While in Tacoma, I had the privilege to visit the “Good News” church. This church has church services both in English and in Russian. The senior pastor Vasiliy Vasilyevich Stupin is gifted in both languages and easily transitions between them. On May 14, the church had a twofold celebration: baptism of six people and the celebration of Mothers’ Day. Because of that, they had only one service for all of the church members.
The atmosphere of a twofold celebration was felt throughout the whole service. Under the leadership of Michael Mukomol, the church was full of worship and adoration in wonderful singing and musical performances. I shared a brief exhortation dedicated to the Mothers’ Day. Vasiliy Vasilyevich performed baptism, and pastor Slavik Shitik administered the Lord’s Supper. Pastor Michael Mukomol also counseled those who were being baptized - some of whom had no previous church background. Men’s choir, youth choir, and children’s choir participated in the celebration. There was a strong sense of a well-organized service where each one knew their role and participation. Pastor Mikhail Terekhin participated in the flow of the program.
Holding a church service program for leaders, I was pleasantly surprised at how precise and timely were the designated program participants who were on time down to the last second. The program itself was initiated by the timer on the screen, and the service began exactly on time. A lot of organizational lessons can be drawn from this service. This is a good example for those churches who have a habit of disregarding the time.
The service ended with the celebration of mothers. The children gave mothers one rose each one. I thought that the service would probably end on such a wonderful note, but when I saw the brothers with boxes of sweets, given to their sisters-mothers, I realized that the sisters of this church are special, just like their service in families, church, and the community.
As I was leaving this church, I silently prayed: “Lord, bless this friendly and blessed church as well as the ministry of their pastor Vasiliy Stupin!”
Ivan Mileyev
CHURCH CELEBRATION
Please click on the first slide to see photos in bigger format
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