other parts of Ukraine. Vladimir gives fatherly care and wisdom to these churches.

These churches are also served on my behalf by a team from the UK led by Colin Potter, and that ministry is growing in fruitfulness for which we thank God.

Pervez Sohail
I was born in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Rawalpindi City, in a middle class family. My parents used to go to a Presbyterian congregation and my whole family was full of traditions. Since my childhood I was famous among families living in our street. A community political leader living in the same street was very fond of me and often use to call me to read letters for him since he was unable to read or write, and attend meetings with him when I was only nine years old. This is how interest for social work started to build inside me.

When I went to college I got even more active socially and politically. Meanwhile when I completed my final examinations, the Pakistan Army invited me to join their football team. I served as professional footballer for fourteen years until retirement in 1994. I got married and my wife, Yasmin, belongs to a family of believers with most of her family members serving the Lord. God has given me two beautiful children, a daughter Ruhama and a son Jeremiah. I also repented and accepted Lord as my personal Saviour but was never willing to serve in a church. My life was busy working socially and I loved to participate in politics. Beside this I also had my own construction company and I was a government contractor. I was the first Christian journalist covering sessions of National Assembly of Pakistan and a registered Anchor Person for the past twenty years for national news. Every time I thought of serving the Lord I always used to plan things to do it my way not the way the Lord wanted me to serve him. Organising conventions once or twice a year or conducting Christmas and Easter programmes on television/radio was the best way to serve God in my opinion.

Then in 1996 I went to Dubai seeking a better opportunity. My brother-in-law Pastor Pervez Khokhar was leading a Newfrontiers Urdu-speaking church (Ingeli Kaliseya) where I became a member. A few months passed and a huge blast occurred due to a gas leak over night in the restaurant where I was working as Purchasing Officer/Front Office Manager.

I was free and took the opportunity to attend meetings and for the first time in my life I heard the Word of God in a very different manner. Church values preached were innovative and discipleship was totally a new chapter for me. I never knew we should be disciples rather being members of a congregation, and it felt like stepping into a new world. Though I use to read the Bible regularly and had listened to many speakers, nothing ever touched me the way it started to happen once I learned about grace. During a meeting a prophetic word came for me that ‘Doors of Dubai are closed for you, go back to Pakistan and serve Me. I shall provide you everything for what you have come to Dubai in Pakistan.’ After this prophetic word I cancelled my three-year visa and returned to Pakistan.

We kept praying for six months and in March 1998 started a cell group with eight people. Finally Newfrontiers leaders came to Pakistan in October 1998 to lay hands on me, and Pur Fazal Kaliseya Pakistan (Full of Grace Church) came into being, the name of the church coming through a prophetic word.

Then David Devenish started to visit every six months strengthening us spiritually, and in a very short time we have grown to a family of seven churches. Those eight people have now grown to 750 families. During the past years I have learned how to be a true Christian and the Word of God has completely swept traditional habits out of me, replacing them with grace. This is mainly why we have grown so fast in making disciples and a strong team to lead the church which is a new practice in our culture.

In the past twelve years of serving the Lord following the great commission, we have also learned to respect other denominations and other religions. We have successfully provided a platform for interfaith harmony and have developed very strong relationships in our nation with non-Christians. We have been successful in building relationship with other churches also, and today we sit together to overcome and discuss communal issues which has never happened before in the history of Pakistan.

I am grateful to the Lord for keeping me in Pakistan and for using me to do his work the way he wants despite all the persecution and threats since it’s hard to teach and practice New Testament Church values in our culture. But everything is made possible by His grace and we are growing each day that passes. I strongly believe that God has called me to spread His Word among non-Christians and nominal Christians, and to grow and strengthen other churches.

David Devenish comments: When I first visited Pakistan and went to what was then our only church there, I was immediately reminded of Barnabas visiting Antioch. He ‘saw the evidence of the grace of God’. That was my experience. A grace-filled, worshipping and praying church with many demonstrations of spiritual gifts had been established.

I have continued to teach there regularly in order to establish clear apostolic foundations. Wherever I have taught, Pervez Sohail has followed up with a clear summary in Urdu, expressed in a way which can be clearly understood. We therefore work as a team in establishing these truths in the churches. On my second visit I introduced the subject of church planting, and a fresh phase of development started immediately so that now seven churches have been established and other new churches are being planned. Obviously the situation in Pakistan means that our churches are facing daily pressures but Pervez fathers the churches through this, imparting joy and the truth of God’s grace, being demonstrated in weakness and opposition.

Eastern Europe and Muslim World

By David Devenish

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