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October 2018

gennady and his wife, natasha

Courtesy Paul Brutsky ©

GENNADY PETROVICH BRUTSKY-STEMPKOVSKY

MAY 17, 1966 - JULY 12, 2018

“Jesus wept” (John 11:35). It’s the shortest verse in the Bible, yet so full of meaning! Sometimes there are
just no words to express our grief or sense of loss when a dear friend dies. Like Jesus, we stand at the grave
of the one we loved, and we weep.
Even as we mourn the loss of a precious earthly relationship with our friend and brother Gennady
Brutsky, we cling in faith to the promise of a glorious resurrection. Until that day when we stand with
Gennady in the presence of our Lord, we pray that God will comfort us and all who mourn for him, espe-
cially his precious wife and dear children.
Gennady Brutsky was the director of our work in Belarus and the former Soviet Union (FSU) for approxi-
mately 10 years. At the time of his sudden death from an apparent heart attack, our brother was only 52
years old; but by the grace of God, he made those years count mightily for the Lord.
The Formative Years
Gennady grew up in a Christian home in Minsk and made his own profession of faith
when he was 21. In addition to earning a law degree, he received theological train-
ing in Minsk and Austria and was ordained to the ministry in 1994. During a brief
period of religious openness in the 1990s, Gennady helped plant some 40 churches.
He had a deep love for the Jewish people and a clear understanding of God’s ongo-
ing plan for Israel.
For many years, Gennady served as a senior pastor and the leading Baptist elder in
the Minsk region. The lives of Gennady’s wife, Natasha, and their dear children also
reflect a home where God is loved, honored, and served. CJF Ministries was incredibly
blessed to have Gennady oversee our work in that region for the last 10 years.

Gennady and Natasha with their four children at the beginning of their association
with CJF Ministries a decade ago. L-R: Paul, Ben, Inna, Natasha, Gennady, and Andrew.
The three older children are now married. Courtesy Paul Brutsky ©

Ministry in the FSU

Our ministry in the Soviet Union actually began back in the 1960s with our Russian-
language shortwave radio broadcast over Trans World Radio (TWR). Our Russian
speakers back in those days were two brothers—Nick and Alex Leonovich. Later, in
the early 1990s, during that brief period of religious freedom, we led tours to Russia
and Ukraine, during which we distributed thousands of Bibles and Russian-language
literature. (See the Sep-Dec 2017 issue of Messianic Perspectives, available in our
archives at cjfm.org, for a recounting of two of those CJFM tours to Russia after the
fall of the old Soviet Union in the early 1990s.) Not long thereafter, we established our
Redemption 2000 program to help Jewish refugees flee the region’s widespread anti-
Semitism and emigrate to Israel. Redemption 2000 also provided humanitarian aid to
those who didn’t—or couldn’t—emigrate.
About that same time, CJF Ministries began to partner with a Messianic fellowship in
Belarus. Prominent musician and Jewish believer Nickolai Haskin led a Messianic Jewish
congregation that worshipped together and served the humanitarian needs of elderly
Holocaust survivors. Nickolai and his helpers ministered with “a loaf of bread” in one
hand and the Word of God in the other. Their ability to meet as a congregation, however,
was threatened when Belarus passed the 2002 Religion Law. Despite the constitutional
guarantee of religious freedom, the law severely restricted the ability of “non-tradi-
tional” religions (i.e., anyone outside the Russian Orthodox Church) to engage in any
religious activity. The state made it especially difficult, if not impossible, for smaller
groups to register and obtain facilities in which to meet. Even meeting in a private home
was considered illegal. Anyone ignoring or violating the law could be fined (repeatedly)
or even imprisoned. The Messianic congregation had a real dilemma.
 Gennady addresses the Messianic congregation, Beit Shalom, in Bobruisk,
Belarus. Beit Shalom meets in the basement of a Baptist Church. R.A. Higbee ©

A few years ago, Natasha sustained

Gennady organized his Jewish ministry teams
by regions and urged them to serve their local
Jewish communities. Brothers in the Brest region
worked to restore a Jewish cemetery. Here, one of
the team replaces a gravestone marking the 1942
Nazi massacre of the Jewish residents of Gorodets
(Horodetz). Courtesy Gennady ©
life-threatening injuries when the
attic floor she was walking on gave
way, dropping her two stories below.
We joined believers around the
world in praying fervently for her
healing. The next year, a healed and
smiling Natasha. G. Heisler ©

At the muddy Jordan River in 2015. Paul Brutsky (r), who is fluent in English,
traveled often with his parents and was regularly called upon to serve as a
translator at pastors’ conferences and other CJFM gatherings. His cheerful
spirit and willing servant’s heart were invaluable to his father and to us. Also
pictured are Alexander Firisuk and Yuri Apatov (black cap), president of the
Eurasian Federation of Baptist Unions. G. Heisler ©
Relief from God
Their problem continued until Nickolai developed a relationship with members of the
Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists of Belarus. Although the Baptists were also
considered a non-traditional religion, they were a much larger group and already had
obtained government approval to meet. More importantly, many of their churches
owned their own facilities. The Baptists allowed our Messianic congregation to register
under their umbrella, and, knowing Jewish reluctance to enter a church, offered them a
place to meet in their seminary building. Although this arrangement was a little tenta-
tive at first, as each party learned to trust the other, the relationship soon grew stronger.
In 2007, some of Belarus’ leading Baptist pastors, including then Belarus Baptist
Union president, Nikolai Sinkovets, joined CJF Ministries for a special tour of Israel.
We had already obtained the support of another highly regarded regional Baptist
Union leader, Alexander Firisuk (who still serves on our FSU advisory board). As
a result of the tour, CJF Ministries and the Belarus Baptist Union became better
acquainted and developed a strong desire to cooperate in ministry. Our work in the
FSU began to grow.

Gennady looks for a good camera vantage point atop a wall at Qumran. R.A. Higbee ©

Gennady’s Role Expands

Much of the credit for that growth belongs to Gennady Brutsky who was on that
tour with us in 2007. We quickly learned several things about Gennady. First, he was
extremely capable and reliable. Second, he was highly respected by his fellow pas-
tors in the FSU. Third, he had a deep love for the Jewish people. And fourth, he was an
avid photographer! Gennady instantly connected with CJFM’s staff photographer, Rick
Higbee, when he discovered they were both using the same high-end camera.
Not long after that tour, Gennady agreed to assume oversight of our work in Belarus.
He immediately began organizing Jewish ministry efforts in four key districts. Before
long, he was also urging us to conduct a pastors’ conference. He said he would do all
the logistics, planning, and legwork, if we would provide the speakers/teachers. The
conferences would be jointly funded by CJF Ministries in America and the Baptists in
the former Soviet Union. Gennady’s vision was to use these conferences to counter
the anti-Semitism of the powerful and ubiquitous Russian Orthodox Church and to
show his fellow Baptists that God was not yet finished with the Jewish people. The
first conference was planned for 2009 in Minsk, Belarus. The theme was “Israel and
the Church in the Plans of God.”
Gennady joins Alexander Firisuk and the Messianic congregation’s pastor, Gregory
Podrez (r), for worship at Beit Shalom Messianic congregation in Bobruisk, Belarus.
R.A. Higbee ©

That 2009 conference was such a resounding success, Gennady immediately began
advocating for more conferences, where we would take the message that “God is not
finished with Israel and the Jewish people” to other FSU countries. He not only advo-
cated for these conferences, and lobbied enthusiastically for them, he made them a
reality. And that was no small task considering the logistics involved! The dates and
venues had to be decided upon; transportation coordinated; invitations issued; meals
and accommodations planned; translators, and worship teams procured. And like any
widely-scattered religious denomination, there are differences between the various
regions; so, the leadership in each locale had to be approached with tact and sensitiv-
ity. Topics for the program had to be decided upon as well, and several local churches
(with translators) had to be selected to host CJFM guest speakers at worship services
on the Sunday following each conference. Because of Gennady’s incredible adminis-
trative abilities, his dogged determination, and his winsome personality, each confer-
ence went off without a hitch.

A more recent picture of Gennady and Natasha’s growing family. Courtesy Paul Brutsky ©
God’s Blessings on the Work
Largely due to Gennady’s efforts, CJF Ministries has now taught nearly 2,000 pas-
tors in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and Latvia about God’s ongoing
purposes for Israel and the Jewish people. Because of his influence, many Russian-
speaking pastors have also toured Israel with us, and hundreds of Baptist pastors
have been challenged to begin Jewish outreach ministries in their own local commu-
nities. These preachers have learned that celebrating the biblical feasts is a good way
to learn about the Jewish roots of their faith and to build bridges between themselves
and their Jewish neighbors. A ministry effort of such magnitude across the FSU would
never have been possible without Gennady Brutsky.

Gennady sits with Alexander Firisuk and Rob Styler at the head table for a meal in
Latvia at our 2018 pastors’ conference. CJFM staff and presenters sat opposite lead-
ing Latvian pastors and their wives. Gennady was in the process of planning a 2019
Russia conference when the Lord called him home. R.A. Higbee ©

Rob Styler teaches at the 2016 pastors’ conference outside of Tbilisi, Georgia, while
CJFM staff member Jenya Drazman translates his message into Russian. Headphones
were provided to non-Russian-speaking attendees so they could receive the informa-
tion in their native Georgian by a separate translation. R.A. Higbee ©

CJF Ministries has been incredibly blessed to have a man of Gennady’s character, abili-
ties, and vision leading our work in that region of the world. The esteem in which
Gennady was held is reflected by the following comment from his direct supervisor,
CJFM director of missions Rob Styler. Rob compared his trust of Gennady with the
trust that Potiphar placed in Joseph. “Potiphar put Joseph in charge and let him run
the household. Potiphar did not worry about anything with Joseph in charge. It was
very much like that for Gennady and me.”
Gennady in turn, viewed Rob not so much as his boss, but as his friend. And so he was.
And so were we all, Gennady! We will miss you.
 Farewell for Now, But Not for Long
At Gennady’s funeral, mourners prayed together, sang hymns of hope and comfort,
and listened to words of tribute and assurance from Pastor Nikolai Sinkovets and
many, many others.
It is impossible with the few words and photos in this article to do justice to all that
Gennady meant to us as a coworker, friend, and fellow believer. We know that he is
with the Lord and that we will see him again. May that be our consolation until the
arrival of that Day.

Friends and family members help carry Gennady’s casket into the church as his wife and
daughter follow. Courtesy Paul Brutsky ©

Longtime friend and colleague (and former

Nailed to the cross is a plaque president of the Belarus Baptist Union), Nikolai
bearing Gennady’s full name and Sinkovets, comforts those gathered. Many of
the dates of his birth and death. Gennady’s fellow pastors also offered thoughts at
Courtesy Paul Brutsky © the service. Courtesy Paul Brutsky ©

Gennady’s memorial service was held at the church he pastored in Minsk. Family members
were seated up front, surrounding the casket. There was standing room only. Courtesy Paul Brutsky ©
A proliferation of flowers accompanied Gennady both to his funeral and to his final
earthly resting place. Courtesy Paul Brutsky ©

It seems appropriate to conclude our brief remembrance of Gennady with a portion

from the Mourner’s Kaddish, originally written in Aramaic (the ancient Middle Eastern
language of the common people) and traditionally recited in memory of the dead. The
prayer makes no actual mention of death, but rather draws our attention to the majes-
tic, sovereign One who holds all things in His hands, and whose ways are far beyond
our understanding.

“May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.

Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored,
adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He,
beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that
are ever spoken in the world;
and say, AMEN.”

If you would like to express your condolences and well-wishes to Natasha and the family,
you may send your card or letter to them in care of CJF Ministries, PO Box 345, San Anto-
nio, Texas 78292, or send an email to info@cjfm.org, and we will see that it’s translated
into Russian and forwarded to the Brutzkys.
We have also established a Gennady Brutzky Memorial Fund to support CJFM’s work
in the former Soviet Union. Contributions to this fund go entirely toward missionary sala-
ries, humanitarian aid (e.g., medications, medical care, food baskets, and housing assis-
tance, as well as blankets and warm clothing during the brutally cold winter months),
and other expenses related to our work in the FSU.