Thank you very much for your interest in the ministry of spreading the gospel!
We’d like to update you on the news of the past month about how God’s Word is preached in Ukraine as well as on the mission fields in the CIS, Europe, and Asia.
The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.
Psalm 29:11
Ministry to Victims of the War in Armenia
Our ministers in Armenia are grateful for the prayers for a family camp held in January for people affected by war. They were not prepared for all those things they had to go through during the camp. Some of the camp participants lost their son or husband, some were injured or have not yet found their relatives among the missing, others have lost their homes… The ministers themselves had a hard time finding the words of consolation for the mourners but were encouraged by God in such moments to keep up with all activities. On the very first day, as people were gathering, you could say that many looked grieved and sad and had their eyes filled with tears. Then the Lord has done some kind of miracle, and on the second day of the camp, the smiles started to appear on the gloomy faces of fathers and mothers who had lost their children. On the last evening, almost the whole audience raised their hands as the sign of agreement to come forward and utter a prayer of repentance. We cannot say for sure whether all these people have been truly reconciled to God but the Lord sees the heart and knows everyone who belongs to Him.
God’s Grace Church in Warsaw
Over the past year, one boy and one girl, members of a youth club, have repented and entered into a covenant with the Lord. A Polish man, the husband of a Ukrainian sister, repented and came to faith in Jesus. So, his wife considered going to a Polish church because her husband wouldn’t understand Ukrainian, but he insisted on attending God’s Grace. Being surprised, she went, “You won’t understand what is preached in that church or anything else…” “Well,” replied the man, but at least I know they love me there!” This is a great miracle of God! Praise the Lord!!!
The community is slowly growing in numbers: now it’s made up of 24 adult members, 15 regular visitors, a dozen teenagers and as many children. There are two small groups in different parts of the city. A lot of church members are involved in regular evangelism through paintings. By the way, there are people who are very interested in the paintings – they tend to stop and gladly listen to the stories about Jesus. Also, this is a great opportunity for the believers from that church to learn how to share the gospel and overcome their fears.
Please pray for a place where the church could gather together for worship.
Ministry in Asia
As some of you already know, the family of a minister to the unreached people was forced to leave the country where they served for some time. In the long run, they were denied the opportunity to extend their visas. However, the missionary and his family have not gone back home right away, but flew off to East Asia where they made a stop for a couple of weeks to learn about the large Uighur diaspora that lives there and possibilities to serve them, so they could come back if God opens the door in that country. Pray for the Lord’s guidance as they are trying to figure out where He wants to see them serving and that He would use their family for His glory.
Another minister, who stays in Central Asia, continues to stay put due to the pandemic. He indicates that there’s a great need in the area of counseling that would be focused on establishing biblical relationships in the families. Currently, he and his family are being trained in biblical counseling online. They’re also actively involved in the facilitation of Bible study and common growth in faith together with 10 local couples. They spend a fair amount of time fellowshipping and doing one-on-one discipling with believers there.
Ministry to non-Christian Peoples in Ukraine
The beginning of the year was fruitful because the holiday season is best suited for the outreach and street evangelism. Our ministers made the most of the opportunity to invite new friends over and build relationships through communication. The course on cross-cultural interaction, which is geared toward equipping with the necessary knowledge of Ukrainian ministers and missionaries who seek to reach other nations with the Gospel, is still being taught. Please pray for the growth and development of the young church in Ukraine, which was birthed by God and consist of people who came from the East and turned to Christ. Pray also for the establishment of new small groups for such people in several large cities of Ukraine. Please pray for the preparation and translation of Christian materials into Arabic. Pray for the health of our ministers and for their dealing with household, legal, and material issues that often arise in connection with their stay in Ukraine as foreign citizens. Remember in your prayers those who minister on the closest to Ukraine peninsula, among the local non-Christian people.
Rivne Bible College
We give thanks to the Lord for the opportunity to conduct a session on Spiritual Formation in the Word of Grace Bible College. Brothers and sisters of different generations, from different countries and regions of Ukraine got accepted in the new group of the college. Praise the Lord they are all united by the common desire to deepen their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Taras Mykolayovych Prystupa taught on the subject for 9 days. The content of the course, atmosphere, and everything that happened at the session surpassed all the brightest expectations of students. We pray that what is sown in the hearts will bring abundant fruit in the life and ministry of these 44, RBC-students. We also ask you to pray for another graduation session of the college, which is scheduled for the end of March. This time the subject “Systematic Theology” will be taught by Andriy Danylovych Rezunenko. Thank you in advance for your prayers!!!
Word to the Teacher Magazine
The next issue of the magazine “Word to the Teacher” # 1/2021 on the topic “Heaven – A Myth or A Real Place” was published. This is the first part of the general theme “Heaven,” to which we decided to dedicate 2021. It is not in the school curriculum on Christian ethics, but experience shows that children, and often adults, are very interested in the afterlife: “What is the Kingdom of Heaven?”, “Will Everyone Make It There After Death?”, “Who Are the Celestials and What Do They Do?”, “Is There Any Contact Between the Inhabitants of Heaven, Earth and Hell?” etc. Working with our steady authors and searching Christian literature, studying the works of the Church Fathers and modern theologians, as well as using the work of practicing teachers, we try to find the answers to all these questions. Since this topic is not of one issue, but of the whole year, we encourage everyone to join us in compilation of the next edition by sharing your insights and materials, or by submitting interesting questions. Please feel free to contact the editorial office by email – slovo@hopetopeople.org
Camp Reunion
On January 11-15, 2021, Hope to People’s department of Christian ethics had an opportunity to conduct an online camp “Lamp for Life” for students of Klevan special school #1, students of the regional center, social and psychological rehabilitation of children in the village of Alexandria, graduates of boarding schools of Rivne region and children from disadvantaged and low-income families. In total, there were 33 participants aged 12 to 19. As the lockdown restrictions were lifted, we took advantage and visited each of them to give out the Word of God, Christian children’s books, and magazines provided by the Eastern European Humanitarian Mission. Thanks to the Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, USA, we were able to buy sweets, dried fruits, hygiene products, stationery, games, warm socks for all camp participants, as well as warm pajamas and food packages for orphans. God blessed us to have exciting conversations with all of them. And in February, we had a joint Viber-call and a Google conference with friends from the United States. At the end, children were given the homework: to read carefully through the Epistle of James.
Outreach Sports Camp FREEDOM
At the beginning of the year, the Christian floor hockey club SKY had a wonderful opportunity to hold a camp in Carpathians. Anyone, at the age of 12 and older, could go to the camp. This year, the camp’s topic was “Freedom,” and the campers were studying the issue of forgiving and unforgiving heart.
As a result of solid preparation of the leaders, the camp turned out to be very hectic – filled with all kinds of different activities. They managed to put on the camp according to its topic and created a “prison,” in which many participants were “thrown,” if they were not forgiving and couldn’t forgive their neighbor. In addition to the fun they had, the main emphasis of the camp was on Bible lesson in the morning and an evening, and on the sermon according to each day’s topic. The participants of the camp studied the Word and reflected on the topic of forgiveness, admitting that none of us would ever be able to truly forgive unless we realize how much we were forgiven by Jesus as He went to the cross and took away all our sins. And only He can get us free from the prison of sin and unforgiveness. This year, there were more than 40 boys and girls. At the end of the camp, several young people openly confessed their sins and declared their faith in Christ.
