The youth are particularly impressed when Hopkins borrows a guitar from one of the students and, with the help of a seminarian translator, teaches them a song. Since Russia has no Methodist theological scholars, the seminary uses faculty members from the United States, Germany and South Korea. Minor has taught as well as Dietze, the son of a German pastor. Both are natives of Germany. The school is supported by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries and gifts from United Methodists around the world.
Tuition is paid for all the students.
Pastors receive some salary support from their small congregations, but most comes from supporting churches in other countries. These churches make a commitment to support a Russian congregation for several years. When new congregations began holding worship services, they were able to obtain free space in government-owned buildings such as community centers and libraries. However, as many of these facilities have been privatized, church groups have been evicted in favor of paying occupants. This has created difficulty for congregations with little or no financial resources.