On May 27, Transfiguration Baptist Church located in Minnetonka, Minnesota had a celebratory service during which Vasiliy Buryak was ordained.
The service began with a grand performance of the choir, as well as a brief sermon by the pastor of the church, Michael Timoshenko. In the sermon, he pointed out the importance of spiritual gifts in the life of the church. The second sermon was by the vice-chairman of the Mid-Western Association, Vyacheslav Yablonskiy. He spoke on the role of the church in the life of the minister, as well as the necessity of spiritual support and care for the minister. At the end of the service and before the ordination, I gave counsel to Vasiliy and his wife Larisa. I pointed out the biblical requirements for the church deacon, the role of family in the life of the minister, his ability to build up the relationships with people, as well as ways to utilize the gifts of the Holy Spirit which are necessary for effective ministry of a deacon. After prayer of ordination, the church presented Vasiliy and his wife gifts. On behalf of the PCSB Association, I gave a deacon’s certificate. After the end of the service, there was a feast of celebration. Practically all of the church members were involved in some form of ministry. The church reminded me of “ants house” in which everyone knew what they were supposed to and was responsible to do.
God blessed this church in a special way by giving the local church a wonderful church building with an expectation that the church will grow. The main sanctuary is not big, but is connected to a large hall which is currently used as a gym and a reception room. This hall can be modified to become accommodate the worship service and could hold a lot more visitors (300-400 people). The main point of growth in the church is the young families with children, and because of that there is a large number of children ministries with a very developed curriculums. The church is characterized by joy, unity, and mutual understanding, and that is not by accident. Every Saturday, the church pastors gather for unified prayer. I also had an opportunity to join them for Saturday’s prayer (at seven in the morning), where I spoke on the present and future plans in the life of the Association, as well as the necessity for development of a vision, and a strategy for each local church.
I was accompanied by my wife Alena on this trip, and we were happy to catch up and see friends with whom we served the Lord together over the course of fifteen years while living in the ”cold” Minnesota, which is also a place of residence for many “hot” Christians, who are filled with God’s love
Ivan Mileyev
Please click on the first slide to view pictures in slide-show format
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