Anna Bortsova

Anna was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her father coached a Soviet Olympics team and her mother taught English as a Second Language.

After Anna married Vladimir Bortsov, they lived and worked in Kazakhstan, one of the southern former Soviet republics.

In 1991, both Vladimir and Anna accepted the Lord. Vladimir followed the call of God to go into full-time ministry, quitting his job as an airline pilot. Anna continued working as a teacher and translator. They planted a church in Almaty, Kazakhstan and many people were reached for the Lord.

In 1998, Vladimir began to sense God’s call to go to Canada. They decided to test his leading to see if it was true. They went to Moscow and applied for independent immigration to Canada. Their immigration was approved on the same day, without an interview!

When they came to Canada in 1999, they first settled in Hamilton, but moved to Toronto a few years later as it became clearer that the Lord was calling them to minister in North York, where the majority of Russian Jewish people live.

The population of Russian immigrants in the greater Toronto area (GTA) is around 200.000 people; 65% of them are Jewish! This group of immigrants has been overlooked for many years, so the need to reach out to them is great.

At this time, Anna ministers with Chosen People Ministries with a focus on discipleship and ministry to women and in the area of evangelism.