By the grace of God, this year our Christian Mission Hope to People is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The Bible repeatedly tells us to pause and reflect, taking stock of our lives and considering God’s work in them, and informs us to be attentive to God’s lessons, and be sensitive to His warnings. The current employees of Hope to People and those brothers and sisters who worked at the mission in previous years gathered together to think back to the long journey they walked through in order to glorify God for His mercy and love for us.
Some people hadn’t seen each other for many years and didn’t even recognize each other right away, but everyone had the feeling that they are very dear to each other and one family of God. Therefore, the sermon of the pastor from the Chernivtsi church, a permanent member of the board of the mission, Petro Mykhailovych Petrescu, on the topic of spiritual parenting was very natural and on point. Then the founder and head of the mission, Taras Mykolayovych Prystupa, briefly recalled how the missionary work began in the late 80s of the last century, analyzed the work of the organization over three decades, sincerely and frankly admitted regrettable defeats, and mistakes, and failures, and at the same time extolling God’s incredible care and grace. “It is the Lord’s mercy that we have not perished because His mercy has not ended, it is new every morning because Your faithfulness is great! The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I put my hope in Him!” (Lamentations 3:22–24).
By God’s providence, we had to live in a time of spiritual elevation, freedom to preach the gospel, mass evangelism, and the planting of new evangelical churches, as well as to go through trials related to false teachings, internal conflicts, diseases, and, ultimately, war. But at all times the Lord was with us and He also gave us faithful friends and partners.
The testimonies of the brothers and sisters at the celebratory meeting, the video congratulations from those who could not come, and the viewing of photos transported the meeting participants to Yakutia and Tiva, Uzbekistan and Armenia, the Primorsky Krai, and then brought them back to the war realities of Ukraine, evangelism and supporting the military, assistance to displaced people, families of fallen soldiers, orphans. A prayer was prayed for each service so that the Lord would continue to bless the ministry of Hope to People both in Ukraine and out in the fields where missionaries serve.
Now, when the whole world is in turmoil and confusion, we also do not know what tomorrow may bring, but “as long as it is called today” (Hebrews 3:13), we will continue to preach the gospel and call people to Christ, because the goal of the mission is to influence society through a word that gives hope and changes lives.
