Some Baptists in Alabama recently gained a greater understanding of Baptists in Ukraine — both nationals and Southern Baptist representatives — and they plan to be a source of encouragement for them.
"One of the distinctives of being a Southern Baptist is that we have chosen to work cooperatively in missions," said Fred Karthaus, pastor of First Baptist Church, Andalusia, in Covington Baptist Association, following an April missions trip to Ukraine.
"I have found that it is a great blessing to be able to work side by side in the field with our IMB (International Mission Board) missionaries," he said. "I plan to encourage our church to continue to support the missionary work of the IMB with our time, abilities and resources."
During the trip, Karthaus — along with four other Covington Association pastors and Larry Cummings, director of missions (DOM) for the association — worked with Baptist representatives Shannon Ford and Paul Babb, speaking in eight churches and teaching a leadership conference.
Last year, the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM) invited DOMs from across the state to go to Ukraine on a vision trip. Cummings was one of 16 who traveled across the country, developing plans for the SBOM’s partnership with the Baptist Union of Ukraine. The partnership involves teaming Alabama Baptist associations with Ukrainian oblasts, which are regions about the size of 10 counties.
Covington Association teamed with the Rivne oblast. Rivne has 106 churches with 7,400 members, but there are hundreds of villages and settlements not served by an evangelical church. Only about 2 percent of Ukraine’s approximately 46 million people are evangelical. "So there’s a big task but it’s a huge opportunity," Cummings said.
According to Reggie Quimby, director of the SBOM office of global missions, the recent missions trip was a result of the association’s interest in strengthening ministries and planting new churches in the oblast. Going along with Cummings and Karthaus were Mike Flowers of First Baptist Church, Opp; Greg Cotter of Harmony Baptist Church, Andalusia; Barry Wilkinson of Hopewell Baptist Church, Andalusia; and Sonny Steele of Rawls Baptist Church, Andalusia.
The group arrived in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, April 10 and traveled to Rivne to prepare for the leadership conference there April 12. With the help of translators, the pastors and DOM taught an overview of the seven realities of "Experiencing God," which IMB missionaries were able to get in Ukrainian to give the 60 pastors in attendance so they could share the book’s principles with their congregations.
The conference was one of the highlights of the trip for Cummings. "I could see the potential of what that could do in those churches," he said.
For Cotter and Flowers, the trip was their first time overseas.
Cotter noticed differences in worship between his church and Ukrainian churches. "I preached at three different churches on Sunday, April 13, and each worship service lasted over two hours, and a minimum of four preachers preached. I don’t know if Harmony Baptist Church is ready for that," he said.
Cotter added that he has a renewed urgency for spreading the love of God through the gospel message to those abroad.
Flowers said the trip changed his ministry at home. "First, I have a much greater focus on ministry, envisioning outside ‘my box’ or ‘comfort zone,’" he said, noting the leaders in Rivne are moving and serving outside their comfort zones. "Second, I want to lead [First, Opp] toward a greater passion for the Word of God and toward reaching the lost community. These two passions are high in the Rivne oblast."
Wilkinson noticed the passion of Ukrainians, too.
"People of Ukraine take their walk with Jesus seriously," he said. "It encouraged me to take my walk with Christ and my ministry more seriously."
Steele was impressed with the smaller churches, called village churches, like his own back home. "I saw in these churches and their pastors a dependence on prayer," he said. "Their dedication made me take a closer look at my walk with Jesus."
Share with others: