The Country of Russia 
* Northern Asian nation 1.8 times the size of the United States
* Major borders with China, Ukraine, Mongolia, Georgia, Finland and Kazakhstan
* 17,075,200 sq km
* Population 143,420,309 (July 2005 est.)
* Formerly a communist nation established by the Bolshevik revolution (1917) and led by Vladimir Lenin. 
* Began transition to democracy in 1991.

The People of Russia

* Russian 79.8%
* Tatar 3.8%
* Ukrainian 2%
* Bashkir 1.2%
* Chuvash 1.1%
* other or unspecified 12.1%

Religions:

* Russian Orthodox (Predominately) 
* Roman Catholic
* Judaism
* Islam
* Buddhism
* Protestant (<5%)

In 2003 Crestview Baptist Church partnered with evangelist Bill Gravel of TryGod Ministries and traveled on mission to Kostroma, Russia. The team worked with Pastor Alex Topelin and “Nancy’s House,” an orphanage located in Nearnata, Russia. The team provided remodeling, replaced appliances and taught the staff about proper cleaning and hygiene (to name only a few activities). They also spent time in ministry to the orphanage and the surrounding community.

For more information concerning past Russian missions contact John Elmore at 863.5376 or john@peoplesharingjesus.com. There are no future Russian missions planned at this time.