An encounter with the living God changes you
It changed Laura Haukka when she found faith as a university student in the Soviet Union. Her passion for sharing the Gospel blossomed when she met her husband Hannu Haukka and together they formed what is now Great Commission Media Ministries (GCMM) today.
Discover how GCMM grew from humble beginnings into a world-wide ministry.
From Humble Beginnings
In 1970, Laura, a medical student, embraced her faith despite risking expulsion from a Soviet university. She married Hannu Haukka, a Canadian, and in answering their shared calling, launched a Russian radio ministry from Finland to the Soviet Union.
Canadian Leadership
John Haukka
Canadian Director
Since 1986, close to the very beginnings of this mission organization, John has been part of the team. Before that, he tried his hand at smuggling Bibles into the Soviet Union with his brother Hannu, the Founder and CEO of Great Commission Media Ministries. The starting point of GCMM’s ministry focus was atheistic Soviet Union and the persecuted underground Church at the time. John lived in Finland from 1986 to 1990 and was this ministry’s very first video editor when the miracle story of Superbook in the Soviet Union unfolded in the early 1990s.
One of John’s passions is oil-on-canvas painting, which led to studying Commercial Art at a Canadian college. He soon found his fascination with Christian television ministry growing and attended hands-on training courses at 100 Huntley Street’s television studio in Toronto. He took further courses in Belgium. In 1991, John settled into a leadership role here at GCMM Canada and today he enjoys working alongside an enthusiastic missions-minded team at our Canadian “office”. “It’s been quite a journey these past 38 years albeit with many challenges our Lord has brought the ministry through. The “but then God” moments have been nothing short of amazing. I wouldn’t have it any other way,” says John.
John’s wife, Tiikka, of over 47 years has been his greatest supporter and they have two daughters, Melissa and Katarina, who are married to very solid fellows, with two children each.