Moldova is home to Mission Eurasia’s ministry headquarters—it’s where all our Eurasian activity is coordinated and implemented from. It is also home to our refugee assistance center that has received thousands of Ukrainian refugees since the war began.

Since gaining independence after the Soviet Union’s collapse, Moldova has wavered between pro-Russian Communist and pro-European leanings, resulting in political tension that has sometimes turned violent. Russian forces maintain presence on Moldovan territory in the breakaway region of Transnistria, and Moldova remains dependent on Russia for energy. Emigration and low fertility contribute to a declining workforce available to address national problems like poverty and human trafficking. While improvements have been made, human trafficking runs deep, reflected by indictments of law enforcement and orphanage directors who have engaged directly in trafficking and abuse or accepted bribes from traffickers.

Religiously, Christianity is estimated to account for 75 percent of the population, non-religious is around 21 percent, and Islam is around four percent. Despite having a Christian majority, evangelical Christians make up under five percent of the population. Given the Orthodox Church’s pro-Russian stance and strong ties with local government, it remains the dominant opposition to evangelical churches. However, while building and registering new churches can be complicated, the government generally enforces and protects the freedom of religion. Moldova therefore remains a promising mission field, and evangelical churches have grown and multiplied.

Taking full advantage of the opportunity, our Next Generation leaders in Moldova remain very active and ask for your prayers as they develop new educational resources and guides that will be utilized throughout the region. Please pray for the fruitfulness of future conferences and forums, and for our partners who will be making use of these tools. In 2023, you supported our SWW ministry training for 120 enrolled leaders, 65 of whom graduated from the full two-year program.