Amjad marked a special morning by being baptized, then leading the first Lord's Supper he had ever attended. The young Uighur Christian's baptismal clothes were still damp when he stood to lead five other Uighur believers in a communion service in a home in Central Asia. "Amjad has to rely on the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit to guide the first steps of an emerging church among the largely unreached Muslim people group rather than base the worship service on the imported patterns of Western-style church," explained an International Mission Board worker who watched the service.  "We had just studied 1 Corinthians where Paul talked about God's wisdom, power, and the ability of the Holy Spirit to speak through us," the worker said. "Amjad was nervous at first as he spoke to the other believers," the worker recalled. But as Amjad led in the Lord's Supper, "I felt chills run through me," the worker said. "I was watching the birth of a Uighur church. This is when you realize it really is a privilege to be here and see all that God is doing."  Amjad's first moments of nervousness were replaced with a sense of awe, the worker said. "The amazing thing to see was the Bible coming alive for him. I could tell he was seeing the promises God gave in the Scripture coming into being in his life. It was an amazing thing."  This worker and others on the Uighur team have worked for more than 15 years to nurture a church movement in Central Asia. The work is led by Jonathan, a strategy coordinator who has made it his life's goal to help bring the gospel to the Uighurs. Jonathan works with other Great Commission Christian groups in his ministry to evangelize this unreached people group. "What Amjad experienced is what we have all been praying for," Jonathan said. "There is now an infant Uighur church, and praise God, it is starting to take hold of God's promises."   Baptist Press News, July 2004

More than a decade after the fall of communism in the former Soviet Union, God is using the first leadership training school in Almaty, Kazakhstan, to spread the gospel in hard-to-reach areas. The Bridge International's Agape Bible College has graduated more than 1,000 students with more than 100 sent as missionaries into unreached areas where they broke strongholds by prayer and fasting, then evangelised and pioneered new churches. Most of the other graduates are working in their home churches, serving as evangelists, assistant pastors, cell group and worship leaders, and other ministry leaders. Warren Hoytt, who periodically travels to Almaty to teach, says many of the students are ex-drug addicts. "These people have not only escaped their addiction, but they are now spending time in prayer and fasting - seeking to advance His kingdom and break the grips of the majority religion in Kazakhstan." Many have come to Christ through the witness of these young workers.   Mission Network News, June 2004

A cell-church movement in the Kazakh city Almaty is one of the fastest-growing church movements among predominantly Islamic populations. Founded only a few years ago, the movement focuses separately on each of the 15 people groups in the city. Reliable reports indicate that not only around 300 Russians but also over 300 Moslem Kazakhs and a large number of Chinese (Moslem) Uighurs have become Christians and been integrated into the rapidly-spreading cell-church movement. The Kazakh part of the cell-church movement is led by a 24-year-old who has been a Christian for only 2 1/2 years. Supernatural experiences are, he says, order of the day, and mentions one example: one day, a woman living next to one of the cell churches was weeping terribly. When the Christians asked what had happened, she told them that her child had died. After the Christians prayed for it, the child was raised from the dead. The cell churches normally have between 10 and 15 members. In one evangelistic crusade carried out entirely by the cells, around 120 people were won for Christ and integrated into the cell churches. "In our evangelisation, we often use examples from the season. For example, before a harvest festival, we emphasise 'spiritual harvest' in order to make contact with non-Christians." Florian Bärtsch, Kingdom Ministries, September 1997

Muslims and atheists outnumber Christians in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan by more than two to one, but workers with Every Home for Christ are making great headway as they share the Gospel home to home. EHC has recorded 46,232 responses to the Gospel and helped establish 42 home fellowships called Christ Groups.  Fax of the Apostles, September 1998

An evangelistic ministry is going into the heart of Central Asia with a mission to share the truth of the Gospel with the children. Book of Hope's Rob Hoskins says the Book of Hope will soon be given to school-aged children throughout Kazakhstan. He adds, in light of current events, they are taking a different approach against terrorism. "… we believe [Muslim indoctrination] is countered by loving Christians going in and sharing the love of Jesus before these kids' lives..." In addition, Hoskins says their Russian [church-planting] teams have targeted Kazakhstan in a new program. They hope to have twelve new churches planted soon. "We feel like this is a crucial time in Central Asia, because we have an opportunity to do evangelism there right now in many places. In Kazakhstan alone, we'll be going in and handing out over a million Scripture portions to children and youth in Kazakhstan." Mission Network News, January 2002