On March 6 to 17, I had an opportunity to visit Spain. Over the two Saturdays and Sundays I had to be in two different cities: Barcelona and Valencia. I had two main goals for my trip. The first goal was to teach a session at the Blagovest Institute of Ministry in Barcelona. The second one was to have the very first leadership meeting in Spain to organize an association of Evangelical churches of this country.
The ministry of the Pacific Coast Slavic Baptist Association (PCSBA)in Europe is a fulfillment of a long-term strategic missions’ plan to plant new churches. Thirteen years ago, we sent Ilya Danilyuk and his family as our very first missionary to Italy. Then we sent a few missionaries to Spain – Alec and Olga Shipuk, and Vladimir and Ella Prizhbilov. We also began to support those missionaries who came to Spain from Ukraine. The PCSBA continues to be the only Slavic Association of Evangelical churches who fulfills such missionary efforts among the Slavic population of Europe. We also support missionaries to Ukraine, Poland, France, and other countries.
On March 8-9 the Evangelical Source of Life Church of Barcelona (where Roman Zelenskiy is the pastor) hosted a training session of the Blagovest Institute of Ministry where I taught a course on Missiology. The class sessions took up the entire Saturday, and after the morning church service on Sunday, the rest of Sunday as well. Our goal is not just to plant churches, but also to prepare pastors and new leaders to serve at the local churches.
On March 12, I visited a church at Torrevieja. This is one of the most active and blessed churches where Viktor Kovba and his wife Tatyana are serving. This church has a lot of youth, a well-developed music ministry, and provides a lot of help to the immigrants who recently arrived from Ukraine.
During the two-day meeting on March 14 and 15, sponsored by the PCSBA, representatives from five churches and one group raised the question of organizing the Evangelical Association of churches of Spain. Now is the time when with the many Slavic church plants in Spain, there is a need to coordinate joint ministry in the realm of the entire country. I had an opportunity to be a part of the first business meeting of the new Evangelical Association of Spain. During the meeting, the attendees elected the leadership of the association: the coordinator–Dima Murkin, the secretary –Alec Shipuk, and the treasurer – Viktor Kovba. The meeting took place in a wonderful meeting center not far from Valencia and had a spirit of unity, mutual understanding, and support. The committee for preparing the vision, goals, and charter of the joint interchurch ministry was headed by the elected brothers and included all the leaders of the founding churches of this association. Prase God! This was a historic meeting in which the head of the external mission of the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Ukraine, Edward Petrov, was also able to be a part of. As partners in ministry with the Ukrainian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, we value our partnership, and are planning a joint ministry in Spain, and other European countries. Praise God that the interchurch ministry of the Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Spain has begun!
On March 16, after the church service in Valencia, I was approached by a woman named Marina who said: “Thank you for opening this church in Valencia. I came from Russia and did not know that such churches existed. I believed in Christ, repented, and together with my husband, I was baptized in this church… I cannot imagine how my life would have turned out, and what would have happened in my family, if I had not become a Christian. Thank you! " I responded with: "Thank God, this is not our accomplishment. Thanks be to God that He laid a foundation of this church and continues His work in this city. Thank God that even today the Gospel has the power to change people's lives, give them salvation and eternal life, and that people are able to have a meaning and purpose for their lives”. It is not surprising that this lady became an active missionary and a faithful witness for her relatives, friends, and to those around her.
Thank God that 13 years ago the PCSBA had an idea of beginning missionary work in Europe, and God continues to use us all for His Glory! The success and the blessing in the local churches depend on Him, and He is the one who deserves all glory!
President of the PCSBA, Ivan Mileyev
