Keeping busy in Borguslavets
“Life in Borguslavets does not stand still,” says Vitaly Lozovoy, who took over ministry in the village from retiring pastor Sasha Bauer earlier this year. In November when the church family celebrated 20 years since the dedication of their building, it was also a good moment to look back at what Vitaly and his wife Alina have been doing in their first few months of leadership.
Continuing personal development is a priority for them both, so they have been attending courses at Irpin Bible School, just outside Kiev, where they both appreciate the strong emphasis on practical application.
“I continue to study,” Vitaly explains, “and on Saturdays I hold bible study sessions at the church. I prepare excerpts from the bible, and we also have a wonderful opportunity to discuss interesting everyday issues in the light of Scripture.”
The church also hosts a weekly prayer meeting, and a monthly ladies’ gathering. They are greatly encouraged to see that even women from the village who are not yet Christians enjoy coming along to these.
Vitaly and Alina have always been keen to develop the youth work, not just in Borguslavets but also in nearby villages where there is very little Christian presence. “I am involving the younger members in participating in the life of the church,” he says. “We began meetings with teenagers from Boguslavets and Lukashivka and had a wonderful time cleaning the premises, enjoying food together, and, most importantly, a lesson from the bible. There were eight teenagers there, and we hope for more meetings.”
In September the church family gathered for a Thanksgiving service, expressing gratitude to God for meeting their spiritual and physical needs over the preceding year. Christians from other congregations joined them, as well new people from the area; they were about 60 people in total. Vitaly sums it up: “Everyone had the opportunity to be nourished spiritually through the Word, the Spirit, and the fellowship of the Church. Everyone also shared in the physical nourishment.”
A burst of good weather in October provided the opportunity to do some cleaning and maintenance work on the church grounds, and Vitaly made use of his skills as a builder to repair some cracks in the ceiling, which means less heat loss from the building in the cold winter season.
Now as the community faces the hardest months of the year, Vitaly and Alina are using resources from our ‘Full Table’ fund to gather and seniors in their groups for hot food and to watch Christian movies together.
Unfortunately health challenges often make it hard for older folk to attend, but that hasn’t stopped them benefitting from the meals the church is providing. “It's a bit sad,” Vitaly reflects, “that many of the older people are sick. But we had a good time: before watching the movie, we talked about the importance of prayer from Matthew 6:5-15. Then we watched a film about the coming Rapture - everyone enjoyed it. Since we were hoping for more people, there was still food left over, so we packed it in boxes and took it to the homes of those who were sick.”
We are so encouraged to see the ministry growing and expanding in Borguslavets, and we hope that future ‘Full Table’ events will provide much-needed fellowship and will draw even more of the community into the church family.
