The Slavic people groups can be found largely in Central and Eastern Europe, from the German border to the Ural Mountains in the east and throughout the regions of Siberia and the Russian Far East. These groups include the Russians, Ukrainians, Belarussians, Bulgarians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks and Serbians. With some exceptions, they largely use the Cyrillic alphabet instead of the Latin alphabet used here in the West, and their languages have many similarities.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is the official name which describes a loose confederation of twelve of the fifteen countries which formerly made up the Soviet Union. These countries include Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia opted not to join the CIS when the Soviet Union broke up in 1991.
The UECB was formed in 1867. Today, it is one of the largest and oldest Protestant denominations in the lands of Russia. As the name implies, its members are repentant, baptized believers in Jesus Christ as the only source of salvation through faith. There are more than 6,300 UECB churches across the CIS. Peter Mickiewicz serves as the president of the Russian UECB.
SGA formerly sent missionaries from here in North America to train and evangelize Russian-speaking people residing in the nations of the free world. Today, our focus is to sponsor national evangelical church planters who are sent by their own churches to unreached communities in the CIS. These church planters know the language, history, culture and other important dynamics of ministry to their people. The sponsoring of national evangelist-church planters is also the most cost-effective way to bring the Gospel into areas where no organized evangelical witness exists. At the request of UECB church leaders, our mission does send carefully selected North American pastors and Bible teachers on short-term teaching assignments to train pastoral students at SGA-sponsored Bible institutes and seminaries in the lands of Russia. These intensive sessions normally run for a 1-2 weeks at a time, and are of great value both to Russian pastors who lacked the opportunity to receive solid Bible teaching during the communist years, and to more recent disciples whom the Lord has set apart for leadership.
SGA is an interdenominational evangelical missions organization. We serve Bible-believing churches that are independent, as well as those affiliated with conservative denominations or fellowships. We are also members of the Interdenominational Foreign Missions Association and the Canadian Council for Christian Charities.
Though SGA is involved in supporting orphan ministries and orphanages in the lands of Russia, SGA does not assist in the adoption of children from the CIS.
Inspire Your Community
Invite Bill to Speak at Your Church or Event
Bill Ball, Executive Director of Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) Canada, is passionate about equipping the Church in Canada to engage with God’s global mission. With decades of ministry leadership and a deep heart for the Gospel, Bill communicates with clarity, conviction, and compassion.
When you invite Bill to speak at your church or event, you get messages that:
- Inspire missional vision. Hear how God is powerfully at work through His Church across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and beyond.
- Encourage practical discipleship. Learn how believers can live out their faith boldly in everyday life.
- Connect global needs with local opportunities. Discover how your congregation can partner in prayer, support, and action to strengthen churches worldwide.
Whether speaking on a Sunday morning, at a missions conference, or with church leaders, Bill’s goal is to inspire and challenge believers to follow Christ faithfully and engage fully in His mission.