During the 2023 Annual Year-End Meeting of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, Pastor Felixian Felicitas, the Mission Refocus Director, introduced the Abonales family as missionaries to Tajikistan. Joel Abonales and his family responded to the call to be missionaries with the help of the Euro-Asia Division to plant a new church. The Adventist World Church's Mission Refocus project supports this effort to plant churches to spread the gospel in this area.
Dr. Pavel Zubkov, Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS) Professor and representative of the Southern Union Mission of the Euro-Asia Division, offered a special prayer of dedication for the Abonales family and other Mission Refocus missionaries around the world who responded to the call to be missionaries to various countries around the globe.
The Development of Adventism in Tajikistan
A landlocked country in Central Asia, Tajikistan (officially the Republic of Tajikistan) is home to an estimated 9,750,065. Islam is the state religion, and 96.4% of the population considers itself to be Muslim. Only 1.8% of people in this country identify as Christians. (Data from 2020)
In 1929, the first Seventh-day Adventists, Brothers Ivan and Vasiliy Kozminin, embarked on a mission to Tajikistan, where they began to introduce the Adventist faith to the local population. The 1930s saw the arrival of exiled German Adventists, who played a pivotal role in organizing the first Adventist congregation in the region. Subsequently, Russian Adventists, including families like Pavel Zhukov and Vasiliy Borisov, who had been exiled from Transcaucasia, joined the community. Their collective efforts, resilience, and commitment laid the foundation for a thriving Adventist presence in Tajikistan, fostering a lasting legacy of faith and community in Central Asia.
Seventh-day Adventists in Tajikistan are recognized as a legal religious community. Including the metropolis of Dushanbe, they own four churches in the cities of Hisor, Khujand, Tursunzade, and Tursunzade. About 4,000 religious’ organizations, including 67 that are not Islamic, are officially recognized by the Committee on Religion in Tajikistan. (reference)
The Abonales Family: Missionaries with a Cause
Pastor Joel Abonales Jr., 35, has been a pastor in the Central Luzon Conference since 2013. His wife, Zhienna Abonales, 31, works as an operating room nurse at the Adventist Medical Center Manila. The couple's beautiful daughter, Sky, is currently seven years old. Joel is currently the pastor of a local church in Pasay City and hosts an evangelism-focused web show.
This year at the Central Luzon Conference, Joel attended one of the professional growth meetings where the Mission Refocus Program was first discussed. He returned home and told Zhienna immediately, and she wholeheartedly accepted the task. "We don't know what the future holds, but there is currently a call to engage in missionary work abroad, and my family is prepared to embrace this responsibility," Abonales said.
From Zhienna's perspective, she explains, "When I was younger, I wanted to become a missionary, but my parents weren't supportive of the concept. As a pastor's wife, upon learning about my husband's decision, that dream sparked inside me, and I joyfully embraced the mission, supporting my husband in this quest."
In the early stages of Joel’s pastorship, he established a new Adventist congregation in the Central Luzon region. He had an appreciation for the difficulty of starting a church from scratch without any help from the local community and described the experience as one of "complete surrender and prayer." The church grew steadily over several months, thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit and the power of prayer to spread the gospel in their community.
"It was a challenging journey, but witnessing a church grow from its inception is truly inspiring," said Abonales. To paraphrase, "I intend to take this knowledge with me to Tajikistan. Our goal has not changed, even if we are moving to a new community with a new language and platform. We're thrilled to have this opportunity.
The Adventist mission within the 10/40 Window aims to establish self-sustaining Seventh-day Adventist worshipping groups in every country with no prior Adventist presence. This strategic effort focuses on reaching unreached regions by building local communities of faith, empowering local leadership, and emphasizing evangelism and discipleship. The goal is to introduce people to the Adventist faith, nurture their spiritual growth, and equip them to share their beliefs with others, ensuring a lasting and culturally relevant presence in the 10/40 Window.
The Abonales family is just one of many missionary families who responded to the call of mission to other places to prioritize resources for frontline mission activity. This is in line with the Total Member Involvement initiative of the Worldwide Church, which encourages all Christians to take part in some type of mission or service.
Edward Rodriguez, SSD Communication Department