Ukrainian Sister Church
Our Sister Church is the Evangelical-Christian Baptist Church and is located in Prydniprovske, Ukraine. They are in a village located in the Chemobayev area of the Cherkassy region. We have been partnered with them since 1998. The pastor of the church is Pastor Vasili Mihaylovick Ustenko and his wife is Tonia.
Pastor Vasili shared this brief history of the organization of their church. "During the communist era, the Chernobayev area was an experimental region for atheism. In ten villages there was only one congregation. The first preaching of the gospel here took place in March of 1993 when the "Jesus" film was shown. After three meetings in the community hall, we were denied permission to coninue. The local authorities refused to negotiate. Therefore, we preached in homes that were willing to receive us. In August 1994 we celebrated our first baptism with five people being baptized. In February 1996 we registered the church with the authorities. At this time we had eleven members."
Since that time, the church has grown and with the financial and prayer support of CrossPoint Church, they were able to construct a house of prayer. We have also sent ministry teams over to Ukraine for many years now and they provide a day camp for the children in the summer.
Pastor Vasili's last letter said, "In 2008 we will celebrate our 10th anniversary of sister relations between Coon Rapids and Prydniprovske church. We thank you for the mutual work on the House of Prayer, children's ministry, help with transport (vehicle), and financial help. In those difficult years here, you became a great help in building the kingdom of God in Prydniprovske."