On February 6, Dennis Ellis passed on to Glory to be reunited with his Lord, family members, and those he brought to Christ throughout his life. Dennis was the bus pastor for Dr. Adrain Rogers before moving to Russia as a missionary—long before the wall came down. At one time, he was the only American missionary there, and when others came years later, he was the only one to be a legal resident of Russia. A little-known KGB officer named Vladimir Putin approved his residency application at the time.

After building a successful ministry and helping us support several church planters there, Dennis and his Ukranian wife, Katya, felt the Lord leading them to return to America and help us raise support for national church planters. He has worked to get more than four hundred sponsorships in the last several decades. At first, he went anywhere we needed him. In recent years, due to health problems, he limited his service to within driving distance of his home, south of Knoxville.

Dennis and Katya lived on Social Security, giving their love offerings to support the national preachers he loved so much. If someone gave him a car, he would sell it and give the money to missions. He once sold a car multiple times. When people learned of his plan, they would give him the price of the car and tell him to sell it to someone else.

He would also collect cans, encouraging his friends to do the same and give those funds to missions. At his death, he had collected his last bundle of cans for the Great Commission Fund, and Katya mailed us the check for $42.14.

I know times are hard, but they are much harder for her now that Dennis is gone. He was her life, her love, and her “ministry.” She has not asked, but it would be wonderful if we could give her a gift to help her through the transition. If you wish to do so, designate it for KATYA ELLIS.