On Sunday, February 27, Pastor John MacArthur preached at Evergreen Church. Hear more from Pastor Rocky as he reflects on that Sunday.

How did you think Pastor John’s sharing at our church went?

The entire Lord’s Day when Pastor John visited our church was amazing! Our Lord continues to show His hesed love for Evergreen Church by bringing gifts like Pastor John to encourage us. Out of his incredibly busy schedule, he preached the Word and took the time to share his personal thoughts with us. People have shared with me that the interview portion of the day felt like our entire church family was able to pull up a chair beside the pastor and hear him share his insights as an older brother. It was fun to hear about his family and the insights that he learned through football. On a personal level, Sharla and the children were super encouraged to have Pastor John take the time to visit our church since I have shared on many occasions with them on how the Lord has been caring for our church through people like him.

Was there any significance to what Pastor John preached (Psalm 19) in relation to where the Lord is leading our church?

It was quite significant for Psalm 19 to be preached as it is one of the signature portions of Scripture that proclaims how God speaks to His people. Pastor John delivered a clear exposition of Psalm 19. Psalm 19:1-6 says that God communicates to all people on a general level through His Creation. Psalm 19:7-14 says that God gives specific revelation to His people. Specific revelation is where God give His own testimony to who He is and how one comes to a saving relationship with Him. In other words, creation may declare in a general sense that a divine creator exists, but the Bible is God’s only reliable testimony to who He is. The Bible is the only inerrant, authoritative and sufficient Word from God. Psalm 19 tells us that we are on the correct path as we emphasize God’s Word in everything that we do.

Why do you believe this was an emblematic moment for our church?

As I think about Pastor John, his commitment to the faithful ministry of God’s Word comes to mind. Therefore, his visit was significant for us as his visit was emblematic of what our Lord is doing at Evergreen Church. The ministry of the Word of God is foundational to the discipleship of our church. Since discipleship is the central theme of the church, this was a foundational teaching on what the church is to focus on. God’s Word is a “Discipleship Essential.”  “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42) To put it in another way, one cannot grow as a disciple without God’s Word. Therefore, anyone who is with Evergreen Church on the Lord’s Day comes away with a strong emphasis on God’s Word. The Bible is being taught during the Sunday School Hour from 9-10am. The Lord’s Day Service is loaded with God’s Word as we read the Word during our public reading of Scripture. We sing the Word as the praise music is loaded with doctrine. We pray the Word as leaders pray according to God’s Word and we preach the Word as we are committed to expository preaching. Expository preaching is the commitment to preach the God intended meaning of the biblical text for the building up of the Body of Christ. Therefore, the preaching of Psalm 19 was incredibly significant to our church.

What benefit do you see in allowing guest preachers, such as Pastor John MacArthur, to preach at our church?

We are just getting started as we are coming out of two years of COVID-19, and we will begin to see what it feels like to be a member of Evergreen Church.

Pastor John has been faithfully pastoring Grace Community Church for over 50 years, and it is amazing to see their commitment to build up one another through the ministry of the Word and prayer. The benefits from hearing from people like Pastor John are numerous.

First, he is able help paint the picture of what the future could look like some day. As he shared with us, he is looking backwards upon his life as he is in his 80’s and he can recognize the providential moments in his life that has led up to where he is at today. It takes time and patience to see how the invisible hand of the Lord is moving. We are just getting started and it helps to hear from role models who are further down the road. “The Work of the Word” was preached at Pastor John’s 50th anniversary and it provides a picture of what faithful Bible exposition over the course of a lifetime yields.

Second, he was able to encourage us by letting us know how difficult it was for him in his initial years at Grace Community Church in 1969. This is a reminder that Gospel ministry is always filled with challenges. There are always unique challenges when there is a transition in leadership, but the challenges were multiplied due to the COVID-19 season. Therefore, we should expect challenges in the life of the church and understand that it is a part of the process.

Third, he is a living picture of finishing strong. Finishing well is the genuine desire of all followers of Jesus Christ. Paul said that he had fought the good fight and finished the course that was set before him, and a crown of righteousness was waiting for him in Heaven (2 Timothy 4:6-8). A picture is worth a thousand words, and we all need to formulate the vision of a Christian Champion.

Fourth, it is good to see the greater Body of Christ to see more of Christ. This is how the one anothers functions in the greater Body of Christ. Our aim is Christlikeness, and it is helpful to see. It is a great reminder that we are not alone and there are many faithful likeminded brothers and sisters outside of our local church.

Are there any guest preachers lined up the church can possibly look forward to hearing in the future?

The Lord has provided other people from outside of our local church who have come alongside us, and some have agreed to preach on the Lord’s Day. However, I will keep it a surprise for now.

by Arman

It’s good to be back home! I have a little bit of jet-lag and there is fresh snow outside (definitely not L.A. weather). I don’t have the luxury of resting much – too busy with my church, publishing company and American football team but I am very grateful for a short season I got to spend in Cali, where I could rest so well.

I’d like to share with you just one most amazing thing that happened upon my arrival. It has to do with my football team. As you know I played for the Almaty Horde before coming to L.A. Our coach is a big and tough Kazakh guy, who absolutely loves American football. I’d say it’s his main idol. He’s ready to give it all on the field, he’d be happy to practice or watch football any time of day or night and he dreams about visiting the U.S. At the same time, he has big anger issues, gets easily provoked, and has a long track record of starting fights and beating players. He even tried to fight me back when I just joined the team in 2020 during one of our practices. I think it’s been his way of reaffirming his leadership. If it were not for the sake of making Christ’s name known, I’d never had chosen to play under (or work or follow) such a leader.

It took some time, but by God’s grace by the end of 2020 I gained respect and trust from my coach and the whole team. But bursts of anger and aggression continued although more rarely than before. As I was finishing my coaching internship in the US, I started questioning whether I’d be able to co-lead the team with our current coach. Reading our team chat, it looked like the team was falling apart. We had only 12 players for our finals in mid-October (our guys still played like lions and lost 24-6 against the team that had 25 guys). Then for the last game in September, we only had 8 players which meant they couldn’t even play the full game. On the average, 5-7 guys showed up for practices, and some practices had to be canceled altogether because just a couple of people showed up. I was watching all this happen from the other side of the world but every time I talked to the coach on the phone, he kept saying that everything was great. He blamed the players for being irresponsible and for the lack of discipline but was blind to the true reasons of the situation.

After much prayer and seeking counsel from various people (including Pastor Rocky), I decided I was going to confront our coach after I returned to Kazakhstan and if he was not to listen to my counsel, then I would start a new team. I talked to my little brother Aslan who plays as our lineman, and he confirmed my guess that the team spirit was very low, and he was considering quitting too.

This week our coach and I met to talk. I was confident that his response would be bad, and that there was absolutely nothing in my own strength to convince him for a need to change and allow me to start the reformation as a new coach. At first, he was very defensive. Somehow, he convinced himself that things were fine and that all we needed to do was to recruit a few new players. For all of the issues I brought up he had an excuse. The conversation was getting more heated, and I ran out of words and was ready to give up and tell him that I was leaving. But after a moment of silence he asked, “What do you think is the problem?” And that led to an hour-long conversation of me trying to speak the truth in love. It seems that these couple of points made him think hard:

1. That the coach’s job is somewhat similar to a pastor’s job. Would he describe himself as a good shepherd?

2. That God doesn’t care about his football accomplishments, but He hates the sin of unrighteous anger and violence against people He entrusts him to coach.

3. That anger hurts people around him – not only on the team, but also in his family and at work.

Time after time I reaffirmed him in that the only reason I told him these tough things was my love for him and for our team. And by God’s grace when I finally asked him what he thought about me taking over the responsibilities of the head coach [without actually having the title] he answered, “What would you like me to do – just play or help you as an assistant coach?” – I couldn’t believe my ears! I told him that I needed him as a coach and not just a player with all his experience and knowledge of all the technical aspects of the game. 

My non-believing brother was shocked upon hearing what happened. Right before my meeting he asked me whether I was praying about it. Now I could tell him how God answered the prayer! At our elders’ meeting at church yesterday I told the brothers that I firmly believe now that God has His children on our team and that’s the only reason He wanted me to stay there and continue my ministry.

Please pray for the following:

1. God’s wisdom in how I lead the team. I think I kind of know what I need to do but without God’s wisdom I am doomed to fail. It looks like we’ll have 16 guys at our Saturday practice, and it will be my first time being there as a coach and not a player.

2. God’s continued blessing on my relationship with our coach and the whole team. It will be an interesting dynamic because our core group of players have played the game much longer than me. Pray especially that I’d have no fear of man as a new coach (and not pretend I know everything just because I spent a few months with an American team) but would display humility and show God’s love and care to everyone.

3. God’s glory and His name to be known by all my teammates!

By Arman

Farewells are always bittersweet. I am both excited to start my journey back to Kazakhstan (after I see some friends in Detroit and DC) and sad to leave California. 

God has blessed me with countless fun memories here over the past 2.5 months: 

• Tasting the art of tailgating for the first time with Chris and his family before a USC game as well as watching my first live college football with Stuart [USC] and Victor [UCLA]. Both teams lost those games so think twice before you invite me to watch your favorite team play.

• Making shabu and sushi with the Setos. Mako kept his word after I put him on the spot in my previous blog post [y’all should note this brilliant strategy]. It was a great night of fellowship.

• Too much great food [this was confirmed last week when one of my students said, “Coach Arman, you’ve been getting bigger every week since you came here”] and not enough time to hang out with so many of you! 

I have been surrounded by so much love and care from Evergreen and my football team at Rio Hondo Prep – I am praising the Lord for your faithfulness and desire to be part of my ministry to the lost in Kazakhstan, especially among American football players there. I didn’t have to worry about a place to live or transportation – you’ve provided me with everything necessary for a fruitful time of learning the craft of coaching during my stay. Hilda even took a role of a caring American mom – not only by helping me navigate through the mundane things like where I can do laundry but also by regularly asking me whether I have enough food 😊.

Among all these memories the most special ones were those where I got to witness God’s work in and through others. Like watching the elders of Evergreen [every Tuesday morning] think, pray and discuss of how to lead the church faithfully in accordance with God’s revealed will in His Scriptures. Like singing rich hymns with the saints on Sundays – many of which we sing in Russian back in Almaty – and sitting under faithful preaching of God’s Word week in and week out. Or how you’ve welcomed my Kazakh friends and football players from Rio Hondo Prep when they visited our church services.

I am especially sad to leave my high school football team right now – it feels like my students have just gotten to a point where they can trust me with some deep matters of their hearts. I’ll share a few examples of that privilege. One of the players wanted to discuss a question of how God’s sovereignty relates to human’s responsibility. Another was wrestling with the biblical texts on women’s role at church. One time after practice a student asked, “Coach Arman, can I talk to you?” I said, “Sure. What do you want to talk about?” – “Nothing in particular. I just want you to tell me more about God and the gospel”. And then we spent almost an hour talking about the beauty of Christ in the gospel. Maybe one of the most moving conversations happened a couple of weeks ago. We were lifting weights in the gym when a student asked whether I have time to chat with him. As he began talking, tears started pouring from his eyes as he said, “How can I be closer to God? I think that my soul is perishing…” I could barely hold my own tears as we talked about the ugliness and stupidity of sin and the unshakable hope we have in Christ. Oh, how thankful I am that the Lord allowed me to become a member of the Kares football team during these couple of months! 

If the Lord wills, this is not my last time in LA. I hope to be visiting you in the future and I am so excited to see what the Lord has for Evergreen SGV! I pray that you as a church keep pursuing Christ with all your heart and strength and that you stand firm in the grace of our Lord. I am privileged to be able to say that I consider Evergreen as my home in California. Please know that my church in Almaty is very thankful to the saints here for all the support and care you’ve shown me. And please pray for the fruit in my football ministry in Kazakhstan! May the Lord save many there for the glory of His name!

Much love in Christ,

Arman

Dear Church Family,

My name is Arman. I was born and raised in Kazakhstan in a nominally Muslim home. The first Christian I met was an American missionary, Jon. I met him at a gym during my sophomore year of university in 2006. Through my friendship with Jon, studying the Bible and history of early Christianity and observing the life of a small local house church that I began to attend, I was becoming more and more convinced that the claims of Christ as presented in the New Testament were true. By God’s grace in November 2007, I turned away from my sin and trusted my life to God in Christ. I was baptized at my house church in May 2008.

Most of my background has been in business and project management. Currently I run a Christian publishing company that is located in Russia. Our goal is to equip thousands of Christians (and especially pastors) with solid theological resources.

I’ve served as a lay pastor or preacher for most of my Christian life. In God’s providence, sports has always been one of the primary platforms for my personal evangelism and discipleship. Maybe it’s because I myself got to know the first Christian at a gym.😊

In March 2020, I started playing for a local American football team in Almaty, Kazakhstan [Almaty Horde]. Their coach came to our church service because he heard that the preacher (me) was a good athlete, and he wanted to recruit me. At first, I hated that sport, but I loved the team and wanted to serve the guys who desperately needed Jesus. At my first practice, I got nicknamed “Padre” and that nickname has stuck.

By God’s grace, all of my teammates have heard the gospel and about half of them have visited our church. To make this ministry long lasting, I wanted to learn how to coach and along with my church, started praying for an opportunity to intern in the US. 

In March 2021, I came to California for the Shepherds’ Conference at Grace Bible Church. There in God’s providence, I met Pastor Rocky. He immediately offered his help! Later he helped set up a coaching internship with Rio Hondo Prep School. After overcoming several logistical hiccups related to COVID-19, I came to LA on August 8 and will be here for a couple of months.

I am so thankful to our Lord for the hospitality of Evergreen SGV’s members! Brother Baldwin took me to the church service straight from the airport and I immediately felt loved by you! Quite a few people came to say hi and told me that they’ve been praying for me after watching a video I recorded a couple months ago. Thank you for providing me with housing and a car. My church in Kazakhstan also praises the Lord for your generosity! 

My coaching internship started well. The staff and the team showed me a very warm welcome. I need to learn a ton of things as I feel like I went from kindergarten to high school, but I am very excited about this invaluable experience. Please pray that I learn well and that I can serve the team well in any capacity I can.

I look forward to getting to know you better while I am here.

Much love in Christ,

Arman