If you have been following and praying for our partners’ ministries, you may have been struck by Ruslan and Larisa Telpiz’s requests to pray for the church’s taekwondo and football ministries. Here, Ruslan shares more about the work and why it matters.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved sports, and my favourite has always been boxing. All my life I dreamed of becoming a boxer, but in our village, that was not possible because we didn’t have any coaches. Only kids from the city had that opportunity, not those from rural areas.
I have many Christian friends who practice taekwondo and have become national, European, or even world champions. Most of them originally got into sports for different reasons—some simply for the love of sport, others to prove themselves or get revenge, and some because they were physically weak and wanted to toughen up to face life.
But when they started taekwondo, they discovered that Bible study was mandatory, and they were even tested on biblical themes. At first, none of them liked this. “Why do I need the Bible? I just came to do sports!” they would say.
However, they didn’t leave practice because the coaches were different. They didn’t curse, were kind and understanding, prayed before each session, taught the students good characteristics, mentored them, and gave them life skills—things they didn’t receive anywhere else.
The discipline was strict. Through this process, many came to know the Lord personally. Today, some of them are coaches themselves, and others are pastors or youth leaders.
The same is true for our football programme. With Bible studies, prayer, mentoring, and biblical counselling, these kids begin to see life from a different perspective.
And their parents are happy, knowing where their children are and what they are learning—not to become street bullies, but to become moral, disciplined boys and girls.
Both the taekwondo and football training sessions have two parts: the spiritual and the athletic. Each session includes thirty minutes of Bible study. Every child receives a study book to complete, which includes memory verses and questions. Their homework is to tell their parents what they’ve learned. If the taekwondo students don’t do their homework, they don’t pass the exam and can’t receive their next belt. It’s the same in football. If they don’t do their homework, they can’t compete in championships.
We also work with the parents if their behaviour isn’t as it should be and that seems to be working very well.
This academic year, we will study a course titled How to Honour Your Parents, which is a major issue in today’s society. This will bring blessing both to the children and to their parents. Currently, we have two taekwondo coaches, Andrei and Ana, and one football coach, Dinu.
Our greatest need right now is for a high-quality stadium. The village stadium is already in poor condition, as the entire community uses it and no one takes proper care of it. When we have championships, we are forced to travel to other villages that have slightly better fields. We also need a larger bus. Andrei has eighteen taekwondo students, and Dinu has nearly thirty football players. Our current bus only has eight seats, and we need to transport our students, especially to championships. Please pray with us that God will provide for all our needs.
By Ruslan Telpiz, Pastor of Gotești Baptist Church, Moldova
