We thank you for praying!
Evangelism Through Paintings
Members of our church held an evangelical exhibition of world-renowned artists called “Savior of the World” in the center of the city of Rivne. Christians of different generations had an opportunity to join this activity and together they could tell hundreds of people the Good News at Christmastime when the hearts of people are open to the Word of God. Please pray for the effective outreach with paintings this spring!
New Year’s Youth Conference
The conference “Restarting the Heart 2020-2021, Rooted in Christ” took place at the campground of Zalesia from December 31 to January 2. There were more than 230 participants from different regions of Ukraine and beyond. In particular, there were men and women ranging from 15 to 30 years who came from Warsaw, Krakow, Dnieper, Kamenskoye, Kiev, Kharkiv, Mariupol, Zaporozhye, Rivne, Zdolbunov, Vinnitsa and others. We believe that the conference’s messages made the powerful impact on the hearts and minds of the listeners that will help them develop close relationship with Christ.
Lost Youth Winter Camp
In January, the youth of our church held a Lost Love camp in Zalesia. There were about 60 people: boys and girls from Rivne, Kamenskоye, and Dolyna. Someone has heard of God, someone has already accepted Him into the heart, someone is still wrestling with Him. In our world, the image of love is very corrupted. So, they talked about the right way of building relationships between boys and girls. Young people are very grateful to God for allowing them to spend time together, serve and rest.
Evangelical Sports Camp FREEDOM
Our Christian Floor Hockey Club SKY held a winter outreach camp in Carpathian for 40 children aged 12 and older. This time the young people had an opportunity to focus on the topic called "Freedom." A team of young ministers tried their best to demonstrate the theme of the camp in the style of the prison that led to some practical implications – anyone who is unable to forgive their neighbor would end up in the prison. As they studied the Bible in the morning and listened to the evening sermons, they began to realize that we can never truly forgive people if we lose sight of our enormous debt before God that was taken by Jesus and nailed to the cross so we would be forgiven forever. Only He can get us free from the prison of sin and unforgiveness!!! Also, there were some fun games and other activities. At the end of the camp, several youths openly confessed their sins and declared their faith in Christ.
Youth Worship Services
This winter, God blessed our church youth to hold 4 youth services on various themes: the purity of premarital relationships, the place of entertainment and fun in the lives of young people, and so on. Please pray that the Word of God would reach the hearts of the young people, as well as for the team of ministers who are in charge of the youth services. Please pray also for new teenagers who started showing up in the church that our Lord would enter into their hearts.
Rivne Bible College
We thank God for the opportunity to hold a session at the Word of Grace Bible College on Spiritual formation, that was taught by our pastor Taras Nikolayevich Prystupa. What unites the brothers and sisters of different generations, who came from different countries and different regions of Ukraine, and joined the new enrollment, is their common desire to deepen their relationships with Jesus Christ. The teaching material, atmosphere and everything…, that was taking place at the session, exceeded all the vivid expectations of the students. Our prayer is that the planted seeds will sprout and bring fruit in the lives and service of these 44 students.
The School of Timothy
Recently, a session of School of Timothy was held at our church building. 12 teenagers of Rivne and 40 who came from western Ukraine committed to studying the Word of God to learn how to be helpful for the Kingdom and exert biblical influence on other people. The study lasted for nine days in a row. Even though students were a little tired, they pressed on without any hesitation. Please pray that these young hearts would be on fire for God, useful in the churches, and would bring fruit for Christ’s glory.
Ministry to the War Widows
During the winter, a group of sisters from our church had several meetings with the mothers and wives of fallen soldiers. We know many of them from the summer camps in previous years. Thank God that there are Christians in Lutsk who serve them and gather them together to study the Word in which they can find consolation and salvation for their grief-stricken souls.
Anastasia Shevchuk, Tanya Arterchuk, Tolik Kitaykin