We have a new provost in Moscow

I have the pleasure of making the following announcement. The Board of Directors of the Eurasian Theological Seminary in Moscow has elected Ilya Okhotnikov as its new Provost. Okhotnikov succeeds Sergei Dmitrusenko, who had held the post since 1999. Prior to his appointment, Okhotnikov had served as the Director of Development and Public Relations. As provost, Okhotnikov will work closely with the president of ETSM in the day-to-day operations of the seminary.

Okhotnikov states as he enters his new position, "God's grace is sufficient, dear brothers and sisters. I value the trust given to me and want ETSM to serve more effectively to students, church leaders and pastors in Eurasian continent. My prayer is that of King Solomon in 2 Chronicles, 'Give me now wisdom and knowledge' to serve in a team of co-laborers for the Harvest is ready, but the workers are few."

Ilya, a former officer in the Russian army, is a graduate of the Church of God Theological Seminary (M.Div.) and Asbury Theological Seminary (D.Min.) and is a specialist in the area of Family Ministry and Counseling. Ilya and his wife Angela originally hail from Ihzevsk, Russia (which happens to be the home of the AK-47). They have two daughters, Pauline and Danielle.
In His service,

Thomas Rosson, Ph.D., President
Eurasian Theological Seminary in Moscow

Moscow Changes

Changes in Moscow

Tom just returned from Moscow last week after a series of meetings. There are some changes taking place at the school that we can now announce. ETSM now has a new provost – Dr. Ilya Okhotnikov. Ilya will work closely with Tom in the day-to-day administrative operations of the seminary.

A second item of news has to do with our missionaries to Moscow, Chris and Natasha Hodge. Natasha has been bothered with a cough for several weeks and decided to have it checked out. The test results showed that an aortic aneurysm (which has been a condition with her for some time) had expanded and needs attention. Chris and Natasha are currently planning to return to the States for her medical needs.

Changing the World….

One of the great things about any Bible school is getting to know the students and their life’s story. Repeatedly we are awestruck when we learn the circumstances from which our students have come. It’s really easy to recognize the grace and power of Christ. At the end of the past semester, I received a letter from one of our students.

Vladimir Emelyanov spent his fall internship in the city of Klin, Russia. There he shared the gospel and worked in a rehab center in A rehab center for drug addicts and alcoholics is a special place for God’s grace to be in action. Vladimir believes that he will return to his homeland of Siberia in order to serve there. His desire is to be involved in a rehab ministry with his long-term goal of opening more rehab centers based out of a local church.

January Birthdays

We are doing well as a family. Except for some Winter illnesses, we are healthy. At our church, we have seen more people come to our church. We are in a rare period of time in which we have seen many seekers visit our church. So this is yet another point of prayer.