Friday's meeting included a brief presentation by the mother of a 7-year-old Ukrainian boy who died from leukemia. She wrote a book about that experience and is raising funds to construct a Christian oncology clinic for children in Ukraine.
Nearly 1,000 people converged on Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, to attend the 77th annual conference of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention (UEBC) in the USA during Labor Day weekend 2023.
The program included prayers and songs for Ukraine as the country defends itself from Russian aggression, and also provided information about how churches and Christians in Ukraine are coping during the ongoing war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
The conference of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention in the United States of America (Об’єднання Українських Євангельсько-Баптистських Церков у США) was held at Regeneration Church (Церква Відродження) in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, from September 1-3, under the theme of “Church of Changes – a church that is changing and that changes others.”
The first event of the weekend was an expanded committee meeting that was held Friday afternoon and that included the executive board and all pastors.
The opening worship service began at 7 p.m. Friday, with the congregational singing being led by the praise group from House of Gospel Ukrainian Church in Richland, New Jersey. The main sermon was delivered by Vadim Dashkevych, senior pastor of Spring of Life Ukrainian Church of Sacramento (Orangevale), California. Brother Dashkevych urged his listeners to love God, love people, pursue excellence, grow yourself, choose joy and make a difference in the world.
Saturday included a variety of seminars, as well as children’s programs. At the evening youth service, economist Roman Sheremeta spoke about the prophet Daniel and the huge changes he made. Although Daniel was in exile, he decided his identity was going to be in God. Brother Sheremeta, the founding rector of American University in Kyiv, asserted that “Nobody will ever be able to appreciate and value you more than God. … You can do great things for God and His kingdom.”
Also Saturday, a message about victory was delivered by Yaroslav Stashchak from the Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary in Lviv. “Our victory begins when I change my focus from myself to other people. … Changing values means starting to value what God values,” Brother Stashchak declared.
The concluding song was “Our God is an Awesome God,” sung in both English and Ukrainian. Afterward, the young people had a time of socializing.
On Sunday morning, the president of the UEBC, Rev. Roman Kapran, welcomed the large audience that had gathered in the auditorium of Pennsbury East High School. One of the speakers was Gennadiy Mokhnenko, a pastor and chaplain from Ukraine.
The service ended with a combined choir majestically singing the prayer “O great and only God … protect our Ukraine” (Боже великий, єдиний), under the direction of guest conductor Dr. Stephen Benham, professor of music at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.
A new feature at this year’s conference was a Sunday evening concert that included musical numbers by Bria Blessing and her husband, Jesse, and others.
Many residents have to resort to taking shelter in basements and subways during attacks.
The Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention (UEBC) in the USA accepted three new churches into the association at its 77th annual conference.
The newly accepted churches are:
* Ukrainian Bible Church of Atlanta, Georgia; pastor Roman Maksymchuk; 37 members.
* Ukrainian Bible Baptist Church of Spartanburg, South Carolina; pastor Vitaliy Sokolovskyy; 56 members.
* Word of Life Baptist Church of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; pastor Igor Oleynik; 104 members.
Destruction in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city.
The front entrance to Regeneration Church in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, welcomed visitors to the 77th UEBC annual conference..
If you're interested in supporting the ministries of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention, please mail your check made payable to Ukrainian Missionary & Bible Society [or UMBS] to the new treasurer:
Ukrainian Missionary and Bible Society, Inc.
Alex Kolesnik
P.O. Box 68
Lititz, PA 17543 USA
Or you may donate online at https://UkrBaptist.org.
The praise band from Regeneration Church leads the singing on Sunday.
Save a Life International Inc. is using its network of crisis pregnancy centers and volunteers to help refugees.
www.savealifeintl.org
The Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention, an association of churches in the U.S.A., has ties to the Baptist Union in Ukraine.
www.UkrBaptist.org
Samaritan's Purse is establishing field hospitals and clinics.
www.samaritanspurse.org
Lifesong for Orphans
https://lifesong.org/updates
The Ukrainian Baptist Church of Chicago.
www.ubcchicago.org
United Ukrainian American Relief Committee Inc.
www.uuarc.org; 215-728-1630
A young man plays a solo on his saxophone.
1,000 attend 77th UEBC conference
Here is a sampling of organizations collecting donations to help them provide humanitarian aid.
Association has a new treasurer
Regeneration Church's side entrance.
Music Professor Stephen Benham conducts the combined choir in singing a prayer for Ukraine.
Aftermath of bombing in a suburb of Kyiv, the capital.
Rev. Roman Kapran, president of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention in the USA.
Pastors attending the 77th conference of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention in the USA gather on stage at Pennsbury East High School and lift their hands in prayer for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia's invasion, which has resulted in brutal killings and horrific destruction.
The praise group from the House of Gospel in Richland, New Jersey, leads the congregational singing during the Friday evening service.
Bria Blessing (from Sugar Land, Texas) and her husband, Jesse, performed on several occasions during the conference.
RENOWNED CONDUCTORS:
(from left) Ivan Velenchuk, music director for the UEBC; composer Dmytro Voyevoda; music professor Stephen Benham; Oleksandr Kreshchuk, music director for the Baptist Union in Ukraine.
How to help UKRAINE
Rev. olexa Harbuziuk Legacy
Пастор олекса Романович Гарбузюк
Three churches join UEBC
Brother Alex Kolesnik (Олександр Колеснік) has been chosen as the new treasurer of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Convention and its missionary division, the Ukrainian Missionary and Bible Society.
Brother Kolesnik replaces Rev. Leonid Bliznyuk, who served for about nine years before retiring near the end of 2020. The executive board appointed Brother Kolesnik at a meeting in December.
Brother Kolesnik is a member of the Slavic Baptist Church in Stevens, Pennsylvania, where he serves as a deacon
A big thank you is extended to Rev. Bliznyuk for his years of faithful service.