In 1920, Earl Poysti was born in the city of Nikolsk-Ussurisk in what was then eastern Russia. No one could
know what this man would do with his life. But it would turn out that the radio programs he later produced would reach millions of people in the Soviet Union, as well as in Russia and the other countries of the CIS after the collapse of communism.
Earl Poysti shares the message of the Bible with listeners
Nikolai Poysti, Earl's father, later traveled with the family to China to do missionary work among the Russian speakers in the city of Harbin. At the age of 14, Earl gave his life to Christ and to a life of service to God. The family later moved to the United States, where Earl completed his high school education (roughly equivalent to a Danish high school diploma).
It was Earl's father who encouraged him in 1946, after completing his degree in religious studies at New York University, to join the Eastern European Mission, where he was put in charge of producing a Christian magazine called "The Way Of Faith" ("Put Veri") and also participated in the creation of radio programs.
Later, Earl was again encouraged by his father to prepare sermons for radio programs in Russian in order to reach Russian speakers in New York. Although Earl had some language skills, Russian was not his native language, so producing these radio sermons was a particular challenge for him. However, despite the difficulties, he continued to work on making radio programs in Russian.
In 1947, Earl and his father also began broadcasting evangelical radio programs in Russian to the Soviet Union. After his father's death in 1947, Earl married a Finnish woman, Pirkko Suomela, in 1949 and together they had 10 children. They lived in many different countries, but the task remained to bring the Gospel to the Slavic people in countries where the doors of the Gospel were officially closed. Among other things, Earl produced a youth program "Word of Life" aimed at young people living in the Soviet Union who were oppressed by the communist regime. Earl became known for creating programs that communicated the gospel to people in a simple and straightforward way. Many people were converted when they listened to these radio programs.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Earl began broadcasting radio programs from Moscow in 1991 and this work continues today under the name Russian Christian Radio. The mission is still to spread the gospel via radio. In addition, the organization has a magazine for prisoners in Russia called "The Gospel Behind Barbed Wire". It also works with former prisoners, alcoholics and drug addicts through rehabilitation centers in different parts of the country. These rehabilitation centers are named after Poysti's late wife Pirkko, who died in May 1994. Poysti subsequently married Natalia Makarenko from Kazakhstan in October 1995.
Poysti had the ability to look beyond church affiliations. For him, it was about being born again and loving God and having a personal encounter with Him.
Poysti was a man who gave his life for the spread of the Gospel - especially to the Russian people, who for decades were cut off from the freedom to practice their faith. It is a joy to know that the supporters of the Danish European Mission helped make this ministry possible. Glory to the memory of Earl Poysti.
Source: Danish European Mission's partner, Russian Christian Radio