Praise be to Jesus Christ! Thank you for praying for Hope to People ministry!
We’re always excited to share news about our monthly activities. Further, we’re going to use some stories that are drawn out of missionaries’ reports, so as you read, you’ll come across the word “we.” And this is actually no coincidence because it’s really hard to take things apart when speaking about the advancement of God’s Kingdom. We cannot say that this is done by God, that is done by someone else, and this is what we have done. After all, the ministry is a joint work, and it would be inappropriate to separate things! Not just one person or a team participates in God’s cause, but namely “we” – the Christ’s Church, pulling together in one harness, praying, spurring each other on, supporting, edifying, and blessing each other to do common work that is being done for the Lord, and is being guided by His Holy Spirit.
Mission Conference in Rivne
Actually, it was the last mission conference held in January. Since 2019, we have planned out to host the Holiday of Great Commission in the fall.
On January 20-27, the 24th Mission Conference took place in the building of the Bible Missionary Church Community of the Good Shepherd, Rivne. The theme of the conference was based on a Bible verse: “… so that from my mouth the heathen would hear the word of the gospel and believe” Acts 15:7;
Basically, every day was filled with various events, where everyone had the opportunity to hear the messages that reminded Christians the Gospel and stirred zeal for the evangelism in our own and foreign cultures. During these days, the conference was attended by 60 guests who shared testimonies, taught, and exchanged experiences in local churches of Rivne and the region.
New Edition of the Magazine
The preparation of the very first 2019 issue “Word to the Teacher” is well underway. We thank God that we already have a new designer who is working on it. We just want to remind you that the topic of this year’s issues is “Family in the Light of the Bible,” and we ask our friends to join us in sharing some interesting ideas, materials, photos. The Lord encourages us to keep this work going and, He even blessed us with the funds through a person who wants to remain anonymous. After meeting with some entrepreneurs of Rivne, several people have come forward in helping financially. And today, we have the opportunity to provide with the magazines all schools and all teachers in our city, who teach on spiritual and moral subjects.
Also, God gives us an opportunity to spread the Gospel among the teachers of universities in Ukraine. Please pray that the Lord will bring the journals to the people He has predestined for salvation.
Orphans Outreach Camp
We’re thankful to God for the winter Christian camp for graduates of boarding schools and students from disadvantaged families that took place in the beginning of January at the village of Polyana, Transcarpathia. The theme of the camp was based on the book of Psalms “What Do Our Prayers Speak About?” The team from Nikopol was actively involved in the Christian camp. They, as well as young people from Rivne and Rivne region, witnessed and praised God in songs. Some orphans have already come to know the living God and shared about their faith with the rest of the participants. Please pray that God’s Word will abide in the hearts of young men and women forever.
Ministry to Orphans
Thank God that we can come by and spend time in boarding and public schools with children! Valentina Bondarchuk, along with ministers from the city of Memphis, (USA), visited many institutions in Rivne region, where orphans are educated. The graduates of these educational institutions, who are familiar to us, also, do not forget us and come to the meetings. Thank God that we, together with our friends, John and Marilyn, can share the gospel in Christian camps, and visit adolescents, who are in correctional facilities. Praise God for the new friends! Please continue to pray for this ministry.
Winter Session
On February 6-15, 2019, the second session of the Word Grace Rivne Bible College was held. Pastor Masato Funakoshi, who serves in Odessa, came to teach classes on hermeneutics. The session was going on at the campground in Zalesie.
The warm, friendly, and at the same time Bible-saturated atmosphere was the perfect time for building up the hearts and minds of the students. The Holy Scripture is the only instrument through which God not only reveals Himself but also changes human souls in the most profound way. Therefore, it is extremely important for every Christian to learn how to properly approach the Bible, as well as how to correctly interpret it. Pray that the seeds sown during the session will bring abundant fruit in the life and ministry of brothers and sisters.
“Nadia” Makes the Grade
Thank God that the players of the club, one after another, are “signing” the most important “contract” in their lives – the guys are making a covenant with God by being baptized. Please pray for the faithfulness of the coaches in God-given work, and that more young athletes will build their relationship with the Living God.
This year, the team has traveled a lot with the purpose of playing, meeting friends and having recreation. Kiev, Kharkov, Odessa, Mariupol – these are just some major cities that God let us visit. Due to the negative results of the games at one of the championships, the guys became more outgoing and open with each other. At the first place, they decided to come to grips with the reasons for their losses, and as a result, they opened up about their families, about relationships with relatives, and personal relationships with God, while having frank conversations. A good tradition of weekly meetings over the cup of tea becomes a part of our training process.
Christian Club SKY
We are very grateful to God for this year, in which He has blessed us to live our life alongside Him! Thanks to God for all the moments that He gave us and for all the processes that He carried out in the ministry as well as in the hearts of people! Thanks a lot to those who prayed and continue to do so!
We prayed before that God would send our way new children. And He has put on display His faithfulness – now we have 25 people in the team. Children get a chance to hear the Gospel and read the Word of God twice a week. We broke down the children into two groups – under 12 and under 15 years of age. There are two ministers in each group, who conduct a Bible lesson for the children and are training them. This year, the Lord gave us the opportunity to have a lot of different activities and trips. One of the indelible experiences was the camp in the Carpathian Mountains where we talked about what the Bible has to say about the intimacy. At the end of the camp, many decided to come clean as sinners, asking God to forgive them for their sins, and help them to live out for Him.
Ministry in Warsaw
The Lord gave us the opportunity to conduct a Nativity play for children. There were wonderful gifts, funny games, an interesting drama, and of course, the Gospel sermon, which was also heard by many parents who came to the holiday with the children. Now, we are trying not to lose contact with them, inviting them to our youth and children’s club. It’s a great joy to see how eager the children are to come to these Bible lessons. One of our sisters came forward to take on responsibility for this hard work. She willingly goes to seminars related to the children’s ministry, and with a great passion implements what she learned there.
Now, we are praying for the further development of children’s ministry in our church. We’re working on a little program right now, so we could visit one of the orphanages. We also keep on thinking about our poppet ministry, in which our young people 12 -15 years old could participate. And there are 11 people at this moment, who regularly attend youth services! This is the God’s mercy to us!
