Dear Friend of Eurasia,
An eternal flame in Yerevan, Armenia commemorates the genocide of 1.5 million Armenian Christians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915.
Their only crime was being Christian.
Today, 100 years after the genocide, Armenia stands as a bastion of Christianity in the center of the Muslim world!
The Enemy tried to obliterate Armenian Christians, but God preserved a remnant—and Shahan Teberian, AGWM’s and Global University’s representative in Armenia, is among that remnant.
Shahan, a relatively new arrival in Armenia, bears a unique connection to the Armenian people—one that was forged in blood. Shahan’s grandfather survived the genocide, enduring a forced march from Turkey to Syria and eventually settling in Iraq.
A few years ago, Shahan felt God calling his family to the land of his ancestors.
“Our hearts have been pierced by the opportunities and challenges presented by this ancient land,” he says.
One of the main challenges was the urgent need to educate and train Armenia’s future pastors and missionaries.
Although Armenia was founded in 301 A.D. as the world’s first Christian nation, there was no university-level Bible school in which to train its ministers.
Last fall, working with Armenian church officials, Shahan helped launch Global University’s Armenia Bible College program—the first accredited program of its kind in the nation!
You can see some of the students from the very first class in this newsletter. These future ministers are passionate about bringing freedom to those in spiritual captivity, even if it means risking their lives to take God’s Word to their former persecutors.
But some potential students cannot afford the school’s tuition—though it’s just $400 per year, or $1600 for the complete program.
“The economy is terrible in Armenia,” says Shahan Teberian. “The average salary is about $250 per month. This amount is utterly insufficient to support even one person, let alone a family.”
Tuition at Armenia Bible College is only $100 every three months—$400 for a year—but to most students this is an insurmountable financial obstacle.
Take Aram, for example.
Aram is a Yezidi Kurd. This tightly-knit community that numbers about 40,000 in Armenia embraces a pagan religion that includes aspects of Satan worship. They are openly hostile towards anyone who tries to convert them, or any of their own that convert to another religion.
Yet Aram and his wife converted to Christianity; not only that, but God called Aram into the ministry. Despite threats from his family, Aram’s passion for God is so great that he borrows Christian books to study.
He wants to study in the Armenia Bible College program, but all his wages go to supporting his wife and young children. He cannot afford the extra $400 tuition for his studies.
Can you imagine the impact that someone like Aram, trained and equipped for evangelism and church-planting, could have on his unreached community?
It is heartbreaking that a potential student like Aram—someone who could make such a difference in the Kurdish community—should be prevented from studying for the ministry due to a lack of $400 a year.
Will you give $25, $100, $200, or even $400 to help Aram go to Bible school?
Oh, to see his face when we announce to him that someone has paid for his schooling!
Then there’s Lusine.
Lusine is a young woman who has enrolled in the Armenia Bible College program but also looks after her sick mother. When she is away at class, Lusine has to arrange for someone else to care for her mother. She also has to walk a far distance to catch a ride to school.
Lusine makes many sacrifices to attend and pay for Bible school. Although she enjoys her studies, she wonders how long she can afford to continue.
It’s not too late for Aram, for Lusine, or for others like them.
Your gift towards their tuition can make all the difference in the world!
With $100, you can sponsor a student for a quarter of a school year.
With $200, you can sponsor a student for half a year.
With $400, you can sponsor a student for a year.
With $1600, you can sponsor a student for 4 years of Bible school—a full ride!
BUT THERE’S MORE I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU!
We are partnering with Armenia Bible College to present you with a unique giving opportunity: each person sponsoring a future Armenia Bible College student for a full year—that’s a $400 scholarship— will receive a photo and a handwritten note from that student!
We believe that through your gifts, new churches will be planted by Armenia Bible College students not just in Armenia but also in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran, and many other countries where you and I cannot go.
What an incredible victory it would be for the kingdom of God to see a host of Armenian missionaries trained and sent to the surrounding countries!
Thank you for your prayers for the Armenian Church and for making it possible, through your scholarships, for more Armenian Bible students to receive the training they need to impact the world.
Global University’s Armenia Bible College program is the first accredited institution of its kind in the nation! Today, this school is training church leaders to take the light of Christ to the unreached people in Armenia and beyond. But many potential students cannot afford the school’s annual tuition—just $400.