Armenia Cpt 2112 01Years ago, at his lowest point, Edmon made a heart-wrenching decision: he would end his life.

He had problems with his backbone which caused unbearable pain. Like so many in his homeland of Armenia, he wasn’t working, so he didn’t have money for medical treatment. His mother encouraged him to visit a church, but when he heard a message there about the God who heals, it just made him angry. “I said to myself, ‘There is no God. If He really exists, why doesn’t He help me?’”

When he got home from the church, he kissed his wife and two sons and planned to end his life the next day.

“That night, I had an amazing dream,” he recalls. “A man in white clothes told me, ‘I know you. I know you decided to kill yourself, but I will give you life. If you go to the pastor you heard, he will tell you what to do.’”

In the middle of the night, Edmon went straight to the pastor’s home and heard the Gospel. “When I came back home, my wife was waiting for me. She was worried because she didn’t know where I was, but she didn’t dare ask questions,” he says. “So I told her everything, hugged her, and said we should go to church. And we did.”

After a few visits to church, Edmon’s back began to feel better. The doctors checked, and said the problems were gone. Edmon’s back was healed.

Edmon gave his life to the Lord. Now, he and his family are sharing the Gospel in an area of Armenia that was severely affected by the war in 2020. “Since the war in 2020, when Azerbaijan seized a large part of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), our province has become a border region. The situation is always tense, and war can start again at any time.”

He sees the hunger for the Gospel throughout the area. In November 2021, he started Bible League’s Church Planter Training, with plans to plant a church in the future. “I want to learn and grow in Christ in the ministry, plant new churches or home groups, and serve effectively,” he says. “The training brings me all that.”

He continues, “People in my region need God’s Word and a living relationship with God because they follow religious traditions and customs without knowing Him. They are thirsty for the Word of God. I see the need to share the Gospel because I realize only Jesus can help us and give real joy and peace.”

Edmon is excited to start implementing what he’s learning about in the training. “In the future, when I have the opportunity to plant a church, I will know how to start and what spiritual tools to use.”

Bible League’s training is an answered prayer for Edmon and other church leaders in his area. “Bible League Armenia is the only organization doing such ministries in our entire province,” he says. “The materials are understandable and useful for any Christian denomination. With all my heart, I want to thank you for helping us. The Scripture resources are essential. God’s Word is unique because it has the power to heal and change our lives. Thanks to all of you.”

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Edmon, second from right, and his Church Planter Training classmates.