La Habra Christian Church

What we do

La Habra Christian Church makes a significant financial donation each year to support this ministry.

What TCM International Institute does

The TCM International Institute prepares men and women for Christian leadership and provides benevolent assistance in Eastern Europe.

The institute is designed to provide graduate-level study for pastors and church leaders. When a student completes the required classes, they receive an accredited Master of Arts degree in Practical Ministry in conjunction with Cincinnati Bible Seminary in Cincinnati.

All the required classes are taught at Haus Edelweiss in Austria within a two-year period. More than 600 European Christians study at Haus Edelweiss each year. Some of the classes are taught at TCM teaching sites and other locations in Eastern Europe.

The institute is an instrument by which TCM is fulfilling the mission of preparing Eastern European and Central Asian Christians for Christian leadership so that they may reach their own people for Jesus Christ.

A word from TCM

Thank you for your gifts to TCM. We are grateful for your partnership in equipping Eastern Europeans and Central Asians to reach their own people for Christ. Here are reports from TCM students in various countries:

Report from Russia:

Alexander works in Kursk. After a TCM session at the Vladimir Center, he decided to radically change his ministry, to become more active and try new approaches. He wrote a book which will be published very soon. He created a center for apologetics in Kursk. It is unique; there is no other place like it in Russia. Many people meet to discuss needs and ways to help.

Other TCM students work with street children (also a big problem in Russia). There are more abandoned children in Russia now than in 1917 after the Revolution. Many families want to adopt them, but are prevented because Russian officials make more profit by selling the children rather than allowing adoption. For a Russian family, the process to adopt takes four or five years. But an American family with enough money can adopt a child in two months. It is now forbidden to sell children, but no one wants to care for them. However, TCM students are trying to do so.

TCM students are trying to evangelize highly educated people who say, "We know all that – we know everything!" But knowing about Christ is not the same as knowing that Christ loves them.

TCM students have started a sports ministry. Many athletes are very active and have time for training only, no time for church or reading the Bible. Special meetings are held for athletes to evangelize them.

TCM students are working with orphanages. Some are supportive of the TCM work, but others are afraid because they are not from the Orthodox Church, thus the authorities may cut off their support.

Alexei has been talking with students on how to improve TCM's ministry and what new methods to use. The TCM program is very good, convenient and flexible for students who have families and also work in secular vocations. Flexibility is wonderful for those who can plan to go to the Vladimir Center or to Haus Edelweiss to study. But many more people want to study, some from very remote areas. Even to fly to Moscow is very expensive. There is a saying, "The moon is closer than Moscow!" Alexei would like to work with TCM to develop a correspondence course for these students.

Report from Poland

TCM students/graduates in Poland are pastors, Sunday school teachers, and leaders in 15 different denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church. These students are studying and going back to their churches using the New Testament model. They are planting new churches using the New Testament model, as they were taught at Haus Edelweiss and the Warsaw Institute. This is the visible impact of TCM in Poland, but the invisible impact is the large number of people being reached by those 3,000 trained leaders.

Report from Belarus

There are problems planting churches in Belarus now because of a recent law. Legally a church can meet only in a church building. A church must be registered, but can only be registered if it has at least 20 members; it is illegal otherwise. Recently a pastor was imprisoned for 10 days for preaching in someone's home. Before the recent election, pastors were arrested by the KGB and questioned about their activities.

But, "where there's a will there's a way"! Just before Easter, the church rented a movie theater for a meeting, where Leonid preached and many became believers.

Christians in Belarus work in social ministries – to the disabled, to families, and to orphans. There are many orphaned or abandoned children in Belarus. It is easier to abort or abandon a child than to go to the expense of raising him, so the need for care is great.

Leonid used the expression, "time is short". "We used to think we had all the time in the world, but now there is not enough. We did not use the good time well. Several years ago, sinners came to the church searching; now we have to fight for them. We regret we did not use the time well. Still, the Lord's work is going on. Those who want to serve Him, do so!"

In the past 14 years, over 200 new churches have been planted in Belarus, many by TCM students. The seed of the Word has been planted, and it is growing!