Prayer Letter
March 4, 2002
Hi y'all! Just a quick update on our current praises, plans and prayer requests. At the risk of sounding "irrationally exuberant," to borrow a phrase from Greenspan, I have to say that things here are wonderful! We continue to make friends and to settle into a good rhythm of life and ministry.
While we were support raising, I was always forced to be vague about the actual hands-on work we would be doing in Kyiv. This was due in part to the dynamic nature of the MTW work here. Also our arrival coincided with the ending stages of planting the church the team has been working with. It has been exciting to watch the Church of the Holy Trinity transition to all-Ukrainian leadership. The church now has six hundred people worshiping on Sundays and is finishing the training of Biblically-grounded Ukrainian elders. As we set out to plant a new church, it is encouraging to see Church of the Holy Trinity thriving.
When we arrived in Kyiv, we were able to focus on language learning and adjusting to the country for a time as we waited to see what the next step would be for the Kyiv City Team (KCT). I'm happy to report that we have just received our marching orders and they are very exciting! Dal Stanton and the team leadership have been in the process of revamping our entire ministry philosophy from "1 Team, 1 Church" to a paradigm of multiple church "Birth Teams" operating simultaneously under the umbrella of the KCT. This will efficiently streamline the practical and paperwork side of the team, while allowing the team to plant churches in multiple regions of the city.
Alexandra and I have been assigned to Birth Team 1, which is laying the groundwork for our next church plant. Our "coach," Heero Hacquebord, will be returning from the States in June. At that time he'll team up with a Ukrainian church planter and we'll get down to the "plow" phase of evangelism to bring people into the new church plant.
Our language study has been going great--Alexandra has especially felt encouraged lately in how much she is able to understand and read out on the street. The children have transitioned well, and we praise God for that and thank you for your prayers. God is also bringing a ton of people into our lives, and we're learning from them while seeking to serve their needs. One focus of mine right now is demographic research on Kyiv. Before starting the new church plant we're looking to find a spot in the city that's growing and that lacks an evangelical church witness. Please pray that we will be sensitive to the Lord's leading as we research and pray for which region of the city to focus on. I'll be teaming up with a Ukrainian man for this project, both because he can hopefully navigate the Ukrainian bureaucracy me and in order to train him for future church planting work.
Tonight I'm going out for coffee with a businessman I met at the "American Movie Night," sponsored by a university English language club. His name is Sergei, and he's an interesting young man that I would just love to see added to the Kingdom. Please pray for my witness to him. Also, please continue to pray for our language learning, and for the Kyiv Team as we transition into this new phase of ministry.
Soli Deo Gloria,
John
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