Editor’s Note: Joel Renner is the CEO of RENNER Ministries and the National Director of the U.S. ministry office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Joel resides in Moscow, Russia, with his wife and two sons. Alongside his father, Joel has actively participated in nearly every facet of the daily operations of the ministry since his youth.

Dear Friend,

Helping the elderly is so important. At RENNER Ministries, we take seriously our responsibility to honor those who have come before us. Remember, Exodus 20:12 tells us, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” I want to share with you about the elderly in Moscow and what we do as a ministry to serve them.

Based on a recent report, the average life expectancy for men in Russia is 68 years and for women it is 78 years. In Russia, women begin receiving their pension (or Social Security payments) at 60 years of age, and men begin receiving theirs at 65. On average, people who receive a pension in Russia receive $270 per month. And although most elderly people use public transportation and have an apartment that they own, we understand that they still have to be very careful with their funds. This is the reality for many elderly people in Russia, so every week the Moscow Good News Church gives them something that is free that they can look forward to.

Every week we host an hour-long concert for senior citizens in Moscow, and artists — who are true stars and concert performers — come and share their talent out of respect for these precious men and women. Each week we have a full house of elderly people who travel by public transportation to be there. For many, due to the size of Moscow, it can take up to two hours of travel one way to attend these concerts. They come because they want to enjoy the music that they grew up listening to and they want to listen to the reading of poems that they read as children. But most of all, I believe they want to feel wanted and remembered.

After every concert, we invite these wonderful elderly people to stay for a Bible class. We let them know that we are a church and that we believe in Jesus, and then we give them this option: If they just came for a concert, they are welcome to go home, but if they want to stay and learn about Jesus, they are welcome to stay. And every week, 90 percent of the people stay to learn about Jesus — isn’t that amazing? Through this incredible outreach over the years, thousands upon thousands of people have given their hearts to Jesus in the sunset years of their lives.

Salvation is a true miracle, and if you are our partner — someone who regularly financially supports our ministry — we want you to know that your giving makes this outreach possible.  You are a part of taking the Gospel to these precious people! If you are not a partner yet, please consider becoming one and helping us reach the senior citizens of Moscow for Jesus.

God bless,

Joel Renner

Editor’s Note: Joel Renner is the CEO of RENNER Ministries and the National Director of the U.S. ministry office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Joel resides in Moscow, Russia, with his wife and two sons. Alongside his father, Joel has actively participated in nearly every facet of the daily operations of the ministry since his youth.

Dear Friend,

In Russia, 26 percent of the population has an income of 11,653 rubles per month (about $185 at the time I am writing this). That means 26 percent of Russians live at or below the poverty line. Russia has a population of approximately 144 million people, so that means about 37,440,000 people experience this level of poverty.

This creates a huge challenge because this affects many aspects of life. Just think about that situation. Could you live on $185 each month? It would be very difficult to do. Some large family dinners alone can cost more than that.

When our family moved to Moscow in 2000, it didn’t take long for us to meet Alexander and Lilit. They had a heart for the homeless and for abandoned children, and when we met them, they were weekly feeding soup to the homeless at one of Moscow’s train stations. They were also taking abandoned children into their tiny apartment to give them a home. This homeless outreach is a ministry that they still do today.

I remember the first time I went to serve food with Alexander and Lilit at the Kurskaya train station in downtown Moscow. It was a very cold winter day. We got all the plastic plates, cups, and spoons ready. We opened up the soup containers and watched as the steam came out. And then, people started coming. At the same time and day every week, the homeless knew where to come. This all happened on the sidewalk of a train station. Every week Alexander and Lilit would welcome those homeless people close, quickly pray over the food, tell each person that Jesus loves them, and then we would start pouring soup for these precious people.

That event didn’t take more than two hours, and after we were done, I walked back to my warm and safe home with my loving family, and I relived two things. First, it doesn’t take much to show Christ’s love to other people. We don’t even have to understand each other, but if we are consistent and pray for people, they will figure out that Jesus (even through the kindness of other people) really does love them.

The second thing I learned is that homeless people are not bad people. Many people living on the streets have families, and many of them even have an apartment, but they are no longer welcome there. Some homeless people even have an education, but somewhere along the way in life, they hit a hard patch and lost their way. They didn’t know Jesus at that time, so the devil had his way and left them destitute and broken. But as believers, we have the answer — and that answer is Jesus. Jesus is the light, and He is the way. He wants every person in homelessness to be restored.

On behalf of my family and the RENNER Ministries team, I want to say thank you to all our partners for supporting the work Alexander and Lilit are doing. They are silent heroes in my book, and I am so proud we can work with them to share Christ with people.

If you would like to see photos of Alexander and Lilit’s work, please click here.

God bless,

Joel Renner

Editor’s Note: Joel Renner is the CEO of RENNER Ministries and the National Director of the U.S. ministry office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Joel resides in Moscow, Russia, with his wife and two sons. Alongside his father, Joel has actively participated in nearly every facet of the daily operations of the ministry since his youth.

Dear Friend,

The Great Commission is found in Matthew 28:18-20, which says:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”

This is the Great Commission — the job all Christians have in front of them until the very end of the age. I am so glad that our Lord gave us such a clear assignment. He didn’t go into great detail in how to accomplish this task, but to us it is understood that we should use any means possible to reach the lost.

One way we at RENNER Ministries have done this is by teaching the Good News to people via TV. People all over the world watch TV, and we believe that the Gospel needs to be on TV too.

I have heard people say for years that TV is dead and that fewer people are watching it, but my experience tells me that people have not stopped watching TV. People are watching more TV in general via computers, phones, and other devices, including social media. We need to be wherever people are so that they can hear the Gospel and have a chance to give their lives to Jesus and become His disciple.

Attached to this email are photos from the TV programs we produce, showing how we make our programs and how we got started on TV.  

Because of TV, we have been able to take the Gospel to places we could never go. We have spread the Good News to millions of people around the world over the years, and throughout that time we have certainly received millions of letters from viewers. Just think about that vast number — and that doesn’t even include the people we didn’t receive a letter from. The response we have seen to sharing the Gospel through TV has been enormous, and if you are a partner, you are a part of making it happen! I want to take this opportunity to say thank you for helping us take the sound teaching of the Bible to so many people.

If you are not a partner yet, please join us in taking the Gospel to as many people as possible before the end of the age.

God bless,

Joel Renner

Click here to view photos.

Editor’s Note: Joel Renner is the CEO of RENNER Ministries. Alongside his father, Joel has actively participated for many years in nearly every facet of the daily operations of the ministry. Joel resides in Moscow, Russia, with his wife and two sons.

Dear Friend,

On September 7, 2000, we had our first Moscow Good News Church service in the Hotel Russia. I remember it so well, and now 22 years later, we are celebrating all that the Lord has done in the church. It’s difficult to say for certain how many hundreds of thousands of people have attended the Moscow Good News Church over the years, but I would not be exaggerating to say the most important thing we do as a church is share the Gospel with them. That is what we have been doing for 22 years in more than 1,100 church services — sharing the Good News with those who need it most.

Here are some photos from our first church meeting in the Hotel Russia and photos from our most recent church anniversary:

The list of people who have spoken in the Moscow Good News Church could go on for several pages, and the work that God has done in our church would fill many more. The marriage ceremonies that have been performed, the children who have been dedicated, the funerals that have been held, the leaders who have been trained and built up, and the troubled marriages that have been rescued because of the Gospel teaching in our church is just outstanding.

If you are a financial partner with us, YOU are a part of making these results a reality. The fruit of this work is amazing, and we want to say thank you for all you have given to make this outreach of the Gospel possible. Not everyone grows up in church or has Bible teaching available to them, so we must continue taking the Gospel to those who need it.

Remember what Jesus said in Luke 5:31: “…It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” As Christians, we need to take medicine to the sick, and that medicine is the good news of the love of Christ.

Let’s keep on taking the love of Jesus to as many people as possible.

God bless,

Joel Renner

Click here to view photos.

Editor’s Note: Joel Renner is the CEO of RENNER Ministries. Alongside his father, Joel has actively participated for many years in nearly every facet of the daily operations of the ministry. Joel resides in Moscow, Russia, with his wife and two sons.

Dear Friend,

Over the years, Rick and Denise have reached millions of people with the Gospel, through television, the Internet, books, and physical meetings. Rick and Denise have been a team in all they do, and one important part of this work is Denise’s ministry to women.

Denise has published five books in the English language, and each of these books has also been translated into Russian and given to thousands and thousands of women in this part of the world. Denise also teaches on two TV programs: TIME With Denise Renner and Questions and Answers With Denise. In these two programs, she sheds light on what the Bible says about love, respect, obedience, and so many other things. The Questions and Answers program is especially well accepted because often when people are faced with difficult life questions, they need a biblical perspective to find the true answer.

One passage that Denise has had on her heart for years is Titus 2:3-5:

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Denise sincerely took this to heart, and for more than a decade now, she has held a Bible class called Who Stole Cinderella. In these classes, Denise teaches women how to be godly wives, and through this teaching, hundreds of marriages have been saved from falling apart. Many women have been able to find the answers from the Bible that they needed for their lives. Over the years, 2,400 women have completed the physical Cinderella classes, and in just the last five years, 6,000 women have been enrolled in the online Cinderella classes!

RENNER Ministries believes in taking the Gospel both near and far, and through Denise’s work, the Word of God is being ministered to the hearts of both men and women around the world.

If you are a partner of our ministry, we want to say THANK YOU for supporting us so we can take the sound teaching of the Bible to people in need. If you are not a partner yet, would you please pray about joining us so we can take the Gospel to even more people? We are so grateful to God for you.

God bless,

Joel Renner

Click here to see pictures of Denise’s ministry.

Editor’s Note: Joel Renner is the CEO of RENNER Ministries. Alongside his father, Joel has actively participated for many years in nearly every facet of the daily operations of the ministry. Joel resides in Moscow, Russia, with his wife and two sons.

Dear Friend,

Have you ever seen a homeless person on the street holding up a sign with words like, “Will work for food” written on it? There are many similar situations people find themselves in, and those people feel so helpless and hopeless. When I see anyone like that, I have an array of thoughts.

One thought is the verse Proverbs 19:17:

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.

Another verse that comes to mind is Proverbs 14:31:

Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

Proverbs 28:27 also says:

Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.

Wow! The book of Proverbs has some really great things to say about helping the poor. It is also amazing to me that we as people can have a natural desire to help someone in need. Although, even when our heart goes out to a needy person we see on the street, our mind might turn on and tell us that the person asking for help is a scammer, or that if we give this person money, he or she will just go out and buy an addictive substance instead of food or something he or she really needs.

I understand these thoughts, but I also remember what Proverbs says about helping the poor, so we need to be diligent in caring for the needy.

Our church has been feeding and ministering to the homeless in Moscow, Russia, and Riga, Latvia, for years. Through this outreach, we have also given tons of clothes to those in need. We want the outcasts of society to feel welcome in our church, so we created a special service where the homeless can get a hot meal and a change of clothes and hear the good news of the Gospel.

From our experience, we know that there are many homeless people who are smart and educated. Many people who are living on the streets once had a home and family and still want to go back to them, but life and bad decisions took them on a very wrong path. These people need Jesus first, but they also need a helping hand. That is why our church provides this important outreach to the homeless.

If you are a financial partner with our ministry, you are a part of this work with us. And that also means you are doing what Proverbs says by helping the poor. We want to say THANK YOU for partnering with us to share Christ with these lost people. Remember, we were all lost once, but Jesus gave us a way out. If you are not a financial partner with us, today I am asking that you pray about becoming one so that we can reach more people with the Gospel and tangibly show them the love of Christ.

God bless,

Joel Renner

Dear Friend,

This year has been amazing for the work of the Gospel. Jesus is coming back very soon, and I want to be at my best, fulfilling the Great Commission that we see in Matthew 28:18-20:

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The great thing about this directive is that Jesus said, “…Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” But look at where this promise is located — Jesus says it at the end. That means we have to do what He says at the beginning for the promise at the end to be ours. We have to go and make disciples, and when we do that, Jesus promises He will be with us.

This year, RENNER Ministries has taken the Gospel to people via television in the U.S. and over our satellite network GNC TV, reaching more than 85 nations of the world. We receive testimonies every day about how our television outreach and this channel are changing people’s lives.

In 2022, we have also taken relief packages to thousands and thousands of displaced people. These men, women, and children are still in need of help, but when the dust settles, we believe we will hear even greater testimonies about how the food we have distributed, along with our book on salvation and copies of Psalm 91, have changed their lives.

Our ministry has also continued to feed the homeless and take care of the orphaned this year, too, honoring God by doing what Proverbs 14:31 says: “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” Throughout Moscow — a vast city of more than 20 million people, many of whom have yet to be evangelized — we are ministering the Gospel and tangibly showing Christ’s love to those who are physically hungry, but who are also spiritually hungry for the truth.

I could go on and on about how our local churches in Riga, Latvia; Moscow, Russia; and Kiev, Ukraine are touching people with the Gospel — and how our Internet church is taking the Gospel to places where there is no physical church, and how the books we distribute have strengthened the lives of believers all over the world. The list could easily go on, and we are so grateful to God for the work that is being accomplished through this ministry!

If you are a financial partner with us, you are a huge, very integral part of this work. The Gospel is free, but it takes money to get the sound teaching of the Bible to people. As a partner you may already understand this. Not everyone has the Bible available to them like you and I do, so it is important that we take God’s Word to them. Click here to see more photos.

Remember, Jesus said in Matthew 9:37 and 38 (NIV), “…The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Let’s be part of the few workers who are already busy in the field and continue to take the Gospel everywhere we can before Jesus returns.

If you are not a financial partner with us, we want to ask you to please pray about joining the giving team so that the Gospel can go to as many people as possible as quickly as possible.

God bless,

Joel Renner

Editor’s Note: Joel Renner is the CEO of RENNER Ministries. Alongside his father, Joel has actively participated for many years in nearly every facet of the daily operations of the ministry. Joel resides in Moscow, Russia, with his wife and two sons.

Dear Friend,

Have you ever wanted someone to pray with you about something, but had no one to pray with? Maybe you were about to take an important exam, or maybe you were about to go to the doctor, and you just needed someone to pray with. I think we have all been in that place before.

At RENNER Ministries, we believe in the power of prayer, and we believe in miracles. Every day we pray with people who have serious needs, and when they call us, they know we will join our faith with theirs and really pray for them.

Today we are seeing #GivingTuesday all over the place. Many organizations are asking people to support their cause because it is Giving Tuesday. While everyone else is posting this phrase today, we want to give something to you by asking, How can we pray for you?

If you need prayer, please reach out to us. We will go to the Lord in confidence and pray with you, believing for a miracle to happen in your life. Call our office at 1-800-742-5593 to speak to a member of our prayer team or write to us at prayer@renner.org. Click here for a short video message from Mother and Dad.

God bless,

Joel Renner