Churches of Donbass Shelled

Besides Ignatenkov, Regional Overseer for the Volgograd and Astrakhan regions, Vitaly Moroz and Head of UECB Humanitarian ministry, Vladimir Drok, traveled and ministered together.

On August 6, the Luhansk regional pastors/elders gathered for worship at UECB Central Church in Luhansk. All the believers who gathered for the worship service listened to edifying sermons from the guests and expressed great gratitude for visiting their region. Afterward they met to discuss issues related to the development of the church mission in the post-war territories. Viktor spoke about the life of the entire brotherhood of the Russian Baptists, and answered many of their questions.

On August 7, the delegation of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists visited the Donesk Peoples Republic (DPR). The meeting with those ministers of the churches took place in Makeyevka Christian center. Senior Pastor, Vladimir Ovsyanko spoke about the what the churches of the region are doing, and a constructive dialogue took place. The fellowship was encouraging and united the efforts of all the brothers in continuing the work of building churches and spreading the gospel message in the surrounding communities.

On August 8, the Zaporizhia Oblast was visited. Many people gathered for a special service in Melitopol, where the hospitality was very warm. During the service, Victor and other pastors preached, harmonious choral singing was heard, and musical groups performed. Everyone participated. It was a real celebration, and no one wanted to leave. Everyone was grateful for the visit to their church.

On August 9, a meeting with pastors of the Kherson region was held in the village of Novoalekseevka. Here there is a beautiful Evangelical Baptist church, where the service took place, gathering many ministers from the region. They shared about their churches, legal difficulties, and especially shared their acute need for pastors and preachers. People in the frontline territories come to church in large numbers for spiritual food, they are drawn to God and to His comforting word. There is a lot of work for the churches. During the fraternal fellowship, many prayers were said in connection with the identified needs. After lunch, the UECB leadership went to the city of Golaya Prystan, which is located on the territory of the combat contact line. In this city, there is a Baptist church, with Pastor Anatoliy Golovchuk, who is also the acting senior presbyter for the Kherson region. On this day the city was shelled, as a result of which residential buildings and part of the prayer house were damaged. Fortunately, there were no casualties.

 On August 10, people gathered for Sunday worship in the prayer house. Every Sunday up to a hundred people come, most of them have never gone to church before, but being in this situation, the soul seeks God and His protection. The church turned out to be very necessary for the residents of the city. During the service, the shelling of the city began again, but all those present at this meeting continued to listen with great thirst to those preaching the Word of God, trusting in the mercy of God. In this church, all the people are like one close-knit family, where mutual love and many reasons for the joy of God's children are striking. Churches in Golaya Pristan, as well as in other neighboring villages and cities, do a lot of social work for the entire population, which found itself in a difficult situation. Everyone was very happy and sincerely grateful to the guests. The shelling of the city, unfortunately, continues and on August 13, a shell hit the prayer house, destroyed the roof and damaged the area around the building.

On August 11, Viktor Vladimirovich had a meeting in the city of Mariupol with a group of volunteers who come to Donbass from churches in different cities of Russia to do social work, caring for hundreds of people in need of various kinds of help and support.

May the Lord be glorified in the service of the church on earth and protect all the people.