Our Story
A Journey of Faith and Service
Where it all begins
Laura, a Soviet medical student, comes to faith in God and is expelled from her university—beginning an unexpected journey.
A new direction
Laura and Hannu married in Russia, and through her marriage to a Canadian citizen, she was able to obtain an exit permit to leave the country. Together, they went on to serve with a Christian Russian radio ministry, broadcasting to the Soviet Union from Austria and Sweden.
A Ministry Takes Root
Hannu and Laura are invited to Finland to pioneer a Christian radio ministry for Russian programs to the Soviet Union, building a small studio in a rural town. The work begins to grow.
First Broadcasts and Rapid Growth
The first Russian radio program aired in 1981. Within just a few years, the ministry expanded its studio, grew its team, and launched broadcasts on 11 shortwave stations, reaching a potential audience of 35 million listeners.
New Voices, New Programs
After Laura’s sister and her family were permitted to leave the Soviet Union and move to Finland, new Russian-language programming began to emerge. Soon afterward, the first Russian-language VHS cassette was produced, sharing astronaut James Irwin’s story and his faith in God.
The Birth of Great Commission Media Ministries
What would become Great Commission Media Ministries was officially first registered in Finland, Canada, and the USA, as IRR/TV, which was established with one purpose— to proclaim Christ to the hardest-to-reach for a broader international ministry.
New Horizons in Media
The ministry relocates to the Helsinki area, where a new studio is built. With funding and equipment donated by CBN and TBN, it establishes the first-ever television ministry to Russia, opening the door to new opportunities in children’s media and television.
Doors Open to a Nation
Superbook, a children’s animated Bible series aired on Soviet State TV, drew one million letters in response. As the Soviet Union collapsed, new freedoms opened the way for weekly nationwide broadcasts and follow-up offices in Moscow, Leningrad, Kyiv, and Novosibirsk.
Sustaining Growth and Preparing Tomorrow’s Leaders
Even under pressure and opposition, as political upheaval begins to reshape the media landscape, the ministry continues broadcasting and expands into new countries. At the same time, a vision begins to grow for training local believers to use media effectively. Christian programs air on over 50 regional TV channels in Russia.
Reaching New Peoples
Producing media in 20 minority languages for overlooked people groups across the former Soviet Union begins. Media training conferences, schools of broadcasting, and expanded studio space strengthen the work. Christian TV programs air on Ukrainian TV.
Beyond Russia
Satellite TV expands the ministry’s reach into Israel, China, India, and 22 other Asian countries. As religious freedoms narrowed, Mega City Media Campaigns emerged as a powerful urban ministry model, launching in Volgograd.
30-day High-Impact Mega City Media Campaigns
Media evangelism campaigns expand across Russia, Central Asia, Ukraine, Israel and the Palestinian territories, marking a major shift to large-scale citywide gospel outreach with prominent billboards declaring, “You can experience the Power To Change!”
Across the Nations
GCMM’s ministry continues to grow through print and media, reaching millions and strengthening church partnerships in India, Nepal, Iraq, Lebanon, Finland, Guyana, Suriname—to name a few. Renewed persecution—driven by pressure from the FSB and the Orthodox Church—forced an end to the campaigns in Russia. Over 5 million evangelistic books, the Gospel of John, and over 100 thousand Bibles have been printed in Russia.
Ministry Award
Laura Haukka receives the NRB International Television Ministry Award in the USA in recognition of 40 years of media ministry in Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, and Finland. 500,000 New Testaments were supplied to local Russian churches during the 140-year celebration of the modern Bible translation. A total of 70 Mega City Media Campaigns were carried out across Russia before religious freedoms ended.
Unexpected Era of Openness
GCMM partnered with 350 churches in Cuba for the “Power to Change” evangelism campaign. With broadcast access limited under the communist regime, teams focused on personal outreach, connecting one-on-one with more than 100,000 residents through street conversations and special events across Havana.
Africa – Power To Forgive and To Change
A new ministry centre near Helsinki supports GCMM’s growth as the ministry expands through major campaigns and strategic outreach in Africa. In South Sudan, a revised Power To Forgive Media Campaign marked a major effort, with distribution of 20,000 solar-powered audio units in low-literacy communities. In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the Power to Change campaign generated more than 140,000 follow-up calls.
Ministry Through the Pandemic
GCMM continued reaching people through media, literature, and ongoing ministry projects, even though Covid-19 was spreading around the globe, disrupting people’s lives.
Hope Against the Odds
Despite mounting restrictions in Russia, it was nothing short of a miracle from God that GCMM was able to continue printing and distributing Scripture and evangelistic literature. In that same year, a long-delayed media campaign in East Ukraine finally launched, offering hope to millions living in and near the war zone.
War and a New Season of Urgency
The “I Found It” campaign in Finland reached 90% of households nationwide. At the same time, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched GCMM into a new season of urgent humanitarian and gospel-centred ministry through large-scale evacuations and UkraineAid.
Momentum in Mongolia, Ministry in Ukraine
GCMM’s Mega City Media Campaign in Ulaanbaatar drew over 300,000 responses and continued beyond the original campaign period, expanding into western Mongolia and toward Inner Mongolia. At the same time, GCMM’s Ukraine ministry grew in response to the intensifying war and rising frontline needs through what is now UkraineAid Today.
A Milestone in Senegal, Mercy in Ukraine
After five years of preparation with local churches, GCMM launched the Mega City Media Campaign in Dakar, Senegal, aiming to reach more than 4 million people in the capital region. At the same time, GCMM’s Ukraine ministry continued to grow through life-saving aid and trauma care.
Landmark Campaigns
The Mega City Media Campaign in Egypt, one of the largest evangelistic initiatives of its kind, centred on social media, extended its impact through videos and discipleship resources. From one campaign to a growing church movement, Mongolia is set to launch another campaign. Meanwhile, satellite TV ministry in the Middle East brings hope amid wars, and UkraineAid Today continues to save lives.
