I want to share some good news of the Lord’s congregation doing amazing work in the midst of the war’s horrors. This comes from our brother Slava Savkovsky, of the Cherkasy Church of Christ, Cherkasy, Ukraine. Recently we loaded a container in Huntsville, AL at the Chase Park Church of Christ. This congregation has previously served as a collection and loading site for a container sent last year. When the need arose for another collection site, the Chase Park brethren stepped up and once again became a site that coordinated, collected and loaded a container!
Will Tucker was the site coordinator and shared with me the wonderful work that Slava and the Cherkasy congregation are doing with war relief efforts. Every week they distribute food and humanitarian aid and have Bible studies prior to distribution. They also distribute relief items every Sunday after worship assemblies.
They have many personal Bible studies on-going. Brother Slava is energetic and enthusiastic in reaching out to others and inviting them to sit down with an open Bible and discover God’s message. They not only give out Bibles but they first sit down, open the Bible and study (this is imitating the way the Ethiopian Official was treated by Philip in Acts 8). As a result, the congregation is “growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18) and are growing numerically as those assisted are visiting the assemblies.
Slava is encouraging to me because he is following Ezra’s example, “Then Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people… and… explained the Law to the people while the people remained in their place. They read from the book, from the Law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading” (Nehemiah 8:5-8).
Slava and the Cherkasy Church understand there is MUCH MORE required than just giving the Bible—it MUST be explained. The Ethiopian Official’s question, and Ezra’s action shows that there must be direct teaching and explanation of Scripture. Teaching must occur immediately and with a planned purpose. And Slava and the Cherkasy congregation is to be commended for doing this and God is blessing their efforts!
I asked Slava for some information that I could share in these posts. I wanted the readers and supporters to be aware of the good work that is being accomplished. I am so encouraged by the good attitudes and eagerness of brother Slava and the brothers and sisters of the Church in Cherkasy.
Slava’s report was too long for a single post so I am dividing it into sections. Read, rejoice and thank God for these brothers and sisters who, in the midst of war, are optimistic and active in the Lord’s work in the local community—they give a wonderful example to all and challenge all congregations to do the same!
THANK YOU CHERKASY CHURCH OF CHRIST!
Dear brother Kachelman, Greetings in the name of the Lord from Cherkasy, Ukraine! Thank you for your e-mails of November 6 and also of November 15. It was nice to hear from you! I have heard from numerous sources about the great work that you continue to do in Ukraine, despite the war and even more because of the war. I continue to work on the photos of our work that you requested, and I am almost finished now. Currently, I have approximately 30 pictures illustrating our efforts from May to October 2023, and I plan to send these out tomorrow, Lord willing. Thank you once again for reaching out to me! In Christian love, Slava Savkovsky, Cherkasy Church of Christ, Cherkasy, Ukraine
Greetings in the name of the Lord from Cherkasy, Ukraine! Below is the text that I have been working on for the past several days. It gives some general information about our congregation but is mostly centered around the Refugee Food Relief Project. In Christian love, Slava Savkovsky
As the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991 and public preaching of God’s Word became possible, a congregation of the New Testament Church was started in Cherkasy, Ukraine, in 1993 through the efforts of American missionaries. For 10 years the church was meeting in a local museum, until in 2004 we were able to move to our own newly built church building at 156 Nadpilna Street.
Since the day when the Cherkasy Church of Christ was started, it has been serving God in the local community by many different ways, including but not limited to Gospel meetings, Bible campaigns, children’s Bible camps, youth conferences, personal Bible studies, and a variety of benevolence efforts, to name a few.
On February 24, 2022, Russia continued an unprovoked war of territorial expansion against Ukraine (that had begun in 2014). The war quickly became the largest military conflict in Europe since the Second World War. After the shock and disbelief of the first day of the invasion wore off, members of the Cherkasy Church of Christ started to help refugees who were pouring into Cherkasy. Our Refugee Food Relief Project was started on the second day of the war. From the very beginning, we looked at it as a way to provide both physical and, which is more important, spiritual assistance.
In other words, we have been doing this not just for the sake of helping the needy but for the sake of bringing people to Christ (which is infinitely more important).
How we organize our work on the Refugee Food Relief project has been different over time because the refugee situation in Cherkasy was different at different times. For instance, when we first started helping people who were fleeing the advancing Russian military convoys, we tried to provide food that could be stored for a while but was also ready to eat immediately. Many of the people that we served in the winter and spring of 2022 came to our church building within 24 hours of fleeing their homes. Many were visibly shaken from seeing neighbors or even family members killed before their own eyes.
Early on, many were reluctant even to have their picture taken, because they were still afraid for their or their relatives’ safety. In several cases in eastern and southern Ukraine, enemy collaborators from among local Ukrainian officials had compiled extensive lists of local residents who had pro-Ukrainian views and handed those lists to Russians. People on those lists ended up in mass graves shortly after the Russian troops came in. Many of our visitors still had family members in areas occupied by Russian troops, and these visitors were afraid that if we were to somehow leak our benevolence recipient lists to the enemy, the relatives remaining in Russian-controlled areas would be arrested.
Many of the people whom we helped in the first year of war, were not in Cherkasy to stay. They would come for a few days or weeks, rest and then quickly move on west, to safer places in the west of the country, or to other countries altogether.
As time went by, most of the people who came to receive our help were already staying in Cherkasy long-term. Many of these were elderly people who did not have the means or desire to leave the country. Many had elderly or bed-ridden family members and thus no way to keep moving elsewhere. These people are still here in Cherkasy, and with their home cities and towns destroyed by Russia, they have simply nowhere to return to. With limited financial means, they cannot run anywhere else either. Cherkasy has been hit by Russian missiles and drones several times now, but this has been nowhere nearly as intense as in some other cities in Ukraine, which are located east and south of us.
Part One ends…
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