One more historical event in the life of the PCSBA took place! And that is the 84th spiritually edifying convention of churches which took place on October 28-29 in Sacramento, CA.
On Friday, October 28, there was the convention’s opening service in English and done in a format that is natural for the youth – “Worship Night”. It is not surprising that the building was packed by young brothers and sisters. I did not hear any complaints from the representatives of the older generation that they had to use synchronized translation due to the language barrier which they were never able to overcome themselves while living in America. They understand that it is a blessing to be surrounded by so many young Christians who are praising God. Thank God for that!
The convention was spiritually edifying, and that is why there was not as much time needed for the decision-making part. The issues that were presented, however, had to do with approving the budget for the next fiscal year, acceptance of two new churches into the Association (Spring of Life Church in Mukilteo, WA, and Spring of Life Church in Greer, SC), appointing the Nomination Committee, as well as implementing some changes and the state of “The Nomination Committee”.
The reports of the president and the department leaders were printed in the special editions of the convention’s almanac. The leaders of departments and the members of the Association’s committee also received kind words of gratitude for their service in the Association. The convention had an atmosphere of unity and mutual understanding. The seminar speakers put a great emphasis on the quality of the preparation for the convention and they provided great spiritual food for all of the convention’s attendees. They were able to unpack the theme of “Life of Contrast” from various angles of the Christian life.
In the concluding service, besides the sermon about the Filling of the Holy Spirit, and the wonderful singing of the joint men’s choir, there was also Communion as a symbol of Christian unity, as well as spiritual familiarity through Christ Jesus who united us in His blood. It was especially touching to see how after the men’s choir’s performance of “Prayer for Ukraine” in Ukrainian, a few pastors went forward and prayed for peace in Ukraine. The prayer was in three languages: Ukrainian, English, and Russian. The prayer in Ukrainian was by the chairman of The Ukrainian Baptist Union of America, Roman Kapran.
The content of the seminar and church services can be viewed on the PCSBA’s YouTube channel.
Many thanks to Grace Family Church for great organization and preparation of every aspect of the convention. We express our gratitude to the church’ pastor Dmitriy Zherebnenko, the director of the church’s media ministry L. Istratiy, church administrator E. Nedorezov, designer K. Koryaka, photographer V. Grigorash, the team of cooks with P. Proshak as its leader, the head of the video department Aleksandr Vivsik, the head of the music ministry Sergey Yanovskiy and M. Nedorezov, and I. Bondar who was responsible for the registration, office secretary Y. Sheremet, and the Association’s office’s secretary Alina Pronin, youth pastor S. Nyagin, Vasiliy Stupin and Alekandr Pronin who are the vice presidents, as well as many others who were serving individually in various roles including parking and all the other internal church ministries. They showed the example of diligence, love, and hospitality.
Praise God for the partnership that we have and that it is thriving in these difficult times, as we are faced with difficult challenges while preaching the Gospel and keeping the unity in this “turbulent sea of life”. Trying times reveal the true nature and the beauty of Jesus Christ, and we are in the process of sanctification as we are looking to Christ, and bear fruit of the Holy Spirit as it grows in us and makes this change visible to everyone!
President of the PCSBA’s Association, Ivan Mileyev
