Ukraine is a blessing to other nations

“Praise the Lord, all nations! Exalt him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!”

                                                                Psalms 117

This is our dream: to see people from every country and every nation hear about Christ, follow Him and choose to invest in the movement of spiritual multiplication. We want Ukraine to be a blessing for other nations, sending teams for short and long mission trips. In this letter we want to share how God has been using three Expeditions teams of staff and students that went for a month of April to Poland and Belarus.

This is how God answered our prayers and three teams:

· 2256 students were engaged in the conversation on the street

· 270 students were approached via social media

· 929 students heard the idea of spiritual multiplication

· 32 students heard the Gospel

· 20 Christian students came to vision events where they heard about spiritual movements

· 85 Christian students were personally challenged to take a responsibility for their campus

· 8 students agreed to continue building a movement on their campus

Our teams

KRAKOW TEAM

WARSAW TEAM 

This is what our teams were doing during the trip:

- Searched for students whose hearts God has already prepared for the ministry and gave them vision for their campus

-Shared their faith

-Organized vision events where they shared the idea of the spiritual movement and how to start it on their campus

-Challenged students to take responsibility for their campus, pray and share their faith.

-Invited potential key volunteers for Evangelism meetings and trained them how to share their faith.

A story from Krakow  

Dasha comes from a Christian home and she became a Christian at the summer camp when she was a teenager. She is a very active, social and easy-going girl. I found her on social media and we agreed to meet. She shared her testimony, shared about her ministry that she was involved in when she lived in Ukraine and said she would like to serve God in Krakow. After a short conversation, I challenged her to become a key volunteer in the ministry. She wrote down the names of her friends and classmates who she was willing to share her faith with this week. We told her about new methods of Evangelism that she could use. It was amazing to hear in one week how brave she was sharing the Gospel with her friends. During the Expedition we found other Christian students who also accepted the challenge and Dasha agreed to be the leader of the student team. 

A story from Minsk

The first week of Expedition we were looking for potential key volunteers on social media and around universities in Minsk. From the first days God blessed us and allowed us to meet Christian students who were interested in ministry. On the first day of such exploring we found the student Roman. He was the last student who we approach that day and actually we came up to ask him how to get to the metro. We decided not to waste an opportunity and asked him if he knew any Christian students. He himself ended up being a Christian. He came to our vision night and to the training for Evangelism and went to share his faith with us.

A story from Warsaw

One day when we were looking for key volunteers at the University of Warsaw, Tonia was alone and overcoming her fear approached the girl sitting alone on the bench. Tonia explained who she was and who she was looking for. Veronica, the student, said that she was interested and she herself thought about her unbelieving friends and tried to tell them about God. After talking for a while, the girls agreed to meet that week and discuss how Veronika could share her faith with her friends. Early in the morning, in a few days, Tonia and Yulya met Veronica in a cafe near the university. When we began to talk about students’ need, Veronica said: “Yes, it’s a burden of my heart, people are lost without God!” At our request to tell about her dream of how God can change other people through her, what God can do in the world, Veronika shared and then drew a picture on paper: the globe – the whole world, people who raise their hands – all the people glorifying Jesus! We read Matthew 28: 18-20 and 2 Tim 2: 2, we talked about the importance of going and making disciples of all the nations, and Veronica reacted to this with a wonderful understanding and awareness of her role in this! Then she wrote down quickly the names of unbelieving friends, whom she wants to share the Gospel with. She also wrote the names of believers with whom she would share her vision. When it was time to say goodbye, Veronica said: “We will keep in touch through the FB and I will tell you what steps I made!”

And here is feedback from our missionaries:

Vova, student from Lviv: "This trip has already affected me and will affect my ministry in Lviv. It helped my personal growth. Even if there is no result in numbers, there is definitely a fruit in the heart. I have learned a lot from other people. I would go again in a year. "

Lyuba, a student from Lviv: "God works in the hearts of students. He has already started His work long time ago, we just join Him and see the changes that He brings. I am extremely grateful to God for being able to be a part of this missionary trip. God changed some things in my heart and used me as His instrument, and most of all, I'm glad that I was able to know more about God and His faithfulnes during this Expedition trip. And I was able to witness the miracles that were happening around us. "

Ulyana,  from Ivano-Frankivsk: "It is a pleasure to be used by God in another country where there are certain spiritual challenges. I loved Expedition because I love the risk. Expedition is an extreme time, when you have to practice a complete dependence on God, when you can get an experience that you can pass on to others. "

Vlad, from Kharkov: "This trip has influenced me very much! On the Expedition trip, I saw that God used me when I left my comfort zone, when I did what I did not want to was or was afread of doing. Also I got a lot of experience in different methods of evangelism, building relationships on a team, I saw where I need to grow and what God had to change in me. "

Please continue to pray for all the students who were challenged to start a movement on their universities. Pray that they keep gathering for a prayer, keep being trained in evangelism and embrace the vision of spiritual multiplication. Pray for spiritual awakening among the students of Poland and Belarus. 

Winter project Infinity 18. Lifetime laborers.

More than 300 students from all over Ukraine were gathered in Kyiv to listen from God’s Word, learn from each other, pray and fellowship together.

For 24 years, our movement has been holding winter Bible conferences for students involved in the ministry of evangelism and discipleship. This time we decided to change the strategy and invite other students and partnering organizations and churches to the project, not just Campus Ukraine volunteers. By doing this we want to strengthen the influence on the Christian youth of Ukraine. We are talking about thousands of high-schoolers, students and young professionals - a huge army for building spiritual movements. We believe that young people from the church can influence their unchurched peers in a great way.

Infinity is a symbolic name. We shared with the students that the mission of the disciple of Jesus Christ continues throughout our lives. And even when they finish the university, and leave Campus Ukraine movement, entering adulthood with its challenges, their mission of spiritual multipliers is not ended.

It is important for young people to set goals and have a direction in life. Therefore, at this conference all our speakers preached on one topic: wherever you are, no matter how your status and profession change, you always remain a disciple of Christ, called to proclaim the Gospel and help your neighbors grow spiritually.

After learning from the Word and inspired by the missionary vision, the students returned to their universities, and some to their workplace. We pray that they will become spiritual leaders for their classmates, roommates or colleagues. And finally - for all of Ukraine and, perhaps, other countries.

Here are the testimonies of some students after Infinity:

Kostya, a future teacher

"I have already decided to be a volunteer in Campus Ukraine and I see that God wants me to be a part of this movement. After Infinity, I had a growing desire to know God and His plan more deeply and carry His Word to the world around me. "

Nastya, future translator

 "At the seminar "Mission in the profession”, I learned that we should not separate God from our material area of life. He is everywhere. I should entrust Him my studies, my future job for Him, and then those around me will see that Christ is not just in my words, He influences my faithfulness, attitude to learning, to simple things in life".

We prayed together for the student teams, which, God willing, will go on short-term mission trips this April to Belarus and Poland.

A young generation that worships God and in the Power of the Holy Spirit witnesses the hearts changed (their own and those around them) is the goal of the Campus Ukraine student movement.

Praise God for the opportunity to serve for His eternal Kingdom. When I look at these young, energetic and joyful faces of students, I understand what a privilege it is to influence their lives. 

Thank you for being in this ministry with us! 

Blessing of influence.

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about the fact that people are the most valuable thing in this world and it is a great joy for me that the Lord has called me to a ministry where I can spend a lot of time with people. Leadership for me has become both a joy and a challenge. Huge scale of Ukraine, 7 teams of staff, almost one and a half million students; and working with people is not always easy - one must love a lot, accept a lot and forgive a lot. And I have to admit I often act in my flesh and it is difficult for me.

However, I believe that since God brought me here, it means that He will help me accomplish this ministry by His grace and mercy. The first two months of my ministry I spent on visits and trips. I visited our teams in the Dnepr, Odessa, Lviv, Kiev. My role is to guide, equip and care for team leaders and other staff to achieve our vision and goals for Ukraine. Here are some photos from my visits to Dnepr and Odessa. 

Our team in Odessa

Women's ministry in Dnepr

After moving to Kiev, I was acutely aware of the lack of my direct influence on students. I am very glad that God uses me in a leadership role, allowing influence on His servants, our staff in CRU. But I prayed that the Lord would allow me to have a ministry "in the field." I wanted to share the Gospel with students, help them grow in knowing God, to understand where students are, what they live for and to see how God works in the hearts of unbelievers. And the Lord answered my prayer, by His grace. 

In July, at our summer project Speak Out, I had an opportunity to get acquainted with twins - Ira and Katya. The Lord opened their hearts to learn more about God and Christianity. They are very open in communication and absorb, like a sponge, knowledge about God, about Scripture. Ira and Katya study in Kiev and participate in Campus Ministry in Kiev now. Periodically, I meet with them, share with them passages from the Bible, and encourage their spiritual growth. Ira recently had a very difficult emotional period; she was depressed at a level that she was sent home for 10 days. This "desert" has become a good occasion to talk with her about what God wants from her, what He is trying to get her attention to. Please, pray for further spiritual growth of Ira and Katya.

I also want to introduce you to my new students from the Musical Academy - Julia and Marina. The girls have been living in Kiev for three year now. Earlier they participated in our movement in Kirovograd. This year, God gave me the opportunity to help them serve the students in their academy. We met with the girls to plan the ministry in their target audience - in the dormitory of the Musical Academy. I also lead a discipleship group for them using the book "How people change". This fellowship enables us to grow together in the knowledge of God and helps me invest in their spiritual growth. Both girls have two other disciples whom they help to grow and learn the skills of evangelism. I see how the principle of 2 Tim. 2: 2 works in practice.

This is their third year at school and they think about where God leads them further in terms of ministry, after graduating from the academy. Pray that they would have the strength to study, work and participate in ministry of evangelism and discipleship.

Thank you for your prayers and support. 

Together I serve with you so that: 

"Spiritual movements are built among the students of Ukraine in partnership with Christian youth"

(this is our vision)

Speak Out 2017 - God is taking us on a new level!

Another big event of our summer is over – our  major project Speak Out 2017. This is the training base for Campus Ukraine movement participants. 10 days of motivation, instructions, training and practice that will help our volunteers stay motivated and trained for the whole ministry year. In addition, Speak Out 2017 helped to mobilize the Christian youth of Vinnitsa and responded to various social needs of the city.
   Project theme: evangelism and discipleship in the modern world.
     The main paradigm of the project: discipleship begins with evangelism.
God surpassed our expectations and answered prayers in abundance.

1. We have reached the official level of organization of events in the city center, in cooperation with the authorities and other public organizations. This increased the level of trust to us among citizens, making conversations about God was much easier, advertising was more extensive and the level of stereotypes about believers was greatly reduced. There were numerous reports about us  on local television, articles on websites and in newspapers. English lessons for students coming from different parts of Ukraine, as well as for students from Vinnitsa, we spent free of charge right in the building of one of the colleges in Vinnitsa.

2. Our methods of evangelism: the Gospel through a photo test called Soularium, through art paintings of the classics, big board-test for determining your worldview, bracelet THEFOUR, massive evening activities on the square of Vinnitsa, English Camp, distribution of social packages for those in need and immigrants. To the majority of those who heard the Gospel, we offered to meet in an informal atmosphere and continue to communicate, thereby trying to establish relationships and have the opportunity for continuous influence and talks about the Gospel, thus building a paradigm that every evangelism should grow into discipleship.

In the end of the English camp, I held meetings with 5 girls, introducing them to the Bible and explaining what it means to have a close relationship with God.

Ira (in the middle) 

Pray, please, that I could continue to communicate with Ira and Olya in Kiev. Pray for Margo and Ira so that they come to the events organized by the youth in Vinnitsa. Pray that Julia will join the CAMPUS Ukraine movement in Nikolayiv.

Olya

3. Statistics from the project
We shared the Good News with 1486 people, 12 people wanted to believe, 150 contacts for follow-up meetings, 110 people went through follow up, 90 people participated in the English camp. Praise God for His work in the lives of people in Vinnitsa and in our hearts.

Here is the video about this camp

Thank you for playing your meaningful role in making all this happen!

Yes, He Can!

God is Able! He controls our universe, He is a miracle maker, He can change things that are absolutely out of our control but Himself He is unchangeable and faithful. We should never ask a question if God is capable of doing something. The question is – will I become a person who would let God use me and make me His tool. This requires a humble heart and a huge trust. Yes, He Can! – This is the topic of our Winter Bible Conference. About 230 students from different parts of Ukraine got together to worship, to have fellowship and to listen to a godly speaker, our area leader from Africa, Tariku Fufa. 

This man was saved from death on the street, healed from asthma, given a chance to receive education and now he is leading 24 countries in South-East Africa in radical life of faith, fast and prayer to make God’s name known in Africa.His testimony is something we wanted our Ukrainian students to listen to. We want them to believe that God is able to use them and change their lives in order to influence our country and lead Ukrainian people to One and Only God - Jesus. My team and I were excited to organize this event and to bring different innovations to make this event special and meaningful.

Here are some pictures of different events at the conference.

Worship time

Student TED Talks

Workshops

Prayer night

Small group discussions

And here is some feedback from students that attended “Yes, He can!” conference

Peter, graduate. God revealed himself to me as the One Who is so close to me. He knows me and understands me personally. He taught me to trust Him my future and my calling. My challenge is to devote my life to Him.

Anya Topchii, 1st year. This conference I received answers to my questions and learnt how to share my faith with other people. I also want to start fasting for my relatives and for myself. 

Elijah Korsunskii, 2nd year. God touched my heart through the speaker, workshops, fellowship with leaders and prayer night. it is important for me to be filled with the Holy Spirit and get deeper in my knowledge of God. I made a decision to focus on quality evangelism.

Lisa Mishchenko, 2nd year at this conference I was encouraged one more time that God is almighty God. I see now that I'm not the only one in my difficult obstacles and problems but there are others who fought and won with God. They can share their testimonies now. my challenge is to lead a quality prayer life.

Dima Vasiliev, 1st year I was able to strengthen my faith and realized two things: 1) I have to initiate and start a conversation and God will do the rest. 2) No matter how wonderfully we speak- evangelism without prayer is nothing. We cannot change somebody's heart but God can!

Thank you so much for praying and supporting my ministry among Ukrainian staff and students! 

Here you can watch a video about this conference