Evangelical leaders in western Siberia plan to launch a new evangelical university in 2026 aimed at strengthening theological education and improving mission work among the region’s indigenous peoples, according to church leaders and a recent commentary by a visiting theologian.
The decision was taken unanimously by leaders of the West Siberian Evangelical Alliance following a regional mission conference held in Tyumen in November, said Johannes Reimer, a German professor of mission studies who attended the gathering. Reimer outlined the plans in an op-ed published Jan. 7 by Evangelical Focus, a Europe-based evangelical news outlet.
“This school should address the issues of mission in the region,” Reimer wrote, referring to the planned West Siberian Christian university, which is expected to be based in Tyumen and serve students from across western and northern Siberia.
Reimer, professor of mission studies and intercultural theology at Ewersbach University of Applied Arts in Germany and a former World Evangelical Alliance leader, said discussions at the conference highlighted significant gaps in theological preparation among missionaries serving indigenous communities.
“Missionaries among the Siberian peoples urgently need better theological training,” he wrote, adding that many lack “the knowledge and tools for context-appropriate mission.”
Missionaries working among indigenous peoples such as the Khanty, Mansi, Komi and Selkup often received their education in traditional Russian church settings, Reimer said. As a result, they frequently rely on Russian language and religious forms that do not resonate with local cultures.
“They are unaware that these forms of faith do not resonate with the indigenous peoples of Russia and particularly in Northern Siberia,” Reimer wrote.
The Finno-Ugric peoples of western Siberia number several hundred thousand and include traditionally nomadic reindeer-herding communities. Many lack a written language or standardized alphabet, and only a minority speak fluent Russian. Although officially Christianized during earlier periods of Russian rule, many communities continue to practice shamanism.
Reimer noted that early Protestant missionary efforts among these groups were limited. A Russian-German evangelical mission in the early 20th century produced only a small number of converts, and later outreach after the collapse of the Soviet Union often struggled.
“Centuries of oppression by the Russian state have created a deep aversion among the local people to anything Russian,” he wrote, explaining why mission efforts conducted primarily in Russian frequently failed.
According to Reimer, progress has increased only in recent years as missionaries began preaching in indigenous languages. During his visit to Khanty communities, he recounted a conversation with an elderly believer who told him, “Jesus has now come to us too.”
Conference participants said the growth of indigenous-language ministry has raised new theological and practical questions among local believers, including whether prayer and preaching should take place in their mother tongues and how Christian teaching can be communicated where no Bible translation exists.
“Most Siberian northern people do not yet have a Bible translation in their own language, nor has a corresponding religious language been developed,” Reimer wrote. “Christian concepts can, therefore, only be communicated to a very limited extent.”
He added that key theological ideas cannot simply be transferred from languages shaped by shamanistic worldviews, underscoring the need for sustained translation and conceptual development.
“These and other reasons lead to an urgent need for a missionary school in Western Siberia,” Reimer wrote.
Leaders of the West Siberian Evangelical Alliance said the planned university will focus on missiology, intercultural theology and translation work tailored to the realities of northern Siberia. Organizers hope to draw support from other regions of Russia as well as from international partners.
“The leaders hope to receive appropriate assistance from other regions of their own country, as well as from abroad,” Reimer wrote, adding that such help “is urgently needed in Siberia.”
The university is expected to begin classes in 2026.
