YOU ARE INVITED TO THE 84TH SPIRITUALLY EDIFYING CONVENTION!
Dear friends! You are invited to the 84th spiritually edifying convention of the Pacific Coast Association’s churches of ECB! The theme of the convention is “Revival – the Life of Contrast (Personal Sanctification)”. The main text is: “Arise, o sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph. 5:14). The convention will take place at Grace Family Church on October 28-29. The opening of the convention will be in English with synchronized translation into Russian. For more information about the convention visit the convention’s website – click this link.The website is in Russian only.
You can also take advantage of the following links as well:
VISITING CHURCHES IN WASHINGTON
With the invitation of The Source of Life Church in Mukilteo, I. V. Mileyev attended their church service on October 9 during which he ordained Edward Yarin and Andrey Karbut as deacons. That same day, he also attended the harvest service at the Slavic Baptist Church in Seattle, where Sergey Bystritskiy is currently serving. For more about this trip – read here (in Russian only.)
The Source of Life Church pastors with their wives. Newly ordained ministers are to the right of I. Mileyev.
VISITING CAROLINAS
On September 28 to October 4, I. Mileyev traveled to South and North Carolina to get to know new communities and churches that are being opened up by migrants coming from the western states. For the most part, these are young families with children who saw better financial opportunities for their families, as well as “voluntary” options for vaccinations for their children in public schools. Some of these groups began to establish churches in their new locations, and asked for help from the Association. More details can be found here.
During one of the meetings
ORDINATION AT FORWARD CHURCH
Forward Church in Irvine, California, where Bogdan Kipko is the Senior and Founding Pastor, held their first ever ordination service, where two men were ordained for official gospel ministry. This was an amazing celebration of God’s faithfulness for the entire church. Ivan Mileyev, President of PCSBA, was present for the ordination. Pastor Victor Chayasirisobhon, First Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention and President of the California Southern Baptist Convention, was also in attendance and took part in this ordination service. More details here.
New ministers of the church with their spouses and pastor Bogdan Kipko with his wife
HARVEST CELEBRATION
On October 25, there was a church service dedicated to celebrating the Feast of the Harvest at the Second Slavic Baptist Church in Sacramento. There was wonderful singing of the choir and soloists, thanksgiving prayer, four sermons, and congratulations to the guests at the morning service. There was also a picnic in the afternoon. This event was a wonderful reminder of God's mercy. About 1,500 people joined the celebration that day. The details of the service can be found on the Association’s website (in Russian only.)
Church Celebration
ONE THING IS NEEDED
The Women’s Christian Camp “Salon of Unperishable Beauty” was held from September 23 to 25 at Zephyr Point (Lake Tahoe). This is the 14th women’s gathering of this type. The theme of the retreat, "One Thing Is Needed", was based on an event that took place in Bethany when Jesus visited Martha's house. This account is recorded in Luke 10:38-42. About 80 women participated in the retreat. For more information – read here (in Russian only)
Retreat Participants
REVIVAL CHURCH RETREAT
“Incomparably More” - these are the words that became a motto for the Revival Baptist Church in Vancouver, WA. The church organizes retreats for key leaders of ministries twice a year. This is an opportunity to be united as one team, to pray together about the most pressing needs and plans, and to answer together, “What do we want God to do for our church?” For more about the retreat and what was covered during the retreat, read an article by the church’s pastor, M. Cherenkov (in Russian only.)
During the Retreat
CHURCH CAMP
More than 100 new refugee immigrants benefited from the Cornerstone Church’s ministry for families who experienced persecution and who traveled a difficult journey to come to our country. They were in great need of rest and warm fellowship in a safe environment with people who love them. For more information, read an article by K. Kostyuk – click this link.
The camp brought special joy to children
FIRST GRATUATING CLASS OF “CORAM DEO”
The pandemic affected the plans for the graduating ceremony of ICI “Coram Deo” in Sacramento, but finally it took place on October 1 at Bryte Church. During this celebration, 18 people from 11 churches in California and Pennsylvania were officially recognized as graduates and were awarded certificates as biblical counselors. Out of the whole group, 16 graduates were from the Association’s churches. Thanks to those who made this a reality! For more details, read this article (in Russian only.)
Graduates and Some of the Instructors
MISSION WITHOUT BORDERS
This was the title of a missionary conference that took place on September 24 at Bryte Church. The speakers were well-known Slavic missionaries who have a lot of experience in sharing the Gospel and planting churches: Vitaliy Fomin (Greece), Sergey Mativasyan (Russia), Igor Bagirov (U.S.), and Sergey Kirnev (Moldova). For more about the conference, read an article by Aleksey Yanovskiy (in Russian only.)
Speakers and Some of the Conference Attendees
OLD INSTRUMENTS SOUND NEW
On September 24, the Sunday School Ministry organized a conference at Second Slavic Baptist Church called “Old Instruments Sound New”. The event included an address by the Association’s President, Ivan Mileyev, on “The Methods and Strategies of Teaching Memorable Lessons”, and a detailed overview of the teaching materials in preparing lessons, and was presented by Jennifer Dyachenko. For more about the conference, visit the Association’s website.
Directors and Teachers of Sunday Schools
THOU SHALL NOT KILL!
Why does God allow killing and bloodshed? What are Christians to think of the war in Ukraine? Why are the churches in Russia silent? – these are difficult questions that were answered by Mikhail Tsin on October 8 at a theological seminar organized by the joint efforts of The Cornerstone Church and Grace Avenue Bible Church. Read more about this in an article by S. Iotko on the Association’s website (in Russian only.)
During the seminar
DAUGHTER OF THE KING – ME OR HER??
Daughter of the King – Me or Her?” was the theme of the Women’s Prayer Breakfast which took place on October 1 at the Grace Church Avenue Bible Church. About 50 women and girls had the opportunity to reflect on how important proper self-esteem is for Christians, and how it affects relationships with God and others. Read more in an article by Vita Shukova – click this link.
Daughters of the King
TRIP TO THE HOLY LAND
From October 9 to 18, brothers and sisters of Rockland Baptist Church traveled to Israel. It was planned to coincide with the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles and became a huge blessing for the members of the local church.
During the trip, a team of 50 people (90% of the team from Rockland Baptist Church) visited many famous and revered holy places: The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Garden of Gethsemane, Via Dolorosa, the Temple Mount, the Wailing Wall, and others. They also visited the Jordan River, the place where Jesus was baptized. Eight people renewed their covenant with the Lord, but there were also those who were baptized by faith for the first time. For more, read an article on the Association’s website (in Russian only.)
In Capernaum, the city of Jesus Christ
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