This week I have attended a meeting in Kiev with leadership from all over Ukraine. It is strategic in our overall plan here with our national partners. We had our US partners from Alabama here to teach and preach at this conference. They were challenging the Baptist Union to begin to look at developing a financial program like our Cooperative Program . During the conference we had some break- out sessions and we were ask along with Mike Ray our IMB collegue here in Ukraine to share about church planting. We had standing room only in the room that we met in.Our region is fortunate to have a partnership with Alabama Baptists. They are a big help to our work at the seminary. Alabama will be sending three teams this summer to work with our church planters. We are grateful to Alabama Baptists.

 These meetings are wonderful opportunities to connect with pastors and people that we have a relationship with. It was a special joy for me to see some of my students who were there. One of my students Sergei sang this morning a did a great job!! I was proud.

Untill next time ……Joel

On Friday evening Brad, Leo and myself left by train to go west to visit one of my students. There is always an element of excitement for me when we make a trip by rail to see my students. This was my first trip by train in the New Year and it took us almost 13 hours to get there. My student, Joseph, lives in Rahkiv ,which is in western Ukraine up in the mountains. We got off at Ivano- Frankivsks, a beautiful city that is full of interesting architecture and culture. After a breakfast and a quick tour of the city we got into our little red vehicle and drove another 3 hours to Josephs town. We climbed higher and higher into the mountains and drove along side mountain streams that reminded me of the geographical area in the Smokies. The scenery was breathtaking. After a couple of hours we stopped and got out and stretched J Guess what? We HAD SNOW!!! It was awesome. We finally made it to the top (after a flat tire) and started down the mountain to Rahkiv. We arrived early afternoon and settled into our accommodation in a log cabin where Joseph lives. Rahkiv is nestled down in a valley with mountains on both sides and a beautiful river running through the center of the town.

I have basically three objectives when going out to visit my students. (1) I want to see where they live and let them show me their vision for planting churches in their locale. (2) I want to visit with and help secure their mentor . (3) I want to go with them to church. We accomplished all three of these on this trip. I had the opportunity on Saturday afternoon to visit with Josephs mentor, Vadim. I was so encouraged by his vision and relationship to Joseph. I think this is a good match. We signed the covenant between the student, mentor and church. Saturday evening when walked to an amphitheater high up over the city and listen to Joseph share once again his vision for planting churches in Rahkiv. A highlight for me was when we stopped and Joseph prayed over his city. It was an unforgettable moment for us all. On Sunday we attended his church in town and I was invited to preach after Joseph preached. I challenged them on the Great Commission.

Then…the best was saved for last. After some tea and sandwiches at the church prepared by some of the sisters we traveled by car to the outskirts of the city to a Gypsy village where my student Joseph and his mentor Vadim our ministering. You see Joseph is going to be planting a church among the Gypsy or Roma’s as they are called. This is a people group that is shunned and no one wants anything to do with them in this part of the world. It reminds me of the Samaritans in the Bible. Thank God someone cares enough to Go and tell the story. We visited two homes in this gypsy village. The weather was dreadful. It was raining and there was mud everywhere. One house had a man who had just recently come to faith in Christ who has cancer. Joseph and Vadim are discipling he and his family. The other home was one room with no running water; no indoor toilet and 14 people lived in that house. The mother and father of this home were in church that morning and welcomed us into their modest home. We stopped and prayed for them and then left the gypsy village challenged to our very core. Just to know that there are people like Joseph and Vadim that are willing to Go and minister to the “ Least of these” was almost more than any of us three could take.

We climbed into our little red car and traveled up and over the mountain to catch the train and head back to Kiev…another 13 hours and arrived safe and sound with a renewed commitment to continue to train and equip young church planters to plant churches in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union.

You may be asking yourself the question….What do pigs and church planting have in common? Well, I just returned from a road trip to some of my students and they are raising pigs and selling them to help support other young church planters and to provide meat for some orphanages and poor people in their cities. Isn’t that a great idea? I had the privilege of visiting last night with one of my church planters. We toured the barn and saw the pigs first hand and then went into the house and sat and had tea and Ukrainian sweets. WHAT A NIGHT!!!!

After sitting awhile in the kitchen my church planters wife said “ Why don’t you show him your vision that is in our bedroom?” So….we went to their bedroom and sure enough on the wall was his vision of what he is believing God for in his town. We stopped and prayed right there in their bedroom that God would be glorified and reproducible churches will be started in that part of Ukraine. He has already left one church and now is starting another one since coming to Kiev Theological Seminary. As we made our way by car back to where I stayed last night I couldn’t help but thank God again for placing me here in Ukraine. Pigs, church planting and my students vision on the wall of his bedroom!!! All in one night. Habakkuk 2: 2 says “ Write down the vision and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.”  He is doing just that . I love it!!!!!!!!!

That question has always intrigued me.

 Its becoming more relevant to me as I get older. Some years ago I heard a phrase that has stuck with and I have used over and over to challenge others and myself. “ Only one life and soon it will pass, only what’s done for Christ will last”.I find myself here in Ukraine thinking again about investments. The work and ministry that God has called Mary Ellen and I to here at Kiev Theological Seminary is an opportunity to invest once again in the only thing that has eternal dividends………….PEOPLE. I have two maps of Ukraine that have prominent places in our apartment and in our offices at KTS. The map in our office is a map of Ukraine and has the pictures of all my church planting students and where they are starting their churches. Every time I walk into our office it is a reminder to PRAY for these young men. They are apart of our investment that God is allowing us to make here in Ukraine. The other map is on the wall in our apartment.This map serves as a constant reminder to us that God wants us to continue to invest in the harvest that is coming to Ukraine. This map in our apartment is a continual focal point each time a group of students come to see us. We always end with these men facing the map and ….. many times laying hands on the specific area of the country they are planting their churches.

You can help us invest in Ukraine and the church planting program at KTS by believing and praying with us by investing in the leaders and influencers of this new generation here in this country. We must win and change this generation. If we don’t then we will have to wait another generation. 

We began again the process of interviewing students at KTS. The interviews were on Monday and the prospective students took two examinations one Monday and one this morning (Tuesday) and finished up today before lunch. I was impressed by the commitment and maturity of  the prospective students. It looks like I will get three additional students . That’s good. This will be my third class of church planters. These men are in our modular program which meets four times a year for two weeks at a time. It is a difficult way of getting and education but it seems to work here. They are in class 8 hours a day for two weeks!! It works for me to because I can recruit men to come and teach for two weeks. Hopefully once we get them here they will catch the vision of what we are doing . Training and equipping church planters to plant reproducible churches in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union. It is an awesome vision that God has given us and we want you to pray with us that we will be faithful stewards of what He has placed in our hands.

Until next time.

Joel

I spent the biggest part of my day at the place where God placed Mary Ellen and I almost 4 years ago. Kiev Theological Seminary. God has allowed Mary Ellen and I to be part of the faculty and staff of this wonderful institution. There are a lot of reasons why it is a great place to do ministry. Its not because of it campus and buildings. Its small compared to many seminaries across the world. What makes it a wonderful place to work is the dedicated men and women………….Ukrainians and Americans working side by side to advance the Kingdom of God. It has a great team spirit that is promoted and modeled by our president and selfless missionaries and Ukrainian staff that puts others before themselves. Every time I come to the seminary I think of it as an oasis in the middle of darkness. I always come away refreshed after being there. Please pray for us at KTS. These are very strategic times for us. We are dealing with issues of enrollment, finding ways to market to Ukraine and the former Soviet Union what God is doing here and complete a major building program.

God had placed in my heart several years ago a desire to invest in other faithful men and build a model. Little did I know that it would be here in Ukraine at Kiev Theological Seminary. God is awesome!!

Enjoying the Journey.

Joel