Interviews in Ukraine

Recently, our ServeNow staff sat down with a couple of pastors and a church member in Ukraine. They asked our staff several questions regarding the impact of the Basic Things book series. Below are five short interviews, left in their own words. It will give you a good insight into some of the issues Ukraine faces, and how helpful these books are to them. There are 30 books in the series, each book consisting of 32 pages. Together they cover the fundamentals of the Christian life. It does not cost much to equip pastors and their congregations with solid discipleship material. After reading the stories below, would you consider helping to equip people and thus fulfilling the Great Commission of making disciples? (Make Disciples).

My name is Pavel. I am a pastor of a church in Khmelnitskiy, in Ukraine.

How do you use these books, and how do they benefit your church?

These are amazing books. As a pastor, I often teach in different educational institutions and Bible schools, and I like the simplicity of these books. A lot of people in Ukraine consider themselves Christians, but in reality they don’t live their lives according to the Bible. They have memorized a few prayers and think that’s enough. However, when we hand out these books to unbelievers, they feel so blessed. The books are filled with significant truths, written with simple words that have a life-altering effect.

One man in our area is rarely able to visit church, because he lives in a village where there is little or no reliable transportation. Yet, he is already using these books by preaching the Gospel to those in his community. He says that when he gives these books to people, they will invite him over to hear more.

We also use the books during our youth meetings. Young people get together and study each book. So far, they’ve already finished two books. There are many young new Christians in our church, and rather than going to a Bible school, they study these books.

This is an amazing project, and I know other books will be coming as well. These books are very important and life-changing to those who are new Christians, and even for unbelievers. While reading, they will receive a better understanding of salvation, who Jesus is, how to pray according to God’s will etc. At the same time, it helps us pastors enormously in preaching the Gospel in our churches.

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My name is Liana, I’m from New Hope Church.

These books were given to us to distribute to all our family and friends, so that we can share the Gospel with them. First I gave them to my relatives in the Cherkassy region. I know these books cost money, so I didn’t want to hand them out to just random people. I brought three sets of books to my sister, but then someone ended up stealing one of the sets. My sister was very upset, but I hope that the person who stole the books will read them and meet Jesus.

These books are not only for new Christians, they are also for those who already know about the Bible. It is as the saying goes: “If you think that you know something, then you know nothing”.

One more testimony: there is an old lady in our church who found it difficult to pray. I gave her The Basic Things You Need to Know About Prayer, where it compares prayer to having a conversation with God. It helped her understand what prayer is all about, and now she is handing out these books to others as well.

These books are so useful, and we wish to distribute them to our family, friends and neighbors.

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Pastor Zoya, Chernovtsy

You have these books. Can you tell how you use them in church?

We initially received these books about six months ago, and we decided to read them first ourselves. I was very impressed by them. The materials lay such a solid foundation for our Christian faith. I decided to distribute the books to our youth, to strengthen them in the Word of God. They are studying the books together during their home groups, and lives are changing.

Not only do we distribute the books in our church, we also give them to people we meet on the streets, people who need the Word of God in their lives. These books are a great tool to tell others about Jesus and salvation.

All of these books are important. I highly recommend everyone to read these books. Thank you to those who wrote the books, and to those who distributed them.

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My name is Dmitriy, I am a pastor of a church in Chernovtsy.

I know that you use these books in your ministry. Can you tell about your work?

When newly-converted people visit our church meetings or home groups, we hand them the Basic Series books, which will give them a solid foundation for their faith. As they study these books, they will grow and develop in the Lord.

The Basic Things You Need to Know About the Bible in particular is a book that will help people understand the Bible better. It will help them grow in their discipleship process, because cultivates faith.

That is why we are grateful for these books; they help us in the process of discipleship.

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My name is Vadim, and I am a pastor in Uzhhorod.

We thank you for this opportunity to use these books, which were given to us by ServeNow. It is great to implement these materials for newly-converted people. We recommend and encourage all new believers who come to our church to read these books. These books are also used in our youth ministry and in our ministry among the Roma people. I believe that every Christian needs to have this basic level of knowledge.

May God bless everyone who took part in these Basic Series.  It is a great tool and a big blessing in our church. Thank you so much.

To help equip and make more disciples around the world click here!