At former communist campgrounds, that once indoctrinated children that there is no God, thousands of needy children across the former Soviet Union will learn about the gift of hope in Christ this summer.

At least 5,000 children across Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Chechnya, the Northern Caucasus and Central Asia will take part in at least one hundred camps coordinated by Russian Ministries in the coming months.

Since 1999, Russian Ministries has been running their camping programme, bringing hope to thousands of street kids, orphans, children with alcoholic parents, children with disabilities and children from families affected by HIV/AIDS and the ravages of violence and war.

Eight-year-old Anya’s story is one example of thousands, whose lives have been impacted by these camps of hope. When Anya first arrived at camp, in the village of Krasnozor’e, Ukraine, with dirty hair, shoes worn out and her jacket ripped, she didn’t want to hear about God. She would often shout out curse words during Bible study time. Abandoned by her father, she lives with her grandmother and her mother who drinks heavily and is rarely home.

But thanks to the love of the Christian counsellors who reached out to her, Anya’s attitude and appearance changed. By the end of the week, she was much happier, her hair was clean and neatly combed, and she was clutching a picture she had drawn that showed Jesus on the cross and had the caption: “He died for me!”

“Summer camps are the most effective and strategic opportunity for evangelical outreach in order to reach out to the next generation,” explained Russian Ministries’ Senior Vice President Sergey Rakhuba.

He added: “Our camps are organised so that children will have lots of fun that they don’t get in their dysfunctional family life, fun that they can’t have in their orphanage where they’re staying with hundreds of other orphans. Most importantly, they will have time to learn about love and hope in Jesus Christ.”

The key to the success of this programme is the fact that Russian Ministries resources next generation Christian leaders to coordinate their summer camps. The relationship between a child and his or her camp coordinator is completely life-changing and that bond carries on way beyond the one week of the camp, with one-on-one follow-up discipleship throughout the year.

After attending a camp in a small village in Belarus, Tanya handed this note to her counsellor: “Five days passed so fast. Five days of joy and happiness. Here in the camp I got to know Jesus. Here I found out what it is to believe in God. I found so many friends and understand that life without God is not life.”