MOPS in Central Asia | Mission Finder

Women in Central Asian lack a voice at home and in society. Young ladies feel pressured to marry by the time they are 18 to 20 years old. Soon after marrying, they are expected to have children. Many married women live in the shadow of their mother-in-law and it is not uncommon for young families to live with the husband’s parents.

If conflict or jealousy arises between a woman and her mother-in-law, the husband most often sides with his mom. Women carry the blame for much of what goes wrong in their family and relationships. Their husbands go to work to make a living for their family, but the women are stuck at home, and if they don’t have a community of other women, then they are even more isolated. Often these traditional views on women’s role and value in the culture are passed on even to Christian families.

Women in Central Asia have a need for companionship, for friendship, and for understanding. The MOPS ministry offers women’s gatherings that welcome moms together to share life, motherhood, and Jesus. Through a simple format of food, discussion and craft, women report they have made friends for life, connected with a local church and become closer to Jesus! The movement invites moms into friendship, evangelism, leadership training, missions, mentoring, discipleship and more.

Our History

The first MOPS groups in Central Asia started in Azerbaijan in 2017 as a handful of ladies began praying and brainstorming together. The ministry grew in a short time (in number and in maturity) and became a thriving ministry impacting hundreds of people in multiple regions of the country. MOPS Azerbaijan encourages and equips moms for discipleship in their home and in the community. The moms represent a broad variety of churches and backgrounds. As they began to implement the principles they were learning at the meetings, they began to witness transformation in their homes and families.
The structure of the meetings has provided opportunities for a number of local moms to step into leadership roles. Several of those women have started small MOPS groups in their own homes; others regularly travel to other regions to facilitate MOPS meetings. At present, there are 15 groups of moms meeting in 5 different cities and/or regions of Azerbaijan.

The structure of the meetings has provided opportunities for a number of local moms to step into leadership roles. Several of those women have started small MOPS groups in their own homes; others regularly travel to other regions to facilitate MOPS meetings. At present, there are 15 groups of moms meeting in 5 different cities and/or regions of Azerbaijan.

Our Mission

Besides being a blessing for Christian moms in Azerbaijan, MOPS groups have also been working to reach Muslim moms in the country. The group developed a course that helps build bridges when talking with Muslim moms about raising up children. The course was based on the personal experience of one of the founders of the movement who has been teaching parenting courses to Christian and Muslim moms in the country. Several Muslim moms started attending the MOPS meetings and became followers of Christ after coming to parenting courses.

What We Do

Our vision is to replicate the MOPS Azerbaijan model in the former-Soviet, Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. We want to start by organizing a leadership training for potential leaders from those countries. We are planning to organize the MOPS leadership training in Izmir, Turkey in March, 2024. Twenty five ladies from five Central Asian countries are coming to this training to learn about the movement and start groups in their own countries.

Our History

Our Mission

What We Do

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