Andrey is a graduate of the Samara Center for Biblical Training. He pastors a young church in Siberia which he helped establish in 2008. Andrey is a man who has been radically transformed by the grace and power of Christ. He is committed to being a godly husband and father as well as shepherding the people of God.

Testimony of Conversion

I was born in 1972 into a working class family. Prior to my birth my father had been in prison twice because of theft and drug use. The most vivid impressions I have from childhood are the beatings of my mother by my raging, drunken father and the many tears, fear, and longings I had for a happy family. I remember that in our house the criminal lifestyle was glorified and admired. After eighth grade I began hanging out with kids on the street and looking for true meaning in life. By the time I was sixteen I was sent to a prison for juvenile offenders. In that environment I started to dream of being a crime boss. I started to gather around me a group of like-minded young men with whom I could organize criminal activity and defend ourselves against other criminals.

After the juvenile prison I had three prison sentences. I developed a very strong addiction to drugs and narcotics. In order to experience the next high from drugs I often betrayed the people closest to me. I lived as though I were the only person who mattered on the earth. In that condition I was sent for the last time to prison for drug use. Of course, at that time I was too blind to see that death was before me, but my meaningless and hopeless existence began to terrify me. All my plans were dashed. I was alone and helpless.

My problems were aggravated after I began meeting with a Baptist pastor who regularly visited the prison. I thought I could use the meetings for my own selfish purposes (to alleviate my loneliness, etc.), but it was through these meetings that I started hearing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This affected me deeply. I began to see my depraved, desperate spiritual condition. Despite my tough veneer, inside everything was corrupt. I always remember that there was something about that pastor that drew me to him. He had a beauty in his dedication, genuineness, and selflessness. These were qualities that I had never seen before.

One day, though I was without the proper motivations and desires, I repeated a prayer of repentance. As I look back at that moment I marvel at the mercy of the Lord. He did not neglect me, but He used all of my evil to bring good to my life and glory to Him. After I prayed the prayer, I told everyone that I had become a Christian, and I began to do the outwardly what a Christian should do. I quit smoking, and I started reading a Bible that was given to me. But the more I focused on outward appearances, the further I ignored the need for true regeneration, which only God can give. By God’s grace, I began to realize that being a Christian was more than just quitting smoking and reading the Bible. I eventually saw that in my own strength I was incapable of overcoming my sinful desires, my fear of man, or my fear of God’s eventual judgment. I was embarrassed to be around other Christians, fearing my hypocrisy would be exposed.

One evening in the prison, I punched another inmate for laughing at me. I realized at that time I was not a Christian. I withdrew to my cell shattered, but thoughts about Jesus flooded my mind. I began to reflect upon the Jesus I had heard about from the pastor and from my reading of Scripture. I saw the great contrast between His life and mine. I saw the great reason for His death on the cross. I kept thinking that what Jesus did on the cross could not be applied to me. But the thought kept returning that what happened to Christ on the cross was indeed for me! He died for me! I fell asleep with this thought pounding in my brain.

When I woke up the next morning I was a new man. I had great joy and the deep conviction that what happened to Christ on the cross was for my own salvation. It seemed that my joy had no end. I had a very clear realization that I was now in the hand of God the Son. I had a strong sense of freedom from sin and fear of man–even though I was behind bars.

My life was truly changed from the inside. I began talking persistently to the other inmates about the gospel. News about my conversion spread throughout the prison and people started to say that I had lost my mind. I began to meet with two other inmates who also had become Christians. Nothing brought me greater joy than to pray, read the Bible, fellowship with other believers, and testify about the forgiveness of Christ.

Now that I have been out of prison for a number of years, these things are what I now spend most of my time doing. My life has changed completely. Christ, His truth, and His will have become the center of my life. Today I think about his glory. It is not that I never struggle with doubts, but I can say confidently that to this day these doubts have never overcame my faith. This is because I believe that on the night I fell asleep in prison with that dominating thought of Christ’s death and the sense of my own insignificance, God by grace granted me saving faith in the righteousness of Christ and his substitutionary death. To God be the glory!

Calling to & Description of Ministry

I believe God called me to the ministry when he saved me. The most joyful and satisfying things after my conversion were witnessing about the person of Christ and sharing the gospel, and afterwards preaching God’s Word. I started testifying and calling sinners to faith and repentance in prison and I tried to do it everywhere. Not only did this bring me joy, but I also felt a great responsibility before God to give to others the great treasure that I saw and received in Christ.

After my release from prison, I started to witness about Jesus to my old friends and family. In the Baptist church that I started attending there was a growing ministry to prisoners and drug addicts. After I was baptized some men from that ministry invited me to start a rehabilitation center. I agreed without a lot of careful consideration about my lack of preparation for ministry and without taking counsel from wise ministers. Today, if I were to find myself in the same situation, I would decline such an invitation to ministry. But at that time I agreed – and I learned everything the hard way. I read, listened, and memorized Scripture. I applied to my life all the lessons that I was trying to pass on to others who came through my ministry.

Eight years passed as I was preaching God’s grace to drug addicts in the rehab center. During this time I also got married and the Lord blessed us with children, and I participated in the planting of a new Baptist church, where I began to preach on Sundays.

One thing that played a significant part in shaping my ministry and my family was the training I received at Samara Center for Biblical Training. This training truly was a shock to my soul. The method of teaching changed the way I viewed the Word of God and opened up to me the greatness of God’s character. I saw my own sinfulness and the preciousness of Jesus in new ways. This training had a large influence on my own character, the goals and plans of my family, and my ministry.

With time I came to realize that the best use of my energies and giftedness was not in the rehab center, but solely in the one institution through which God calls sinners to salvation – His Church. Because of this, I–along with a group of men–began organizing a new church, where I would dedicate myself fully to the ministry. We began with just six people, but slowly we grew and matured. Moreover, after three years of prayer and testing, our small group decided to ordain me and another minister, Sergey Petlin, as pastors.

Today my main ministries in the church are expository preaching on Sunday, teaching theology to the church members, counseling church members, and leading the music ministry. The things which constantly convince me to continue doing what I do are:
1) my desire–I do these ministries with joy and without a sense of burden or obligation;
2) I believe that the ministry of being a shepherd over God’s church is the greatest privilege and at the same time the greatest responsibility;
3) ministry is itself the engine that drives my own longing for sanctification.

I am very grateful to God for my wife, who fully supports my convictions and strives with me to glorify God in our marriage and ministry. I believe that my successful ministry to the Lord will bring joy to my Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. I could not ask for greater joy. And all this is only because of His grace to me. May His name be glorified!

Mission Updates by Andrey

Mission Update Russia

Defined Membership in Russia

Mission Update Russia

Growth In Godliness – Andrey G. Update

All Updates by Andrey