Dear brothers and sisters,
In this report I'd like to share with you the latest news from some local congregations of the Church of Christ and our Bible Institute.
In November our first year students had Genesis (taught by Viktor Semikoz), Godhead, Satan and Angels (Vitality Rodichev) and Deuteronomy (Dennis Sopelnik). And the second year students studied 1 and 2 Thessalonians (Dennis Sopelnik), Book of Acts (Vladimir Paziy) and Denominational Doctrines (Andrew Zhuravlev). This year Exodus-Deuteronomy was to be taught by our Instructor and Chernivtsy Church of Christ Minister Dmitry Galuik.
Our second year students are doing great helping with the church activities. One of them, Taras Danilenko goes to Skvira Church of Christ every Saturday to help the congregation. He teaches children Bible class. Our student Masha Rodicheva help them with crafts part of the lesson. It's a huge encouragement for the brethren of Skvira. The other student Eldjune Aliev started youth group meetings in the local congregation. He attracts young people through his professional basketball career. They study the Bible, have fellowship and encourage each other.
I'm actively searching for the new recruits for the next school year. From time to time I contact different preachers and church members to check on the congregation, sometimes I visit them and meet potential recruits. Occasionally I will get recommendations, the other times I have to keep my eyes open for new contacts. It's a lot like fishing. You have the best bait but still don't know for sure if you get the catch. I ask you to pray that our Institute will find people who like to save souls.
The other good news to share is that next month we will publish next book (commentary on the book of Daniel) with the help of brother Jim Mettenbrink. This is the second book to be published in Bela Tserkva. This project is interesting in the sense that we ship the books to the individuals who requested it as well as to the congregations that require them as assistance in their Bible study. We still have about 60% of the first book left but the churches occasionally request additional copies. We also pray for finding ways to ship the books to the congregations in Russia. The problem is their customs ban on spiritual literature.
Our Bible Institute was first registered in Ukraine in 2007, more than 10 years ago. Every year I have to report our activities to the government. Most of the time, it's a brief report to prove that we are not a commercial establishment and we do profit financially from our activities. So I was genuinely surprised to find out that our Diploma gives our graduates credits that will allow them to continue their studies in other Institutes that support their major. Thus, four of our graduates study Christian Education in the University of Kiev. They have a unique opportunity to influence secular education. God is abundant in His blessings and merciful!
Thank you for your prayers and your support of our students. Generosity of so many of you is a great example for us.
In Christian love and with the deep appreciation,
Your brother Dennis Sopelnik.