GO TELL Ministries’ evangelistic event in Russia a success
Thirteen participate in mission trip with Rick Gage
Contact: Tina Kicklighter
tkicklighter@trsg.net or (904) 710-3887
Atlanta, Ga. (Dec. 7, 2009) – GO TELL Ministries, under the leadership of evangelist Rick Gage, recently completed a successful mission trip to Russia. Gage and a team of campaigners shared the Gospel with hundreds of children living in orphanages – in addition to providing them with much needed food, clothing and medicine. The team visited Bryansk and Dyatkovo in Russia’s Bryansk Oblast region.
“Those precious children were living in deplorable conditions with little hope for the future. We saw the power of God reach down and bless those children as we addressed both their physical and, more importantly, their spiritual needs,” said Gage.
Located six hours south of Moscow with a population of nearly 1 million, the Bryansk region is filled with people who have never heard a clear presentation of the Gospel. Twelve campaigners from four different states assisted Gage with the October evangelistic event.
The missions excursion to Russia with GO TELL Ministries was the fourth for realtor Mechelle Bryant. “When I remember the journey, I hear Brother Rick saying, ‘Don’t you want to go to heaven?’ That question seemed to become the theme of the trip,” she said. “Rick Gage has a burning desire to share the Gospel with anyone who doesn’t know Jesus.”
The GO TELL team ministered in some areas that had never been visited by a missions team. “They came to hear what a group of Americans had traveled halfway around the world to share. They heard God’s Word and responded,” added Bryant. “God has truly placed a burden on my heart for the Russian people. I went there to help and be used by God, and I returned to the USA with a very different perspective. We take running water, clean bathrooms, transportation and even food for granted.”
Financial advisor Roger S. Green, who also participated on the trip, said he has been inspired by watching Gage preach enthusiastically to audiences as small as five to hundreds at summer youth camps. “From youngsters in orphanages to 90-year-olds in nursing homes to bus drivers and parents, Rick’s consuming fire for God is self-evident and a great inspiration,” he said. “I was moved by the Russian people’s need for Christ and their energy and opportunity. I was touched by our visit and effort to reach them; but on so many levels, they and God returned our love with even more in return.”
Green said he made friends and will never forget his experiences from the trip. “God has blessed me far more from our mission than I have given. You cannot out give God,” he added. Green says, in addition to spiritual renewal, he made some eternal friends and new family – “a new Russian pastor, new Russian deacon, new Russian daughter and orphans I hopefully will have a blessed reunion with someday on Earth or in Heaven.”
Of her first trip to Russia, Janine Williams said of this evangelistic event that she feels “overflowing with gratitude for the opportunity to share the Gospel and love of Jesus.” She says she was amazed at how God is able to bring hearts and lives together on the other side of the world.
“To meet people for the first time, have a love for them and connect with them as if I had known them forever, well, it’s just a God thing,” said Williams. “I came away with a hunger and thirst to reach people for God’s Kingdom – no matter who or where they are. The joy, love, peace and excitement I experienced on this trip are beyond words.”
Williams was impressed by the way Gage presented the Gospel to children in schools and orphanages and to older people living in nursing homes. “The icing on the cake happened on Sunday after I came home and went to our services that morning. A 19-year-old girl got up and shared about the Operation Christmas Child box she received when she was a little girl in an orphanage at age five. She said missionaries came and gave her a box and let her sit in their lap and what hope that gave her. She said she was later adopted by a family when she was eight or so,” said Williams. “Guess where this young lady was from? Russia. God confirmed to me that morning that, though what we did while in Russia seemed like so little, to those we shared with, it was huge. My life will never be the same.”
Bryant added, “There are souls out there who need to hear about Jesus. We need to be asking God what we can do to make an eternal difference. Listen to His voice and answer the call. What a precious team God put together from four different states. I count it an honor to have served with these wonderful Christians. To God be the glory.”
In addition to his missions ministry, Gage, former college football coach turned evangelist, has an active summer camp ministry and has spent the last decade filling high school football stadiums with crusades in small communities throughout America. Using Billy Graham’s strategy, local churches team to help organize the events and provide follow-up ministry.
For more details on Rick Gage’s GO TELL Ministries, visit
http://www.gotellministries.com/.
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After a successful college football coaching career, Rick Gage launched his ministry in 1990 and has presented more than 500 evangelistic events nationally and abroad. An estimated 250,000 people have dedicated their lives to Jesus Christ. Many nationally known athletes, two former Miss Americas and Christian leaders Josh McDowell, Johnny Hunt and James Robison have spoken on his platform. His ministry has been endorsed by college football coaches Bobby Bowden and Mark Richt, Hall of Famer/former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar.
