On September 28, 2024, from the early morning until the very evening, Christian hymns were resonating at the local park in Yuba City. This cozy town is located in the center of Sutter County in California about 40 miles from Sacramento. It was founded in 1849 on the land that belonged to John Sutter, and therefore, the county bears the name of its original owner. According to 2010 data, Yuba City has about 64,925 people of different nationalities. Now you know a brief historical background of Yuba City.
Beginning in August of 2006, with the support of The Pacific Coast’s Slavic Association, The Slavic Baptist Church has been serving in the local community. The first pastor of the church was Peter Mikhailovich Petrenko, who along with his wife was supporting this ministry. Right now, Andrey Grigorievich Parkhomenko serves as the head pastor of the church, and Vladimir Khokhlov as the deacon. It is also important to note that despite the small number of attendees, everyone who participates in the church services is always joyful. They experience every church service as if it were their very first one. A great zeal for God’s work, punctuality, unity, as well as gratitude to God and His people are always felt in the spiritual atmosphere of every church gathering. Their church services are full of peace and reverence, and everyone is ready to receive God’s instruction.
On this particular sunny day, the fellowship at the local park in Yuba City was also very warm and lively. With Christian-themed pictures exhibit strategically placed in the shaded areas throughout the park by Vasiliy Khripunov, everyone who was at the park was captivated by such an exhibit. Using the collection of these pictures is a creative way to draw attention of curious spectators and point them to our Great God.
The youth from First Slavic Ukrainian Church in Sacramento were able to engage the children and teens through sports and various games. The organizers also provided cool refreshments and sandwiches. The president of PCSBA, Ivan Vladimirovich Mileyev prepared a strategic sermon for all the visitors. One of the elderly men who was sitting next to me said: “I can sense that this preacher has a deep understanding of God.”
The Praise the Lord instrumental group from Sacramento performed Christian hymns, and with the requests of the audience, they were able to sing both the English and the Russian hymns. Music is the language of the heart that speaks out. By the end of the service, we were able to get the attention of Andrey Grigoryevich and to ask him about this event:
— I am rejoicing that God gave us an opportunity to preach the Word of God here, to sing praises to His name, to pray together, to look into the eyes of our visitors, to feed those who are here some of whom are homeless, and to preach the Gospel of God’s salvation. We will continue to pray so that God would allow us to continue to organize evangelistic services and proclaim the truth to those who are outside of our church building. Praise be to God for everything!
The address of the church in Yuba city is: Slavic Baptist Church, 804 Cooper Ave, Yuba City, СА 95991. Church service takes place at 2:00 p.m. Every Tuesday at 7:00 p.m., there is an online church service on Viber, and even those who are sick and frail, those who do not drive, and those who are out of state can join. You can become part of this ministry through: prayer support, visiting the church, invite your friends, or join the online service on Tuesdays, through singing, poems, testimonies, or sharing personal experiences or to receive prayer support, because “…the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5:16).
Phone number of pastor Andrey Grigoryevich Parkhomenko: +1 (916) 402-8951.
Lidiya Vashilina
