Dear brothers, families and churches.
I want to share with you some news about our Bible Institute and some churches of Christ in Ukraine.
It's summer vacation time at the Institute, and students are at their home towns and serve at their local congregations. They have a wonderful opportunity to minister and get the precious experience. They are supposed to send reports to the Institute about their ministry every month, and I think that this practice will help them to be more responsible and disciplined in the future.
At the beginning of June we had Master's program courses at the Institute. We are in a great need of qualified teachers of God's Word. New denominations appear in Ukraine every year, and they call themselves "Christians," but in reality many of them do not know the Bible at all.
Three weeks ago, we had a School of a Young Preacher at our Institute for the first time. We invited young men (ages 13 to 17) from the churches of Christ all over Ukraine. This time we had nine students, and during these three days they have studied about the personality of a preacher, the necessity of good knowledge of God's Word, the skills needed for preparation of a sermon and its presentation. Those were easy and adapted lessons, but after this short seminar almost half of the young men expressed willingness to become preachers. They may change their mind later, but it's their goal for now.
Also I have to preach in Illovaysk, since there is no preacher at this town, and we take turns preaching there. It's not a big city, but the church there is ten years old, and it consists of 20 members. Please pray with me for finding a suitable preacher for this congregation.
In July, I plan to visit several churches in Western Ukraine. I hope that these plans will be accomplished with God's help. First, I wanted to meet preachers and members of those churches, and I think it's a good opportunity to recruit new students. Besides, the church of Christ in Ternopil asked me to teach a seminar there.
Right now we have several potential students: 4 men and 2 girls. But we are still looking for more students.
Students of our Institute and Central Church of Christ in Gorlovka send you their greetings. They appreciate your care and support.
My family and I thank you for your active participation in our work. Thank you for spiritual and financial support. The apostle Paul often thanked churches for their participation in helping the needy, and I think that by saying that he pointed to the fact that by helping others they helped themselves. Being ready to sacrifice is the indication of spiritual growth.
Your brother in Christ,
Dennis