[Note: The Greenhouse Series promotes church planting and church renewal in the United States. Each installment spotlights a specific church that has recently been planted or is in the process of revitalization, as a means of encouraging our readership in the victories of the gospel and allowing them the opportunity to support these churches.]

SEBTS alum Jan Vezikov and his family are working hard by God’s grace to reach the city of Boston for his glory. Jan, pronounced “Yahn,” moved to Boston in July 2009 with his wife, Tanya, and daughter, Sophia – another daughter, Elizabeth, was born in March 2011– to plant churches in the heart of Boston. That indeed reads “churches” because Jan is fluent in English and Russian as he was born in Estonia, but grew up in Rhode Island. After graduating from Brown University and working for the federal government as a Russian Analyst, Jan came to Southeastern where he graduated in May 2009. So just a couple months later, the Vezikov family arrived in Boston to minister to English and Russian speaking residents of Boston.

To carry out this ministry Jan planted two churches, Grace Church (GCB) and Mosaic Boston. GCB is devoted to reaching the large community of local Russian speakers, numbering at least 50,000. Jan and his family moved to Boston because they were not aware of any sustained gospel witness among this community. Jan now lives within walking distance of six Russian grocery stores, pastoring the congregation and calling unbelievers to Jesus. Grace Church was featured on the May cover of one of Boston’s most popular Russian directories. The cover shows images from several universal life stages, ending with the question: “… is this it?” 8,000 copies were printed and mailed to Russian homes and businesses in the area. GCB hosts monthly gatherings, such as a “Russian Movie Night,” to reach out to the community. One such gathering in February saw 20 new people come to the gathering. GCB has been blessed with the conversion, baptism, and membership of several people. Pray for the growth of the believers in this congregation and the conversion of those reached by them.

Mosaic Boston is a congregation gathering and reaching young professionals, families, and students in the Fenway area of Boston. As in GCB, Jan preaches in and pastors this congregation. Mosaic gathers on Sundays to worship through song, prayer and the word. After each worship service, they gather for lunch because they have found “there is something inherently spiritual about eating together. This was and is the way of Jesus.”  Recently, Mosaic launched a community group ministry among the congregation and this has been very successful. Like GCB, Mosaic is dedicated to extending its love for one another by witnessing to the way of Jesus in the Fenway area.

Jan and Tanya Vezikov are doing good work in Boston. We can come alongside them in various ways: (1) We can pray for the protection, health, and mercy upon Jan, Tanya, Sophia, and Elizabeth and (2) for the spiritual growth of GCB and Mosaic and for conversions through their ministries. (3) We can also pray for the new church plant campus in the Allston area, City on a Hill, which Jan is also pastoring. (4) We can also provide financial support or help with a short-term support trip by contacting Jan at jan.vezikov@gmail.com.

We can also stay up to date with the Vezikov’s ministry by visiting the websites for GCB (http://www.gracechurchboston.org), Mosaic Boston (http://mosaicboston.com), and City on a Hill (http://coahchurch.org/#/home). Also, the North American Mission Board recently featured Jan in a video (here) and in NAMB President Kevin Ezell’s article (here) in On Mission Magazine.