About the ISLC
The first church-planting trip: USSR, 1991
The desperate need for missionary training in Russian language and culture became apparent during a mission trip to Ukraine in 1991. The fact that Russian has never been a widely-studied language in the United States, combined with a frustratingly complex grammar, has ensured that very few North American missionaries have possessed the knowledge of the language necessary for effective ministry. And the lack of any proper understanding of the culture among Americans causes all kinds of missiological mistakes and difficulties. As a result of this need, Russian Language Ministries (RLM) was born in the winter and early spring of 1992.
The early years: This early ’90s gospel message appeared on a wall in downtown Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. The authorities white-washed it the very next day…
Drawing on a shoestring budget, two instructors, and confidence in our Heavenly Father, RLM began with its first pilot course in the Spring of 1992 with 16 students in Albuquerque, NM. During this time RLM incorporated and received tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3) publicly-supported organization. The partnership with Columbia Bible College and Seminary (now known as Columbia International University) in Columbia, SC, began with the first intensive summer program in 1993.
The first Summer RLI at CIU
This partnership inspired and necessitated RLM to move its headquarters from Albuquerque to Columbia in early 1996, and today RLM and our new and growing language and culture institutes under the ISLC are located on the campus of Columbia International University.
To date RLM has trained over 700 missionaries in Russian language, culture, and history and now consists of a staff of eight. Our goal has always been to create the finest intensive Russian program in the world today and now, as the Institute of Strategic Languages & Cultures, we are working to expand our intensive and part-time training programs to include other strategic languages and cultures, such as Arabic and Chinese. As we have in the past, we continue to trust the Lord for His guidance and provision for an exciting future.
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