The Rev. Mikhail “Misha” Shakurov is not the first minister to travel a great distance to reach his new church in Odessa, but his 7,300-mile trip from Almaty, Kazakhstan, might well have set a new record.
The Rev. Shakurov (pronounced Sha-KUR-ov) arrived at New Life Church at 7184 Club Dr. on June 22, succeeding the retiring Rev. Tim Halstead, and he will emphasize the practical application of the Christian faith.
“The Apostle Paul came to Corinth determined to preach Jesus and him crucified so that our faith would not rely on human wisdom but on God’s power,” he said. “Our faith is also about the decisions we make in our daily lives to listen to what God tells us in his Word to find direct applications to honor Jesus in our everyday situations.”
Shakurov is a 49-year-old native of Tomsk, Siberia, who earned a bachelor’s degree at the Teachers’ Training University there to teach the English and German languages and work as a translator. He worked at the university and as a pastor at a church in his hometown before spending over 20 years at a church in Almaty, a modern city of two million in Kazakhstan. He and his wife Oxana have four children and two grandchildren.
New Life Church averages 150-200 people at its 10:30 a.m. Sunday services.
Shakurov said Siberian winters are of course extremely cold, routinely staying 20-25 degrees before zero and sometimes hitting 40 below from November through March. ”I took part in soccer and basketball, both indoors,” he said.
Both of his parents worked in an enamel cable factory for the conduction of electricity. His sister is still in Siberia.
Asked if Christians should study the Old Testament as well as the New, Shakurov said, “Yes, the Old Testament reveals a lot about God’s character and it helps us to understand his overall plan for us to spend eternity with him because we believe in his Son and receive forgiveness for our sins.”
One of his favorite scriptures is Jeremiah 33:3, which says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
The Rev. Halstead said Shakurov “is a humble man who really loves the Lord.
“Misha wanted this opportunity to help our evangelistic church reach out to the community,” Halstead said. “He was a translator in Russia whose church helped him convert to Christianity. He preached in Siberia for a decade and trained to take over that church in Kazakhstan.”
Halstead said a church planter from Conroe, the Rev. Randy Green, had gotten to know Shakurov during his travels and the Rev. Green recommended Shakurov when he learned of New Life Church’s search for a new pastor.
“Misha is a genuine guy who has a love for the Word and that comes through in his preaching,” Halstead said. “He is serious, but he has a whimsical side to his personality.”
