Deyneka, Peter, 1931-2000.
Dates
- Existence: 1931 - 2000
Biographical Statement
Peter Simon Deyneka, Jr. was born in Chicago on September 13, 1931, the second child of Peter and Vera (Demidovich) Deyneka, both Russian immigrants. His father founded the Russian Gospel Association, which later became the Slavic Gospel Association. Growing up Peter lived in the Russian-speaking immigrant community in Chicago and attended Carl Schurz High School where he was active in the band playing the trombone and the Crusaders Club, a Christian fellowship group. After graduating in 1949 he enrolled as a student at Wheaton College. He received his BA in 1953 and later received a master's of divinity ('57) and honorary doctorate ('96) from Northern Baptist Seminary.
During his time as a seminary student Deyneka spent a year in Alaska working with the Slavic Gospel Association a SGA as a village pastor and evangelist among the Aleut peoples. After graduation he returned to Alaska as a missionary. In 1961 he moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina as director of SGA's Russian Bible Institute, teaching for two years. He then moved to Quito, Ecuador working on Russian language broadcasts for HCJB. Continuing his radio work, Peter spent 1963-65 at HLKX in Inchon, South Korea.
In 1966 and back in the United States Deyneka became an assistant director of the Slavic Gospel Association. In 1975 he became general director, a position he held until 1991. Due to disagreements with the board over how best minister in Russia after the fall of Communism, together he and his wife, Anita Marson whom he married on June 14, 1968, created a new organization called Peter Deyneka USSR Ministries (later changed to Peter Deyneka Russian Ministries). He also launched a comprehensive ministry plan to train nationals to minister to every community of the former Soviet Union. The staff of Russian Ministries grew to over 300 staff in the former Soviet Union and 16 in the United States.
Deyneka has served a guest lecturer at Fuller Seminary and the Wheaton College Graduate School. He also served on the board of directors of the Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association (IFMA). . He was on the Executive Committee of The CoMission from 1992 to 1997 and in January 1997 was elected chairman of the CoMission II Partnership Council. Peter and Anita Deyneka responded to the great need to minister to orphans and underprivileged children of the former Soviet Union by helping to found two cooperative organizations for ministry to children—To Russian Children With Love (based in Moscow) and The CoMission for Children at Risk (based in Atlanta, Georgia).
Peter Deyneka also co-wrote with Norman Rohrer a biography of his father called Peter Dynamite (1975) and with his wife Anita Christians in the Shadow of the Kremlin (1974) and A Song in Siberia (1977).
Peter Deyneka, Jr. died on December 23, 2000 after a six-month battle with lymphoma. He was 69.
Citation:
Author: Wheaton College Archives & Special Collections staffFound in 6 Collections and/or Records:
Anita and Peter Deyneka, Jr. Papers
Collection 038 Ephemera of Paul Rader
Collection 237 Records of the Slavic Gospel Association
Collection 381 Oral History Interview with Peter Deyneka, Jr.
Collection 660 Records of the CoMission and CoMission II
Leighton Sandys Ford oral history interviews
Filtered By
- Subject: Prayer. X
Additional filters:
- Type
- Collection 5
- Unprocessed Material 1
- Subject
- Evangelistic work -- United States. 3
- Evangelistic work. 3
- Prayer. 3
- Radio audiences. 3
- Radio in religion. 3
- Aleuts. 2
- Belief and doubt. 2
- Bible. 2
- Chicago (Ill.) 2
- Conversion. 2
- Evangelistic work -- Canada. 2
- Evangelistic work -- Russia. 2
- Evangelistic work -- South America. 2
- Fundamentalism. 2
- Missionaries. 2
- Missions -- Soviet Union. 2
- Missions. 2
- Motion pictures in church work -- Russia. 2
- Persecution -- Soviet Union. 2
- Prayer groups -- United States. 2
- Prayer groups. 2
- Sermons, American. 2
- Soviet Union -- History, 1985-1991 2
- Wheaton College (Ill.) -- Alumni. 2
- Worship (Christian) 2
- Administrative Records. 1
- Alaska. 1
- Articles. 1
- Audiotapes 1
- Belief and doubt -- Sermons. 1
- Bible -- Prophecies. 1
- Bible -- Publication and distribution. 1
- Bible stories, Russian 1
- Billy Graham Moscow visit (1982: Moscow, Russia) 1
- Bulgaria. 1
- Catholic Church -- Protestant churches. 1
- Catholic Church. 1
- Charismatic movement. 1
- Children -- Conversion to Christianity. 1
- Children. 1
- Christian education -- Albania. 1
- Christian education -- Bulgaria. 1
- Christian education -- Estonia. 1
- Christian education -- Latvia. 1
- Christian education -- Mozambique. 1
- Christian education -- Russia. 1
- Christian education -- Ukraine. 1
- Christian leadership. 1
- Christian life. 1
- Christian literature -- Publication and distribution -- Russia. 1
- Christian literature -- Publication and distribution. 1
- Christian literature. 1
- Christians -- Soviet Union. 1
- Church and social problems -- United States. 1
- Church and social problems. 1
- Church and state -- Biblical teaching. 1
- Church and state -- Europe, Eastern. 1
- Church and state -- Korea. 1
- Church and state -- Russia 1
- Church and state -- Soviet Union. 1
- Church and state. 1
- Church development, New -- Russia. 1
- Church fund raising. 1
- Church growth -- Korea. 1
- Church growth. 1
- Church work with children. 1
- Church work with refugees. 1
- Church work with students -- Russia 1
- Church work with youth -- United States. 1
- Church work with youth. 1
- City missions -- United States. 1
- City missions. 1
- Communism. 1
- Correspondence 1
- Czechoslovakia. 1
- Deyneka, Anita -- Correspondence. 1
- Deyneka, Peter, 1931- -- Manuscripts. 1
- Deyneka, Peter, 1931- -- Sermons. 1
- Discipling (Christianity) 1
- Dogs -- Anecdotes 1
- Eskimos. 1
- Evangelicalism -- Russia. 1
- Evangelistic invitations. 1
- Evangelistic sermons. 1
- Evangelistic work -- Alaska. 1
- Evangelistic work -- Argentina. 1
- Evangelistic work -- Australia. 1
- Evangelistic work -- Brazil. 1
- Evangelistic work -- Canary Islands. 1
- Evangelistic work -- Chicago. 1
- Evangelistic work -- China. 1
- Evangelistic work -- Europe, Eastern. 1
- Evangelistic work -- Germany. 1
- Evangelistic work -- Ireland. 1
- Evangelistic work -- Korea. 1
- Evangelistic work -- Poland. 1
- Evangelistic work -- Public relations. 1
- Evangelistic work -- Soviet Union. 1
- Evangelistic work -- United Kingdom. 1
- Evangelistic work -- Yugoslavia. 1 ∧ less