WHEC staff Missions History in Kazakhstan
In Colossians 3:11, the apostle Paul said, “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” Modern-day Kazakhs are said to be descended from the Scythians mentioned in the above verse and there are archaeological findings (including crosses on tombstones and accounts of Nestorian missionaries to Central Asia and China) that seem to suggest that there was church activity in modern-day Kazakhstan up to the eleventh century, but for a few centuries after that, there seemed to be silence (People International). Since the 1000s, most Kazakhs have been nominal Sunni Muslims, with an animistic (“Tengri”) influence.
In the 1990 edition of Operation World, there were reportedly only twelve Christians in a territory of millions (Alston). Through the Soviet era, most Kazakhs professed to be Muslim or atheist, as there was widespread suppression of religion in the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and its independence in 1991, the Republic of Kazakhstan became more open and free and its people were spiritually hungry (People International), but the term “Christian” is still associated with the icon-revering, nominal Orthodox faith of Russian oppressors and evangelicals may sometimes be considered as dangerous sects (Mandryk, 2010). According to one key pastor who served during the late 1990s, as the church was growing, a group of summer missions teams from Canada came and joined with Kazakh local churches to evangelize in many different cities around Kazakhstan. Grace Church regularly hosted thousands of worshippers with primarily local Koreans and Kazakhs.
In the last thirty years, a significant expatriate Christian community in Kazakhstan has sprung up, many of whom “speak Kazakh and are committed to long-term work in Kazakhstan” (Mandryk, 2010). These include workers from Russia, the United States, South Korea, Germany, and other countries as well. Because there are many needs, the missionary community is involved in “reaching the unreached, training, discipling, tentmaking as well as business-as-mission and work focused on material needs” (Mandryk, 2010). Evangelistic, teaching, business, and mercy ministries have flourished in different forms in contemporary history, but have been subject to heightened scrutiny and greater repression from a paranoid government.
In the mid 2000s, the Navigators serving in Kazakhstan were also able to lead a handful of local believers to Christ. VSET began sending short-term English teaching teams to Almaty, the former capital and the largest city, in 2008 and has conducted a summer English program there nearly every year since that time. VSET even sent a team to Nursultan in 2013. Through the years, dozens of students have come to receive Jesus into their hearts. Significant long-term relationships have been fostered and there are even a few who have started and continued walking with Christ as a result of VSET’s outreach in Kazakhstan.
Contemporary Religious Demographics in Kazakhstan
Today, Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in terms of land mass and occupies a strategic place geographically at the heart of Eurasia, its economy bolstered by its oil and natural resources. Kazakhstan remains ethnically diverse but the demographic makeup of its population has shifted much in the years since independence; while the percentage of Kazakhs living in Kazakhstan was under 40% at the time of independence, that number has since increased to over 65% (World Atlas). On the contrary, the primary minority of Russians has decreased from 37% to just over 20% (World Atlas). Other minority ethnic groups include Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Uyghurs, Tatars, Germans, Koreans, and Belarusians (Joshua Project).
Broadly, 26% of today’s Republic of Kazakhstan are considered Christians, but this broad number includes those who are nominally Orthodox, mostly Russians, who may know very little of the gospel itself. Out of a population of more than 18 million, only 0.61% of people would be considered evangelical born-again believers (Joshua Project). The idea that “to be a Kazakh is to be a Muslim” is engrained in the value systems of many, but even this is typically not a rigid form of Islam as would be found in the Middle East or South Asia, perhaps. It is largely a folk Islam that is tinged with some animistic, shamanistic traditions of their nomadic past. Through the Soviet era and beyond, there was a rise in the atheist and non-religious population, consistently representing 20-30% of the population.
There are many different nationalities and ethnic groups that live in the Republic of Kazakhstan, not just ethnic Kazakhs, but in recent years, a wave of nationalism (with a marked departure from Russian) has caused many non-Kazakhs to leave the republic and further exacerbating already simmering interethnic tensions. The nationalistic efforts have not been entirely successful, as more than 40% of Kazakhs don’t know how to speak their own native language. Economic hardship has hit many as the economy has been largely supported by the oil industry, but blatant political corruption has undermined confidence in the government and the coronavirus crisis of 2020 has further crippled the currency (the “tenge”) and stripped many of their jobs and their hope. Many young people look for opportunities abroad, contributing to braindrain, which is also a significant issue for the developing economy.
Present Spiritual Needs and Hindrances
At his political party’s conference in early 2008, first and former President Nursultan Nazarbayev (in power from 1989-2019) apparently stated that “‘[Kazakhstan is] a secular state and [has] no official religion. However, it does not mean that Kazakhstan should become a dumping ground for religious movements of all kinds … Thousands of missionary organizations are functioning in Kazakhstan. We are unaware of their goals. We must curtail their unlimited freedom, as this country does not need it” (qtd. in Birnie, 2009). This outlook on religious activities has also influenced different laws that curtail religious freedoms, prohibit the advancement of establishing and equipping among Kazakh churches. Various political and religious leaders, Muslim and Orthodox, wanted to challenge the development of evangelistic movements and wanted to enact restrictions on religious freedom (Peyrouse, 2007). During this time, it is even more essential to get through to the next generation, to introduce to them the gospel, which they are open to and need now more than ever. Even though it is restricted by law, young people are in need of the gospel. As there many times is suspicion cast towards foreigners, it is important that relationships of trust be built up to work deeply amongst young men and women, many of whom still live with their families. Many of them have not heard anything about Christ and do not have strong Muslim beliefs. Even those who are stubborn in their Muslim beliefs have very little education on the fundamentals of Islam. Still others have no such background and those who are Orthodox Christian (with one or both Russian parents) have even less education about matters of faith. Because nearly 60% of the population lives in cities and urban areas, there remains a large degree of social cohesion because many are used to living and working amongst diverse, multiethnic communities. Outreach and discipleship in cities is needed, as the increasing urbanization of Kazakhstan means that a larger percentage of the population will be reachable in these large, urban areas.
Because many Kazakh families have experienced dysfunction and brokenness, alcoholism and drug addiction are quite prevalent and many suffer from the effects of “family breakdown and widespread corruption” (Mandryk, 2010). Many young men and women suffer from the consequences of absentee fathers, adultery, divorce, and a whole host of other societal ills. There is a significant need for healing and for vicious cycles of brokenness to be broken by the power of the gospel, especially as many young people need hope, testimonies, and victory in Christ to heal and rise above the brokenness. Godly examples of family, leadership, and men and women are necessary and can only be built up through discipleship. Though Kazakhstan has the most thriving economy of any of the Central Asian republics, economic conditions have soured through the years and there is a notable wealth disparity between the rich and the poor. There isn’t just interethnic conflict, but also interclass conflict that leave some to be bitter, resentful, and desperate. Corruption, a vestige of the Soviet Union, is also a significant problem that serves as a barrier in people’s confidence in institutions and produces power and access imbalances, permeating every sector of society from business to politics to education to industry. There is need for innovation and integrity in the next phases of development, a need that is not just practical, but deeply spiritual, coming from men and women who know and fear God and are committed to bringing His kingdom here on earth. Deep and extensive discipleship is particularly important and relevant for young men and women to grow into becoming these leaders in all sectors of public and private life that the country needs so much.