I’m kind of a No. 2 guy,” said Baptist representative and Alabama-native Tim Akers as he drove down a cobblestone street in Lviv, a regional capital city in western Ukraine. “My desire is not to be out front but to be as helpful as possible to those who are.”
The self-described supporter is living out that role as he assists two new church starts and works alongside their young pastors.
A native of Hatton, Akers served as youth pastor of two churches in Colbert-Lauderdale Baptist Association following graduation from the University of North Alabama in Florence with a degree in computer programming. During his college years, he developed an interest in missions through participation in Baptist Campus Ministries.
But it was Akers’ service as interim pastor of Christian Fellowship Baptist Church, Florence, that convinced him of the need for seminary training. It was there — Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, near Memphis, Tenn. — that God confirmed his call to missions.
For Akers’ wife, Donna, of Killen, the call to missions was slower in coming. One of the keys was a two-week volunteer missions trip to Ukraine, where she and Tim Akers worked alongside national Christians doing evangelistic witnessing.
“It is not enough for a wife to say she is following her husband’s call to missions,” he said. “That will not keep a family on the field when things are tough. Both have to know they are where God called them.”
Nearly 10 years after arriving in Ukraine, the Akerses are sure. So are their three children: Shane, a 10th-grader; Kaylee, a ninth-grader; and Levi, a fourth-grader. Donna Akers recalled Shane saying during a stateside assignment in Alabama that he missed Ukraine. “It is kind of like having a divided heart,” he told her.
Today the Akerses invest their lives in sharing the gospel and helping new church starts.
Lviv is a city of about 1 million people. Its oblast (state) has a population of about 2.5 million. Sixty Baptist churches are located in the oblast, but until recently, there were only 2 in Lviv.
Central Baptist Church, located in the heart of the city, is the largest church with a membership of approximately 600.
“The strategy has been to get everyone to come to the established churches,” Tim Akers explained. “We have been trying to convince Baptist leaders that a better strategy is to plant new churches in different parts of the city.”
One of those new churches is Grapevine Baptist Church. The two-year-old church averages about 60 people in attendance. The congregation rents space in the city’s Philharmonic hall. Members exchanged renovation and redecorating for the privilege of renting an assembly room and a few small rooms for children’s Sunday School.
Grapevine Baptist, like other new church starts, focuses on attracting younger people. Its leadership is all under 40 years of age.
Many are university students or recent graduates.
The churches use English as a Second Language as a major outreach tool.
Love of God Baptist Church is less than a year old. Its participants are even younger than Grapevine’s — mostly youth with a sprinkling of 20-somethings. The congregation rents space in a neighborhood kindergarten and children’s art center.
“Neither of these churches would be considered real churches by some,” Tim Akers said. “They would be called small groups. But they are doing all that a church is supposed to do.”
Tim Akers regularly meets with the pastors of the two church starts. He offers encouragement and counsel. Occasionally he preaches in the services.
“It is important that we help Ukrainian Baptists do things for themselves, not do things for them,” he said. “That is why I help as much as I can but stay behind the scenes.”
Donna Akers has carved out her own ministry in addition to home-schooling her children. Weekly she invites women into her home for cooking classes and Bible study. The outreach effort originally focused on Grapevine members and prospects, but more recently, young women from Love of God Baptist have participated. Six to eight women usually attend, but more than a dozen have attended on some occasions.
The Akerses’ ministry has received help from back home. Lindsay Lane Baptist Church, Athens, has worked with Grapevine in summer camps. More Alabama Baptist teams are planning to come this summer.
“Volunteer teams help us take a step forward,” Tim Akers explained. “They help us make contacts and gain a hearing in communities. We need more teams to help us reach this city.”
He pointed out that in addition to the small number of churches in Lviv, there are several regional cities (county seats) in the area that have no evangelistic witness of any type. “The cities are the key. That is where the people are moving for work, and that is where we need new churches,” he said. “To do that, we need help from our Alabama partners.”
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