Then the master of the house …said to his servant: “The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ 22After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ 23 So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full”. Luke 14:21-23)
Sixteen years ago, when Grace Church was started there was a great famine of God’s precious Word. Those who were set free from the supremacy of an atheistic state system, discovered new truths. News about the existence of the Living God, who saves those who come to Him through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ, caused a revolution in the minds and hearts, of those who did not know God. Preachers of the Gospel could easily fill stadiums and auditoriums of listeners. That was a blessed time for the country of Ukraine.
In just a few years, our small group of Christians turned into a large church. What characterizes Grace Church is that the overwhelming majority of people worshipping here were not born into Christian families with ancient traditions. In the beginning, we stood at each empty row of pews in a rented building and asked God to fill them with people. God made visible that inconceivable miracle. Currently, we have 520 members attending Grace Church now, plus visitors and many children. We have our own building with four pastors. Vladislav Yevtushenko is our Senior Pastor. We also have seven deacons and our members conduct 27 home Bible study groups. In 2003 a group of young people aged 15-20 years old, detached from us to create a new church called “Father’s Home”. Under the direction of Pastor Maxim Sagaidak that young church successfully works and grows both spiritually and numerically.
In spite of regular baptisms, Grace Church seemed to be standing still, with no discernable growth to the congregation. At the moment even talented and outstanding preachers find it difficult to attract large numbers. We came to realize that the time had come to “go out into the streets and alleys, country lanes and behind the hedges” and compel those in the remote villages of the Chornabai District, who had not yet heard, to come into the Kingdom.
Grace Church therefore became a missionary church! Today, there are now evangelical churches in Shcherbynivka, under Pastor Sergey Rayevskyy, Maliievka, under Pastor Pavel Yevtushenko, Bogoduhivka, under Pastor Nikolai Cherkasov, Komintern, under Pastor Oleksander Kirpichov, and recently Hope Now, and Vic Jackopson in particular, have helped by buying a house for ex-prisoners Dima and Svitlana Arkipushkin to be missionaries in Nove Zhyttia. The whole Arkipushkin family moved there for permanent residence to convert new souls to Christ. In addition, we now have another church in Kropyvne, Zolotonosha district, and another church in Petrovske, Kamianka district. Both of these churches are now ready to be dedicated, and we also have a young couple from Grace Church, Dima and Alla Netrebenko who will be in our capital to reach students in Kyiv.
Every Sunday Grace Church sends out about twenty missionaries to Chornobai district churches. They either use the church bus or their own personal transport but the church provides them with lunch and covers transport expenses. In the summer months we conduct Christian Children’s Camps in 9 villages in the area. As we still have such a blessed time and “yet there is room in the house of the master” we will keep working to open new churches, so that many unsaved people in Ukraine would learn about the Good News, as that is the main assignment of every Christian.
Church life is alive and well in many of the villages around
Cherkassy. Having spent 5 days visiting several villages, progress
was evident in many of them.
On July 5, Rev. Vic Jackopson went to the village of Makiyivka to
present Alexander Vishymeersky, (father of Misha, Hope Now's Ukrainian
director) with an award.
