Story number 5 for 20 May 2002

(Kazakhstan)–We turn next to Kazakhstan, where youth outreach is becoming a key focus of evangelistic work. In spite of the country’s proximity to war-torn Afghanistan, there is a lot of activity in the church. Bible Mission International’s Malcolm Smith says in spite of reports of persecution, they saw little evidence of that while training youth ministry teams. “Most of the tightening of the grip by the authorities happens, really, on a localized level. Most of the churches that we’re working with have very good relationships with the authorities in the area. Again, they’re nationals and we’re really not seeing anything that’s stopping our work.” Smith says their evangelistic training work is necessary because: “There are many young people that don’t know how to talk to their friends, and share the truth of Scripture with them. There are a lot of churches that are not prepared to deal with the influx of young people.”