CHRIST HAS RISEN! CHRIST HAS RISEN INDEED!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! We greet you in celebrating the resurrection of Christ. This is an extraordinary and joyful day for every Christian. It is a day when everyone who believed unto the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ heard the verdict of God the Father: “Released from the guilt of sins and eternal damnation! The debt has been fully paid by My Son!”
Read an Easter greeting from the President of the Association – click this link.
SEMIANNUAL PASTORS’ MEETING
On February 25, The House of Prayer Church in West Sacramento hosted a semiannual meeting of the Association’s pastors. The wives of the pastors were also invited, and they also had their own time of fellowship. During the meeting, there were four seminars which covered various aspects of the pastoral ministry. For more about the meeting and the links to the recordings of the seminars, read an article by I. Mileyev – click this link.
A similar meeting also took place on March 11 in Montebello for the pastors of the southern region. Read about it here.
Pastors and their wives who attended the meeting in West Sacramento
ORDINATION AT GRACE AVENUE BIBLE CHURCH
On March 19, Grace Avenue Bible Church ordained new ministers during their morning service, which happened to be their church’s birthday as well. On this day, the elder board gained one more pastor and two new deacons. The President of the PCSBA, Ivan Mileyev, gave instruction to the men and their wives. More can be found here (in Russian only.)
New pastor and deacons
BAPTISM AT THE LIVING STONES CHURCH
On February 5, five people were baptized at the Living Stones Church, and gave a pledge to serve God with a clear conscience. It is a great joy to join new brothers and sisters in Christ. The baptism was officiated by a local pastor, Aleksandr Krasnov. Details can be found here (in Russian only.)
New church members
ORDINATION AT THE МISSION BOULEVARD BIBLE CHURCH
On February 26, the church at Hayward had a joyful celebration service, during which Sergey Lvov and Michael Kharchenko were ordained as deacons, and Sergey Moroz as a pastor. The church service was bilingual, and the songs were sung in English and in Russian. Read more details here (in Russian only.)
New ministers and their wives
DESSERT DATE
On Friday, March 3, the Bethel Slavic Baptist Church had a second annual evening for married couples. They had an interesting name: “Dessert Date.” The theme for this year was, “Fellowship in Marriage.” It was a romantic evening which was decorated in the style of a French café. The goal of such events is to support the marriages in the church. For more information, read the Association’s website – click this link.
Wonderful fellowship
MY SOUL FINDS REST ONLY IN GOD
A calm in the time of storm… How realistic is this? How to achieve peace in a time of war? How to help those who are spiritually searching? These were the questions asked by brothers and sisters of the Word of Life Church as they studied Psalm 62 at the church service on March 2. This was a special service because there were many guests. More details can be found in an article by V. Yakimchik (in Russian only.)
Word of Life Church
NEWS OF THE EDUCATION MINISTRY
God gave our Association a unique opportunity to receive spiritual training almost without leaving our homes – in our own or our neighboring churches. You don’t need to travel somewhere far to study because the instructors come to you, to Sacramento, San Francisco, and even to Valencia, Spain. The head of the Association’s education ministry, A. Pronin, tells about this in his article (in Russian only.)
I. Mileyev teaching in Valencia
NEWS OF THE PRISON MINISTRY
The prison ministry group renewed their active ministry. During COVID, they were not allowed to visit prisoners, but despite the two-year break, the prison guards received them very well. They did not forget our team, and our team had no trouble visiting many of the prisoners. Read about this on the Association’s website (in Russian only.)
DEFEND THE WIDOW
On February 12, Slavic Baptist Church of West Sacramento hosted a women’s meeting where they meditated on true trust and hope in God. The main speaker was I. Verstak. The theme of the meeting was based on Psalm 91:2: “My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust!” There was a time of prayer, music and singing, testimonies, and a word of encouragement and instruction. Read more details here (in Russian only.)
VISIT OF THE MILITARY CHAPLAIN
First Slavic Baptist Church of Sacramento was visited by Sergey Amelin, who is a military chaplain from Dnepr, Ukraine. During the church service on February 19, he shared about his ministry and his goals for his visit to the U.S. Read an article by S. Iotko about him and his ministry (in Russian only.)
Chaplain with the ministers at First Slavic Baptist Church
BLESSINGS OF THE SLAVIC CHURCH IN HONOLULU
A church in Honolulu had two wonderful events. First, there was a family conference that was dedicated to marriage and parenting, as well as how to resist the challenges of the contemporary world with the attacks on the institution of marriage. Then, two weeks later, they had a baptism service for four young people. A. Kovalev, who is an administrator of the church, talks about these events in his article – click this link.
Family conference attendees
A WOMAN’S ROLE TODAY IN THE FAMILY AND IN THE CHURCH
This was the theme of the Slavic Bible Church’s women’s retreat. Since the planting of the Slavic Bible Church, this was the first time that this type of retreat was able to take place. The retreat took place on March 17-18 at a picturesque farm; sixteen sisters took part in it. The details about the retreat can be found in an article by M. Manko (in Russian only.)
Retreat attendees
 NEW ISSUE OF GOD’S VINEYARD MAGAZINE
The new issue of the magazine will have a lot of edifying content, news about the missionaries, as well as history. More details about the content of the magazine is provided by L. Pavlyuk, who is an editor of the magazine, in her small article which can be found on the Association’s website (in Russian only.)
UNIQUE MINISTRY
There is a ministry that few people notice, but is very necessary in almost every church. They notice it only when it is not there or it stops working. That is the sound ministry. For more than 20 years, Vasiliy Kadoshnikov has been purchasing sound equipment and sending it to various churches. Recently, the equipment was sent to a missionary church in Valencia, Spain. Read the details here.
A Gift for a church in Valencia. V. Kadoshnikov—in the middle
SHARE YOUR BREAD WITH THE HUNGRY
For a few years now, the members of the Rockland Church, and those who would like to join them, have been holding a fast before Easter based on Isaiah 58:6-7: “This is the fast which I choose…to divide your bread with the hungry.” They spend their own money and go where God leads them, and feed the hungry as they are witnessing to them about Christ. Last year it was Lebanon, and this year it was Turkey. Read more details about their visit in an article by V. Terzi, listen to an audio interview with N. Bugriyev on the Association’s website, and watch the slideshow. (The article and audio interview are in Russian only.)
 STEVE MIZERA – OUR EDITOR
The Association’s ministries have various people who are serving in various ministries. Every servant has his own life’s story, and his own unique experience. People are different, but the Lord unites them all for mutual ministry. Since 2016, Steve Mizera has been the editor of the Association newsletter’s English version. He is a person who has gone through a lot since his childhood. He experienced the harshness of the school of life and had a difficult time as he turned to God. Svetlana Iotko had a small interview with him – read here.
NEWS FROM THE MISSIONS FIELD
THE SHEREMET FAMILY IS ADAPTING TO WARSAW
It is never easy to start a new life in a different place. Especially when you are moving from a country like the U.S. to Poland, which is not that well-off. Read another letter from the Sheremet family and listen to an audio interview with Joseph Sheremet (in Russian only.)
TRIP TO BRAZIL
In February, a group of brothers and sisters headed by V. Yurchak, who is the head of the Association’s Mission Ministry, visited Brazil to support Vitaliy Arshlik, who serves there with his family, and to help those local churches. F. Avramenko, who was part of this group, shares more about the trip and what was accomplished while being there (in Russian only.)
Spending Saturday with children of the poorest area of Favela
ABOUT THE GOLIVE MISSIONARY CONFERENCE
The GoLive Missionary Conference took place on March 18 at the Good News Church in Tacoma. There were about 150 young people, mostly from Spokane, WA and Salem, OR churches. There were also guests from other states. The conference organizers were: Choose Life Church, Good News Church, and Spring of Life Church. Details can be found here.
During street evangelism
|
