The Whites Begin Ministry in Ternopil

The following announcement was made in February by the Slavic World for Christ:

New developments regarding the Old Park church in Ternopil quickly arose at the beginning of this year, and they have proceeded with surprising and comforting ease - although not without prudent and prayerful attention to detail.

Taras, one of the young men in the Ternopil church who has been helping Volodya with various teaching and preaching ministries, has decided that he wants to take courses offered by the Christian institute in St. Petersburg, Russia, established by members of the Restoration Movement here in the U.S. While he is a strong and faithful Christian, Taras wants to become more grounded in the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, and he believes that the two-year time of study through the institute would help him achieve his goal. His family supports him, and they will actually fund his planned activity.

Taras' decision would have left the Pryludkos with a heavier workload than they currently bear. However, Brett and Alicia White, an American Christian family working in eastern Ukraine, recently lost their financial support from their American sources. When Volodya heard that news, he wrote the Slavic World committee and asked us to consider seriously a two-year financial support of Brett and Alicia so that they could work with the congregation in Ternopil while Taras works on his academic studies. The Ternopil church already knows and appreciates this couple, as do we on the Slavic World committee; and the Ternopil Christians are looking forward to having them join the work there.

All of these events coming together at once appear to be providential. The Slavic World committee met with Brett and Alicia White in Abilene three weeks ago to make sure that their spiritual gifts and our sense of Old Park's spiritual needs actually do coincide. After surrounding our conversations in prayer, we have subsequently reached a working agreement.

The element in all of this that gives the committee the most confidence is the fact that the Old Park congregation itself is the original source of this action. The Christians there in Ternopil are the ones who proposed that we invite the Whites, and Old Park has committed itself to supplying the Whites' living quarters and partial funding in order to make their one-year (and, after an annual review, possibly two-year) ministry in Ternopil a reality during the time that Taras engages in his graduate studies.

Please pray for this effort as Old Park, the Whites, and the Slavic World committee work to coordinate their efforts in Ternopil, Ukraine, with God's will and with your continued support.

May the Lord bless and keep each one of you.