ROSTOV-ON-DON (RUSSIA) – Vladimir Khvalov, bishop and senior pastor of Christ the Savior Church of Rostov-on-Don and his wife Olga celebrated 20 years of ministry.

In summer 1998, Vladimir Khvalov became a successor of the founder and senior pastor of Christ the Savior Church Pavel Okara. Before that the Khvalovs served as pastors of a large church in Krasnodar. Moving to another city was a challenge for their large family (8 kids!), however, having received the confirmation from God they made the decision.

While leading Christ the Savior church that has become one of the largest evangelical communities in the south of Russia, Vladimir Alexandrovich for 19 years was also an irreplaceable chairman of a non-profit organization “Association of Christian churches and parachurch organizations”. He has made a significant contribution into strengthening the brotherly relationships between churches of Rostov area.

As a bishop and a head of Family Ministry department of the Russian Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith, Vladimir Alexandrovich and Olga Yurievna created a family environment in their church and visited many regions of Russia with a unique project to support the family values “Territory of the Covenant”. The encouraging authorial seminars and conferences of the Khvalovs helped to restore and support many Christian families.

The Russian Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith

 

 

 

 

NORTH KOREA – One of the Russian Christian brothers went to North Korea for work. Here is his story.... We came on a working visa to the economic zone of North Korea, a rich region of this nation. Everything that we had heard before about North Korea, painted a depressing picture. Not all of what we heard was seen, but North Korea remains the most closed country for the Gospel.

Expectations were not met: I did not witness any horrors that I heard about. My phone and the Bible in Russian were declared while crossing the border. The border guards did not revise every page in the Bible.

In the country people move on bicycles, oxen, cars: simple electromobiles and expensive foreign cars. In my hotel room there were no portraits of the great leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

We toured around the city free, unaccompanied. Every Sunday, believers from different countries, except Koreans, gathered for the service, there were about 16 people. We openly praised God, prayed and listened to sermons.

We were in the North Korea for one month, building a dining hall. We and thirty builders from other countries worked from 8 am to 6 pm. Local workers worked from 5 am to 10 pm. Every day they received a salary equal to 130 rubles (2 US dollars). The Koreans called me «comrade». Korean workers were surprised that we were Russian Christians. At first they thought we were Americans and kept us at a distance. When they learned that we were from Russia, they began singing Russian songs.

On the second day Koreans invited us to have tea. In the morning that day we had helped them to do some hard work: to carry bricks, sand, to mix cement. I gave them my gloves, and this attitude ruined the wall. On the third day of work we bought them gifts — shovels and trowels.

Local people knew that we were Christians, they saw how we prayed before meals and worshiped God. We preached the Gospel.

In North Korea, I had my birthday: I cooked pilaf, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and laid out candy for Koreans. All this we ate with them at the construction site. The Koreans wished me a happy birthday. One worker put a candy in my mouth. In Korean culture this means respect.

A week after our arrival, we were asked to repair a room, which was intended for a chapel. In this room we build a new roof, because the building looked like a church. We worked on the ceiling, painted walls and laid the laminated floor. We returned to our hotel, covered with dust and smelling like cannabis, which the workers constantly smoked.

During one month we praised God in a closed country. Please pray that people of the North Korea will see the transforming power of the Lord, pray for brothers and sisters who are in prisons. Pray that the doors will open for the Gospel.

Yu.S.
vio.media

IZHEVSK (RUSSIA) – October, 10 became a special day for 17 people, and their families. On that day they made a covenant with the Lord by water baptism in Philadelphia Church of Izhevsk. The joyful event traditionally was accompanied by songs of praise to God. All 17 entered the baptistery, leaving behind their past life, to make a vow to God to follow Him.

God has prepared a wonderful destiny for everyone. He will never forsake or leave us. He will be with us in joy and sorrow. He will take care of us. We don’t know what happens in the spiritual world during the sacrament, but we know for sure that God rejoices. It is so wonderful that many of those baptized were young people.

After the water baptism pastors prayed for the Holy Spirit baptism for these people. After that all who were present at the event congratulated new church members.

Philadelphia Church of Izhevsk

The Russian Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith

PERM – “Anything is possible” — the annual joint conference of the Challenge Rehabilitation Centers Coalition and the Rehabilitation Ministry of the Russian Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith.

ULAN-UDE – On June 14 and 15, the East Siberian regional social ministries conference took place in Ulan-Ude. 90 participants came from all over Eastern Siberia: Buryatia, Chita and Irkutsk areas. It is safe to say that the presence of God was at every meeting!

MOSCOW, Oct., 25-27 – The National interdenominational prison ministry conference “Kept the Faith” took place in Moscow. 120 ministers from Sakhalin to Karelia came to participate, almost all regions of Russia were represented. The conference was the forth at this level, it gathered Christians of different denominations, who devoted their lives to ministering to people living in detention facilities and their relatives.

The goal of the conference was to unite the ministers, to strengthen their faith and trust in the Lord at this difficult time, when the admission to detention facilities is becoming limited for evangelical churches in Russia. But the Holy Scripture tells us that “the word of God is not imprisoned” (2 Timothy, 2:9), and the Lord is faithful to His Word!

The Russian Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith was represented at the conference by Deputy Head bishop Vasily Evchik and Head of prison ministry department Sergei Konstantinov. Bishop Evchik shared the word about the faithfulness to the calling, encouraging brothers and sisters in Christ, who devoted their lives to the ministry, like Abraham, who by faith followed his calling, to remain faithful to the calling of God to the end.

The participants of the conference spoke a lot about faith as a trust to the Lord and His Word, about anticipation of His promises and being confident of things not seen. They shared their experience of practical ministry in contemporary circumstances, testimonies of God’s glory in lives and ministry, prayed for the development of prison ministry in Russia. As usual, there were new people, who the Lord calls to the ministry. The Lord makes all things new, opens new horizons of faith and new opportunities in the ministry. Glory and thanks to the Lord!

The Russian church of Christians of Evangelical Faith

BARNAUL – On February 17 and 18, the Light of Awakening Church of Barnaul held a men's conference “A Man after God's Heart”.

SYKTYVKAR – On February 22-23, the annual regional conference for men “Reaching the Maximum” was held in Syktyvkar at the Source of Life Church.

BARNAUL – On February, 27th, the regional men's conference “A Man after God's Heart” was held in Barnaul, in the Light of Awakening Church. It gathered 96 participants from Barnaul, Belokurikha, Biysk, Mamontovo, Kamen-on-Obi and Pavlovsk. The conference was attended by parishioners of Light of Awakening Church network in Altai region.

SYKTYVKAR (RUSSIA) – On September 23, a women's conference “Created in the Image” was held in Syktyvkar. It was the first women's conference in the church after a break of 11 years.

VOLGOGRAD – A women's conference was held in the Grace of Jesus Christ Church of Volgograd on November 26. Women from different churches of Volgograd and Astrakhan came together under the common motto of the meeting: “The world around me changes once I change”.

SAINT-PETERSBURG – On March 7-8, the First Federal Women's Conference of the Russian Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith/Pentecostals in the Northwest of Russia was held in St. Petersburg under the title ‘Do You Know Him?’.

SEVASTOPOL — On December 1 and 2, a youth conference in Crimea brought together about 160 young people from Sevastopol, Simferopol and Yalta.

VOLGOGRAD – On November 23-25, in the Grace of Jesus Christ Church of Volgograd the fourth annual regional youth conference “Turn on the Light” took place.

SAINT-PETERSBURG – EMPOWERED 2023 — the annual Youth Conference in the Northwest Federal District — took place on November 17–18 and was attended by 470 young people from St. Petersburg, Leningrad Oblast, Kaliningrad, Arkhangelsk, Sortavala, Pskov, Moscow, Perm, Cherepovets, Murmansk, and other Russian cities. It was organized by the Northwest Regional Association.

RAMENSKOE – More than 100 children and teens ministers from churches of all federal districts, 53 regions, 66 cities and towns of Russia spent five fruitful days in Ramenskoye, near Moscow. November 14-18, the 16th Congress of Coordinators of Children's and Teens’ Ministries of the RCCEF/Pentecostal Union was held there.

VELIKY NOVGOROD – The retreat called “Access Code” took place on June 21-26 in Demyansk and gathered 90 children, teenagers, and ministers from cities of the Novgorod region — Veliky Novgorod, Chudovo, Valday, Stara Russa, Demyansk, and Kholm — as well as from Severodvinsk, St. Petersburg, and Moscow.

SAINT-PETERSBURG – St.Petersburg hosted ‘Depth 2023’ — a Conference for Children’s ministers of churches of the Northwest federal district. It was held May 6–9 and gathered 162 ministers from 9 regions.

IZHEVSK – The conference will be held on November 17 and 18, 2023. It is organized by the Education Department of the Russian Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith/Pentecostals and the Moscow Theological Institute. Pastors, teachers and ministers are invited to attend.

MOSCOW – The first class of the Moscow Missionary Center had its graduation on June 28. The first year of training is over, the graduates will move to practical work: open a new church in Moscow and help other churches in the area to open new ministries.

PERM – On the last day of April, New Testament Church of Perm hosted a reunion of 1997 graduates of its Bible school.