Whenever Blake and Cathy come to Saint Petersburg it is always a chance for us to see Cathy and hear from her about her relationship with God. We all know that she raised 6 children all of whom have done well in life and are being a good influence in the world. 

On Saturday, March 10, women from three Evangelical churches and one Russian Orthodox church came to the Purcells' to encourage one another and hear Cathy teach. It's always a treat to hear such an experienced woman talk about how to be a virtuous wife.

What's the first thing you think about when you receive a letter asking to support our seminary training in Russia? May be, "Oh, this seminary costs too much!" But do you know how much this training costs RUSSIAN PASTORS?

Here is a great example of the new harvest field God is opening for us in the Russian speaking world. 

Dear Friends of SRS!

We have only one month before the spring intensive course of St. Petersburg seminary. It will be really intense and the largest in our history: 16 students, 6 pastors and 2 visiting professors from America. We hope it will bless both Russian ministers and American teachers. Alone we can't reach our goal. But together we can. Please help Russian pastors get a good education and the Church of Christ grow in Eurasia!

Dear Friends!
As rector of the Biblical Theological Seminary of St. Petersburg, Russia, I'm happy to inform you that our seminary is scheduled to hold its regular Spring Intensive Course March 5-17. This time, God has blessed us with an exceptionally large enrollment of ministers, really stretching our budget. Therefore, we need your prayers and financial support now more than ever. I'm sure you've already seen the map above which shows the scale of the SRS ministry in Eurasia today. This spring we're going to have 15 students from across Russia and 5 graduates from Latvia, Moscow, Siberia and Far East Russia (2). All students and graduates are active ministers who represent about 600 folks in all of our churches put together.

Eight Latvian men attended the conference “What Is a Real Man: God's Perspective” held by SRS in Jurmala, Latvia in March 2017. The goal of the conference was not to gain new members for the local Reformed church where Pastor Timur Anichkin ministers but to enter into a person-to-person relationship with men of the city to study the Word of God.

Was it worthwhile? Read Timur's report.

Dear friends! Believe it or not but...

WE WORSHIP THE LORD IN OUR OWN BUILDING!

In the photo you can see what it looks like today. Smoke from the stovepipe shows that it's already warm inside!

I'm sure, it's God's miracle, His gift from heaven. We have been dreaming about it for a long time. The Lord has heard our prayers and answered! He has provided helpers in Russia and sponsors in the United States who have made our dream come true. 

You may already know Russia for its ballet, great nesting dolls, and museums. 

And you may personally know Rev. Blake Purcell who labored almost thirty years as a Christian missionary among Russian-speaking people of the former Soviet Union, and whose work God has blessed with 5 church plants, a seminary and a ministry residence that welcomes Christians and seekers.

But you may not know the TOP THREE REASONS for making RUSSIA your MISSIONS PRIORITY in 2018

"I’m still sure that my training in this seminary is God’s miracle – unconditionally and undoubtedly. I thank God and teachers for that. My sincere gratitude to all remarkable sponsors of this project."

With whom can you walk Moscow's Red Square (and wave as Vladimir Putin drives past),

Visit St. Basil's Cathedral, the famous GUM department store, monuments to Dostoevsky, Rachmaninov, Tolstoy

And worship with and meet the saints of Reflection Presbyterian Church of Dmitrov, Moscow region?

Dear friends! Happy Thanksgiving!

Students of our seminary on this day want to express gratitude to all who support the work of the ministry of our seminary.

My name is Evgeni Kruzhkov. I’m a rector of the Biblical Theological Seminary of St. Petersburg. At our regualar intensive course last month we hosted 17 Russian ministers who came to study in our seminary. Ten of them were new. There is a good tradition in our seminary to share testimonies. Every story is amazing and unique.

The Biblical Theological Seminary in St. Petersburg is in the midst of the largest Fall Intensive we have ever hosted, with 15 students!  The majority of these students are new to the seminary. We hope you will be encouraged by reading some of the reasons they gave for choosing to attend BTS:

In the past week I have shared with you the hard news that one of our SRS empowered churches was raided by 40 armed federal agents in Russia. I also passed on to you the wonderful news that the $60,000.00 given by our American donors has already paid for the building of a church facility in the Far East, which in turn has helped significantly grow the men's morning bible study in that church, despite the recent spread of TB among its members.

Today I want to refer to the raid on Pastor Nik's church, and the sad reality of Pastor Ruslan's whole family coming down with tuberculosis to illustrate how vulnerable the Evangelical Church in Russia really is. 

"Five years ago when we prayed about our own house of prayer here in Romanovka, I could not even imagine we would be able to build it. Just too expensive and too hard. But there is nothing too hard for our great God".

In January 2017, SRS sent Zach Purcell to St. Petersburg, where he spent 10 days and a donation of $10,000, filming and interviewing the parents, counselors and Babochka club members. The five minute film linked below highlights the fruit of that labor. Two thousand Russians watched it online the first day it was  available.

My name is Brian O'Leary. I come from the little fishing village of Baltimore in West Cork, Ireland, I have been a U.S. citizen and lived in the USA most of my life, the past twenty-two years in the beautiful state of Kentucky. As the newest member of the board of SRS, I wanted to write to you about three of our four SRS supported church plants. I am excited about them all because, just as St. Patrick in Ireland, they are preaching Christ where He is not otherwise being preached.

In the city of Kazan, the Islamic capital of Russia, population 600,000, not only is there an Orthodox Church inside the wall, but nearby is a growing 10 year-old Christian congregation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Eurasia, which is also accommodated by the Islamic capital.

When we lost our original building because the owners were not from our church and they wanted it back, we started praying that the Lord would bless us to build a new one. In 2013, one of the families gave the church their piece of land and construction began.