Be encouraged in this day as fruit continues to be seen from the ministry of the churches we serve in Ukraine. The war continues, but nothing can stop God from building His church! Here is a recent report from SGA-supported Pastor Vyacheslav . . .
Greetings in the Name of the Lord!
The Bethlehem Baptist Church expresses its sincere gratitude to our friends, brothers and sisters from SGA and to our senior pastor Oleg for the humanitarian food aid that we received for the needs of the IDPs [internally displaced persons]. We thank God and you for your cooperation in serving God and the people affected by the war in Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, our church has been providing all kinds of assistance to IDPs who lost their homes and were forced to come [here] to save their lives. The church makes sure to stay in touch with the IDPs. We hold Bible study meetings twice a week. At the groups, we have fellowship around the Word of God, read, and discuss the texts from the Word of God, sing, and pray together. And as a minister of the church, I explain the Word of God to people and answer their questions.
Due to the destroyed towns and villages in the eastern part of Ukraine, people came [here] and settled in schools, kindergartens, and dorms of educational institutions. With the church ministry in between them, many people came to the church and started to follow Jesus. Now in our church, we hold four services a week: one on Wednesdays, one on Saturdays and on Sundays at 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. Also, we have two groups for Bible study on Mondays and Thursdays.
All the IDPs who have their documents are registered at the church and receive an invitation card for a specific day and time to come to the church and receive a food package. This system was developed because our church hall cannot fit more than 270 people, so we have to divide people into days and time slots.
A person has the opportunity to receive a food package once a week, attend a service and a home group. Together with the IDPs, we sing hymns and praise God in prayer. About 50 percent of people say that they read the Word of God and pray every day, while others admit that they do not do it every day, but they want to learn more, so they find time to attend services several times a week or come to a home group.
Nowadays, many IDPs have repented and received Jesus Christ in their hearts, some have declared that they are ready to be baptized. Many come to repent during the service. People have become used to coming to church, even when there is no humanitarian/charitable aid, but there is good fellowship, prayers, and singing of hymns.
IDPs already consider our local church as theirs. Many of our members have returned to Kharkiv, but have taken the addresses of the churches to continue attending services there. Praise God for such a desire!
In His Name,
Vyacheslav
Testimonies
Victoria
I am 46 years old. I moved from Kharkiv to [here] with my son, who is 9 years old. Before we moved to Poltava, we lived in the village with our friends for three months. We have been living in [here] for almost a year. Our friends brought us to Bethlehem Church. Since then we have been attending all the services on Sundays. We live in the kindergarten together with many other families. We are very grateful to all the caring people, the mission, the sponsors who take care of us with great love and send us so many products. Thank you very much! We are also grateful to Pastor Vyacheslav for taking care of us and providing the necessary support. We get blankets, towels, pillows, and hygiene items from the church from time to time. We have food almost every week. And this is a great support for all of us. The most important thing is that we now read the Word of God every day and are eager to go to church every week.
We are very grateful to the church ministers for their support, for their help in word and deed. We really like Viacheslav’s sermons and the singing of the worship music group. We pray and are grateful to the Lord for everything. He guides us and supports us. May we all have a peaceful and blessed life! And glory to God for everything!
Tetiana
My husband and I came [here] together from the Luhansk region. In March of last year, we first went to the Lviv region. We stayed there for two months, living in a school building. We have been living [here] since June 2022. We came to Bethlehem Church in November 2022. In [this city], we also live in a school building, but soon we will move to a modular housing estate that the city built for IDPs.
We are very grateful to the Lord for our lives and relative health. We fell in love with [this city] and the sisters from the church for their compassionate relationship, their humanity, and their love for people. We are grateful for their help and support. The Word of God gives us strength, and we try to read the New Testament every day.
We try to listen to good sermons on the Internet by good preachers and read good literature. We receive food packages almost every week, and we are very grateful to the Lord and all the caring people who provide us with this help. We thank God for everything! Amen.
Julia
Before the war started, I lived in the Donetsk region. I am a disabled person of group 3 (sore joints).
My daughter, who is 15 years old, lives and studies in [this city] by way of distance schooling. My husband is also disabled. He does not work yet. It is very difficult to find a job. Our destroyed house stays behind at home. We do not know what will happen to us, but we are trusting in the Lord and our soldiers.
All my life I worked as a machine operator in the city municipal water utility (at the sewage treatment plant). Now I’m cleaning at an oil plant [here]. We rent an apartment for our family together with my retired parents (they are also disabled in groups 2 and 3). My father used to work in a mine. My parents moved [here] from Mykolaiv.
Thanks to the Lord and people, we are alive and well, working for the glory of the Lord. We rejoice in everything we have. Church attending enriches our world, gives us peace and happiness. We believe that the merciful Lord will not leave us in sorrow. Glory to Him! We sincerely thank all Christians who care about us and our families!
Valentina
My name is Valentina. We came from the Zaporizhzhia region. My husband is 62 years old and a retired man. We came together on April 18, 2022. We share an apartment with another family [here] because it is very expensive. In August 2022, we started attending Bethlehem Church. Our daughter and granddaughter moved to Cherkasy.
Since then, we have not seen each other at all. We only communicate through phone messages and videos. They also go to church there. My husband and I read the Word of God every day. We attend services on Sundays. We are very happy because we have found support here: spiritual, moral and material (food, etc.).
On June 23, 2023, we discovered that our house was completely destroyed as a result of active military operations. Now [this city] has become our home, because we have nowhere to return to.
God’s Word, the support of the pastor and the sisters of the church are very important and necessary for us. Thank God for all the people from the church!
Nadiya
My name is Nadiya, I am 75 years old. I am from the Luhansk region. I lost my home and peace back in March 2022. Since March 6, 2022, I have been living [here] with my sister and my in-laws. They are also 70 to 73 years old. And we are all homeless. Our hometown has been under occupation since the spring of 2022.
Here in [this city], we rent a one-room apartment together. We take turns sleeping on the floor, but now we already sleep on mattresses that were given to us at the Bethlehem Church in the fall of 2022. We are very grateful for the mattresses, blankets, and bath sets, because this is a real help, especially for those who found themselves in a different city without things.
The volunteers helped us with our documents, cats and dogs. And our children went further to the West. Now my daughter-in-law and three grandchildren are in the Netherlands, where she works in a restaurant, doing the dishes and cleaning. The grandchildren are studying. And my son went to Kyiv because he found a job there. Thank God, we are not hungry, we have everything we need, we have help from the Baptists and those caring volunteers who support thousands of people in need during the war. We believe in victory, and most of all—we trust in the power of the Almighty, Who saves souls, supports everyone and helps! Amen.
In a time of great uncertainty, God is bringing help, healing, and hope to the people of Ukraine through SGA-supported pastors, churches, a seminary, and SGA-sponsored Compassion Ministry. Be a part of God’s incredible work with your generosity and prayer support.
Your gift of compassion helps struggling people with emergency aid that generally includes Scripture materials, food, medicine, warm clothing, and shoes.