Beeson Podcast, Episode #674 Dr. Oleg Turlac Date >>Announcer: Welcome to the Beeson podcast, coming to you from Beeson Divinity School on the campus of Samford University. Now your host, Doug Sweeney. >>Doug Sweeney: Welcome to the Beeson Podcast. I’m your host, Doug Sweeney, and I am joined today by Beeson’s 2023 Alumnus of the Year, [Oleg 00:00:35] Turlac. Oleg leads Turlac Mission. He’s preached the gospel in 34 countries, 13 of which are former republics of the Soviet Union. Oleg is from Moldova and has ministered for the past two years to refugees from Ukraine and surrounding nations, including the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, and other countries as well. Brother Oleg, thank you very much for being with us on the podcast today. >>Turlac: Thank you for having me. >>Doug Sweeney: Why don’t we begin? I think some of our listeners know you already, but just for those who don’t, just tell us a little bit about your background, where did you grow up? How did you come to know the Lord and get involved in Christian ministry? >>Turlac: I was born in the Soviet Union, a communist country. And I like to call myself a stranger in the land because though I was born in Soviet Russia I am Bulgarian by heritage. My ancestors moved from the Ottoman empire and settled in the Russian empire. And then my grandparents moved from Ukraine to Moldova where I was born. But at the time of my birth, the Soviet Union had the dominant atheistic ideology. And so it was quite a tough time for someone from a Christian family to attend school or even to be called “Christian.” I was the only Christian child in my class. And my heritage is the heritage of the persecuted church. My great grandfather, he was a pastor in Southern Ukraine at a Baptist Church. And just for being a preacher of the gospel he was sentenced for ten years of Stalin’s gulag camps. So, one night a black truck came to my great grandparent’s home and he was taken away for ten years at the Siberian Camps. My grandfather had just spent five years behind bars for being a Christian. My parents, because they were faithful to Jesus Christ they were denied an opportunity to receive higher education, didn’t go to college or university. So, I grew up in these circumstances where bibles were scarce, I longed to have my own personal bible. But couldn’t have it. And just seeing that heritage of faith in my family, of how faithful they were to Christ, in spite of tremendous persecution, I decided to dedicate my life to Jesus and I did so early on in 1987. I was only 11 but I decided to follow Christ. At that time, a deacon at the church that we were attending, he gave me a precious copy of the New Testament. I couldn’t get the whole copy of the whole bible, but just the New Testament. That was probably smuggled from abroad. I treasured that copy of the New Testament just like maybe a teenager at this time would treasure an iPhone 15 that they would be gifted. I read that New Testament from the Gospel of Matthew to the Book of Revelation. That book became precious to me and continues to be the most precious thing in my life until now. Just through the reading of the scripture, seeing the ministry of Jesus, seeing the work that the Apostle Paul did in the cities of the Roman empire, his epistles to churches, things that he went through, I kind of identified with those experiences. And I wanted to serve the Lord. So, in 1992, I started my preaching ministry. I was quite young. Barely 16 years old. And I preached my first sermon in a fairly large church. And since then I’ve been preaching the gospel all over the former Soviet Union and I’m glad I chose this wonderful and privileged vocation. >>Doug Sweeney: That’s wonderful. So many more questions we could ask about your past, but I think the main thing I want our listeners to know about you and your ministry has to do with the present, because you’re involved in such urgent gospel ministry work in and around Ukraine right now. So, let me kind of fast forward us to almost the present day. And ask you about February the 24th, 2022. Over a year and a half ago now, the day that Russia invaded Ukraine. What happened for you on that day? What went through your mind? What did you start to think about in terms of your own ministry in Europe? >>Turlac: Well, I remember that day quite vividly actually here in Canada where I am now. It was February 23rd ... it was in the evening and I remember that the children and Natasha, my wife, already went to bed and I think that God just kept me awake. And usually I don’t turn the TV on this late at night, but I decided to turn it on. And I just saw the news broadcast that Russia just started bombing Kiev. And other cities in Ukraine. And so my heart ached and remained heavy since that minute. First, it was a shock because though there were signs that the war was imminent, we didn’t believe that such a war was possible between the two nations that kind of share a common heritage. Both Russia and Ukraine are Slavic nations. There are very close family ties between both nations. So, it’s like imagine if let’s say Alabama and Mississippi went to war with each other. It was a shock at first. And then my phone started ringing nonstop. Because people needed evacuation. Then we started receiving phone calls from Ukrainians who lived in countries all over the world that had relatives in Ukraine. They started asking for help. And so our apartment here in Toronto became like a hub for connecting people with other people, connecting people to churches back in Ukraine and Moldova and Poland, and in other countries. We started sending financial aid to churches in Moldova and other nations that were prepared to assist Ukrainian refugees that were already crossing the frontiers into Eastern Europe, into Moldova, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and other countries. We got in touch with partners and churches in the north and south of Moldova. And we set up tents to welcome Ukrainian refugees. We served them hot tea, lunches, assisted them with transportation. Transportation was a big thing at first. We provided money for the fuel. And for the first three days it was almost 24/7 time of ministry for us. And of course, a few weeks later I myself went to eastern Europe to Poland where in cooperation with the evangelical church in Warsaw we set up, the help center for refugees and we started providing food, clothes, medicine, and whatever was needed for the refugees. My brother and I went and set up a tent at the Warsaw train station. And you wouldn’t believe but every half an hour either a train or bus were arriving at that train and bus station. People were getting off, scared, having traveled for days. And so they needed welcome. They needed tea, hot food, and so we provided that for them. Initially, we were overwhelmed, but as days went by that work became organized and we tried to do everything we could to meet the need of every person that appealed to us for help. >>Doug Sweeney: Clearly, nobody was ready for that day. But you had been active in ministry in that part of the world for some time. How much change just to the structure of your ministry did you have to put into effect quickly after the Russian invasion? Did you have sort of habits and systems and so on in place that enabled you very nimbly to respond to these needs? Or did you find yourself all of a sudden having to kind of build new ministry structures so that you could provide for these new needs? >>Turlac: I guess to some degree it was both. I mean, the good thing was that we had a wide network of churches with which we cooperated. Then for nearly ten years I was teaching at the bible college in Moldova and quite a few of my graduates are pastoring churches all over Moldova, Ukraine, Central Asia, all over the former Soviet Union. So, in a way it was easy to just reach out to them and involve them in this network of helping the Ukrainians. On the other hand, yes, we had to make Ukraine for a while the primary focus of our ministry – while keeping up with other areas of ministry like ministry to the persecuted church and the trafficking ministry to women in Moldova. Ministry to the autistic kids ... But you know, as time went by we kind of found a way to fit this ministry to the Ukrainians into the whole framework of our ministries. Because let’s say the ministry to refugees and anti trafficking ministry among women became connected, because this war situation fueled and raised the number of vulnerable women to human trafficking. And that became a wider avenue for ministry, let’s say, in Moldova and Poland, and other countries. >>Doug Sweeney: Speaking of the refugees, you’ve alluded to your ministry among them a couple of times. Give our listeners a feel for what the state of the challenge is now for Christians trying to take good care of Ukrainian refugees? Are they spreading all over Europe? Are they mostly in places like Poland? And then just more practically, how have you and your associates been able to kind of step in and meet some of the ministry needs among them? And how have they been responding? Is it going well? Are there huge challenges that our people need to be knowing about and supporting and praying for? What’s going on just with the refugees in particular? >>Turlac: It is estimated that between 10-14 million Ukrainians left the country. Most of them settled in Eastern Europe. Poland took in over two million refugees. The Czech Republic took in about half a million. We have Ukrainian refugees here in Canada, about half a million Ukrainians ended up in Canada. Toronto took a huge number of them. So, we’ve been helping them by handing them food cards. Providing clothing for them. Going to with them to different kind of medical tests that they need in order to obtain all kinds of paperwork. We contacted local employers to provide work places for the Ukrainians. I guess by now you can find Ukrainians probably in every European country, but the bulk of them settled in Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic. And also many of them ended up in Russia and not many of our listeners in the West know about that, because folks from Eastern Ukraine, they had nowhere to go, except for going into Russia. And we are blessed to have friends in Russia, Christian friends, churches in Russia that help those Ukrainians that ended up on the Russian territory. Although, the Russian army and the Russian authorities invaded Ukraine and this whole war was started, there were many Russians who don’t like the fact that the war is going on. And they are praying for peace. And many of our Russian brothers and sisters are helping Ukrainians as well. A lot of work among Ukrainian refugees is centered in Poland. The Warsaw Bible Church becoming one of the major hubs of helping Ukrainian Christians and Ukrainians in general. It was interesting that that church numbered only 25 members prior to the war. And overnight the number of people attending the Sunday morning worship service jumped to nearly 800. It was like a huge, huge growth because people just needed help and people when they are vulnerable they open up to the preaching of the gospel. They start seeking God. When they can’t rely on earthly riches or the systems that they were used to that no longer exist, they just naturally seek God and they go to church. It was wonderful that we had great partners there. So, they provided space and we along with many other mission organizations supplied food, clothes, we supplied Christmas gifts for children, we supplied heaters for Ukrainians because it was hard for them to survive without heat in the winter. And then once the dam in [inaudible 00:16:12] in Ukraine was blown up, that created a national disaster, so water, fresh water became a big concern for Ukrainians. So, we provided huge one ton cisterns for Ukrainians inside the country. And also we continued to support pastors inside of Ukraine. There were pastors that left together with their church members. The Baptist [inaudible 00:16:39] Ukraine gives numbers like ... they say that over 40 church buildings were destroyed by Russian bombs. And about 500 churches now just Baptist churches remain under ... territory which is under Russian occupation. And so all of those churches, including churches that exist in the Ukraine that haven’t been occupied by Russia, but are constantly bombed, attacked, all of those churches have pastors that are still serving the needs of the people. So, we try to do everything to support their hands in ministry. Also, what we’ve seen was that a number of Ukrainians returned to the country. Especially in 2023. Some were just called by God to help their own people. Some pastors went back and they are reporting that there are great numbers of people that would never think of attending a church that are now coming to churches. Up to 80% of those in attendance are now ... are those people who we call the un-churched. That’s a great joy to all of us, because people are accepting Christ, people are coming not just to receive humanitarian aid, but they come and listen to the gospel and this is the prime opportune time for mission work in Ukraine. Even under these difficult circumstances. >>Doug Sweeney: I am one of many people who has the privilege of receiving your regular ministry newsletter. And in one of the recent newsletters you shared a story about Yuri and Anna, Ukrainians in their early forties who escaped [inaudible 00:18:38] and eventually became Christian. It might be an encouragement to our listeners to hear just a little bit about that couple and how they came to know the Lord. >>Turlac: I met Yuri and Anna in Poland and spent quite a lot of time with them. And tried to do everything to help them and their two daughters. They escaped [inaudible 00:19:00] which was captured by the Russians. That’s the city that was almost entirely destroyed by the Russian forces. I think it was a state of about 200,000 people. And today according to the information I have there are fewer than 10,000 people that live there. But Yuri and Anna, they were barely able to escape from that city. And of course when it was heavily bombed they lived in fear, they lived in the basement, and when there was a break in the bombing they were able to get out of the city which was not easy. And then they traveled for more than two days through Ukraine in trains that didn’t have any lights during the night because they were afraid the trains would be bombed. They made it to Poland. And Yuri and Anna, they didn’t know Christ. There were just secular people. Yuri was a firefighter. Anna, she was an accountant. But while in Poland, they came across some Christians that invited them to attend an evangelical church and Yuri and Anna decided to go. Because though they didn’t know God they admitted that they prayed to Him, that he would save them from the bombs and their two children. And once they came to church and heard the preaching of the gospel, they realized that God just saved them for the purpose. He brought them out of Ukraine for a very special purpose, that he wanted to draw them near to him. And they opened their hearts to the message of the gospel and they made a decision to follow Jesus Christ. And right now they are so full of this zeal for the Lord. They love to sing. They love to proclaim Christ. And it’s just amazing to see how much this story of escape impacted their lives, led them to the Lord. And also now it serves as a testimony to other Ukrainians to whom they are witnessing about Jesus Christ. >>Doug Sweeney: Wonderful. Thanks be to God. Well, I’m thinking now, too, it might be helpful to our listeners if we pan back out a bit and let you inform us, educate us, a bit on the state of gospel Christianity, evangelical Christianity, in and around Ukraine today. There are a lot of people in Ukraine who would profess to be Christian, but a relatively small percentage who would be gospel committed people with a vital faith in Jesus. Is that right? Tell us just a little bit about the spiritual landscape in Ukraine? And how it is that evangelical ministries like yours are trying to kind of step in and make the right kind of difference there? >>Turlac: Most Ukrainians belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church or Ukrainian Orthodox Church. With some of the Western Ukraine’s population belonging to the Greek Catholic Church, which is essentially holds to the Eastern Orthodox worship style, but reports to the Vatican. This has to do with Ukrainian history, because the western part of Ukraine belonged to Poland and Hungary prior to World War II. So, that’s why this membership in different churches is a bit diverse. But about I would say 1-2% of Ukrainians claim to be Evangelical. Ukraine prior to the war boasted to have more than 2,000 just Baptist churches. Not counting Pentecostal and independent and Methodist churches. So, right now many evangelical churches are trying to use this time of war to help Ukrainians and also proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and Baptists especially see their numbers rising in spite of the war, because people are so open to listening to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Moldova is also mostly Eastern Orthodox, just like Russia is. Moldova boasts the largest number of evangelicals per capita in the whole former Soviet Union. But still the number of evangelicals is very low compared to the Eastern Orthodox. Also, we minister in central Asia with the Muslim majority population. And over there the numbers of Christians are very small. But they are growing because the church there is persecuted. The church there in the countries that we call the stans ... formerly Soviet countries of Central Asia. The church lives under severe restrictions. Where you cannot proclaim the gospel openly. You cannot start new churches. So, quite a few believers have to meet in homes. They have to meet outside under open skies. If someone wants to be baptized, those baptisms are usually held in secret or people just make sure that there is no one around, because there will be persecution. I would say that from about 1989 until about the year 2000 those former Soviet nations that territory experienced tremendous freedom, preaching of the gospel. And it was utilized. It was used by missionaries, it was used by quite a few American English mission organizations to bring the gospel to Russia, to Ukraine, to Moldova. And that’s why today we have so many church buildings, they were built with the help from the West. That’s why we have so many educated pastors today and I am one of them. I am so grateful to have received education in America at Beeson. At Georgetown College. I’m just so grateful to Christians that invested in me and now I’m already seeing the students of my students that I have trained, that have traveled all over the former Soviet Union and have continued to preach the gospel. Actually, you know, it’s kind of hard to find a place where I go where I wouldn’t meet someone that either trained or someone that would know maybe a student that studied under me at the bible college in Moldova. So many of them are now pastors and missionaries, and teachers and I am grateful that the work of the gospel continues to thrive in the formerly communist lands in spite of the present circumstances. >>Doug Sweeney: Well, we are grateful to you, Oleg, for your faithfulness to the Lord and your fruitfulness in ministry, and your willingness to go and serve in such difficult circumstances. It’s exciting for people like us here at Beeson to watch the Lord multiple our efforts in such wonderful ways in other parts of the world. And we mentioned at the top of the show that you are our alumnus of the year in 2023. And of course after the things we’ve been talking about the last 20 minutes, that’s not very important. (laughs) That pales in comparison to some of the ministry needs that we’ve been discussing. But it does allow us to thank the Lord for you and to ask our people to pray in a special way and support you and the work that you’re doing in Ukraine and in other places. And so as we do that, and as we get ready to conclude the show, has this interview given you an occasion just to reflect a little bit about how it was that a school like Beeson might have prepared you to do the work you’re doing? In what ways has your ministry in the trenches, in the middle of Europe and in eastern Europe and in western Asia been strengthened and helped as a result of your study here at the seminary? >>Turlac: I’m grateful for the training that I received at Beeson, for the scholarship that I received to study for the masters degree and then for the doctor of ministry degree. And for so many people that impacted my life, my beloved professors at Beeson. I remember so well Dr. Thielman from whom I learned lots through the New Testament Theology class. Dr. Ken Matthews with whom I studied Hebrew and Old Testament and the Book of Isaiah. Dr. Timothy George under whom I studied Calvin’s Institutes and he introduced me to the Reformed Theology. Bruce Winter, with whom I walked through Paul’s Epistles. And also I remember very practical courses that helped me in my ministry. Beeson has wonderful full time professors and adjunct professors. Larry Michaels was one of the adjunct faculty who taught Church Planting. And this helped me when I planted the Slavic Church right in downtown Toronto. It was a very practical course, hands on, from which I took a lot. Or Professor Dale Hough who taught Baptist Life and Paulity. That actually helped me structure my church life at the church that I planted here in Toronto. And also when I ministered in Moldova. So, Beeson offered a wonderful blend of theological courses and ministerial courses. And so on one hand it was a very high quality theology of languages, training, combined with very practical hands on things that actually helped me in my ministry. And also it wasn’t just Beeson or Samford that impacted me. The whole Christian community, Baptist community, in Birmingham welcomed me. I went to several churches like Mountain Brook Baptist, Shades Crest Baptist, Shades Mountain Baptist. People, friends from those churches embraced me and my wife, Natasha, they showered us with love and this was a learning experience for us as well. And you know I haven’t stopped learning since then. I am still tuning into Beeson’s chapel services. I enjoy listening to sermons of beloved professors. I tune into Mike Pasquarello’s broadcast on YouTube. I love his Preaching Life and the Way of the Preacher. And they inform my preaching ministry a great deal. So, I’m thankful to Beeson and I am continuing to thank God for all the wonderful faculty that teaches at Beeson and continues to impact the lives of students and alumni like me. >>Doug Sweeney: Well, I’m about to ask you how our listeners can be praying for you and supporting you in the upcoming months. But before I get to that final question, I want to ask you what we usually ask people at the end of our interviews. And that is a question about what the Lord is doing in your life these days, what is the Lord teaching you even now after all these years of faithfulness to him in ministry? So, Oleg, what is God doing in your life these days? What are you learning that’s new? >>Turlac: Well, I’m learning that I have to be prepared to serve the lord in very different circumstances. And I just see his plan in my life. I think that he was preparing me from the very childhood. Having experienced persecution as a child, I can now minister to those that are persecuted. Having lived under the circumstances of the atheistic Soviet Union where things were scarce I can understand those who are refugees now and I can minister to them. I am being taught that I have to be prepared to preach in season and out of season. I have to preach whenever I am asked in churches, at train stations, on the streets, to big crowds, or even to three or four people. I am also learning that the time that I live in is a time of unexpected crises. And that kind of teaches me to be ready 24/7 to minister to other people. I always have my suitcase packed, just in case I have to hit the road. And my slogan or my motto for this year is the text from Isaiah, “Whom shall I send?” And I always respond to the Lord, “Here I am, Lord. Send me. I am ready to go.” >>Doug Sweeney: Wonderful. All right. So, before we conclude, and because you’re doing such crucial work right now and our listeners really need to get behind it, how can we be praying for you and supporting you in your work? >>Turlac: On the personal front, please remember my family. We have two children – [Roman 00:33:52] and Victoria. Roman, our son is 16 years old. He is autistic. And has a severe developmental disability. So, pray for him and pray for my wife, Natasha, and I as we take care of him. And especially when I am gone, when I am traveling on missions, that the Lord would protect and show his grace to him. Pray for wisdom for me, because I have to preach in different contexts and in different situations. So, that the Lord would set his word and I would proclaim it not as my word but his word. And also pray for safety in travels. There are some countries where I can go into without any restrictions but there are some very difficult areas in our world where Christ is not welcome. And travel to those countries is quite challenging, especially crossing the borders. I need a lot of wisdom when I cross borders of what to say, when to say things, and when to be silent and let the Lord just act in the hearts of people who let me through the borders. And just keep me in your prayers because much of my time as a missionary is spent on the road. Those of you who might listen to this broadcast and who are missionaries know what I’m talking about. I am a missionary. I am sold out to missions. And I’m asking for prayers that the Lord would help me fulfill my dream of preaching the gospel in all 15 former republics of the Soviet Union. So far I have preached in 13 but my dream is to preach Christ in all 15 of them. >>Doug Sweeney: You have been listening to Dr. Oleg Turlac. He is Beeson Divinity Schools’ Alumnus of the Year in 2023. Much more importantly than that he is a faithful minister of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. All around the world in Toronto, Canada, his home base, and then very importantly these days in central and eastern Europe and western and central Asia. Please pray for him. Please support our brother Oleg. Thank you for tuning in. We love you. And we say goodbye for now. >>Rob Willis: You’ve been listening to the Beeson podcast; coming to you from the campus of Samford University. Our theme music is by Advent Birmingham. Our announcer is Mike Pasquarello. Our engineer is Rob Willis. And our show host is Doug Sweeney. For more episodes and to subscribe, visit www.BeesonDivinity.com/podcast. You can also find the Beeson Podcast on iTunes and Spotify.