April, 2004
Interesting to Know!

LVIV

Recently we started a puppet theatre in our church. God blessed us so much that it happened very quickly and didn’t take much time to prepare. Last week we had the first play with many people in attendance. There were even more adults than kids at the performance! People from our groups that had previously ignored invitations to come to services came to the play also. We performed an Easter program and didn’t expect the reaction that happened. Some guests even cried while watching it. One lady from the group (she hasn’t repented yet but takes part in the puppet ministry) told us that has started to read the Bible to find topics for the plays. "There’s much in the Bible that we could show," she said.

KIEV

Our groups have really grown in attendance, especially since we began advertising in the newspaper. During the last two weeks we have had new people come to the English groups. It is always hard to know how people will accept the second hour of Bible study, whether they will come back the next time or leave us forever. We have been seeking how to find a balance between new people and old ones. This Tuesday we had some new people at our group and when the Bible study started I decided to start with some kind of introduction. However, I was suddenly interrupted by Sergey Stepanenko with the words: "May I explain?" Of course I agreed and was very interested in what Sergey would say. His speech was impressive:

"First of all I want to tell you that nobody is going to draw you into something at this Bible study class. The goal of these lessons is help people find their own place in the world, define their relationship with God and help understand the Bible. You will be the ones to make decisions. During the two years that I have been attending classes, no one has pushed me into going anywhere, doing anything or bringing money. Besides, there’s professionalism here that other churches and religious organizations don’t offer. You can come and see for yourself on Sundays at 10 am on Kharkovskiy highway 57."

In his story Sergey also shared about a personal negative experience that he had studying English in a different church. Then he invited people to our Sunday service, sharing that some Americans also attend there. Sergey is not just a salesman professionally, but can also sell our English and Bible classes. It was very encouraging! After his testimony, one girl even asked if she could invite her sister and friends to the group. The following week, she returned and brought her sister!

DNIPROPETROVSK

Long ago as a team, we decided to involve our lay leaders in our Sunday team meetings (spiritual development or small services). I thought that Marina, who is an artist, could help us make the Bible study more interesting using her talent. As a result, Marina prepared the songs for the worship time using verses from the Bible on the topic "prayer". This was the same topic that we picked for that service. In addition, Marina prepared some questions for discussion and made small drawings for the passages (the parable about the widow and the unrighteous judge and the prayer of the Pharisee and the tax collector). This made our study really different and special. At the end we all prayed for each other. When I asked Marina what she thought about the service, she said she liked it and that it was more interesting to participate herself.

SYMPHEROPOL

We’ve just started services in our new daughter church. It has been a difficult time for our team. God really led us in a way that no one would have expected. His ways are not ours, and our ways are not His. Currently the team in the new church has started various ministries: pastoral ministry, Sunday school, women’s ministry, worship and preaching. All of these ministries exist, but they need to be developed and we need your prayers. Thank you! Thank God for His grace and mercy!