April 2018 Newsletter

by | Apr 1, 2018 | News

Ukraine is the fastest growing region in the CREC. Rivne Biblical Church was the first CREC church in Ukraine, joining in 2010. There are now four member churches, two missions and one candidate church in the country. This growth is attributable to the diligent work of San Sanych, Bogumil and Sasha Pavlyuk (pastor of Holy Trinity Reformed Church in Dunaivtsi), supported by JEEP.

General Information

The Joint Eastern European Project (JEEP) started in 2011, as a partnership
between three churches in Anselm Presbytery. JEEP functions under an Executive Committee composed of representatives from sponsoring churches in the CREC. Currently there are six EC members, representing five churches. EC members are Pastor Jack Phelps and Deacon Derrick Honrud, Covenant Bible Church; Elder John Unger, Reformation Covenant Church; Pastor Stuart Bryan, Trinity Church, Coeur d’Alene; Pastor Gregg Strawbridge, All Saints Church; and Pastor Garry Vanderveen, Christ Covenant Church. Pastor Phelps is serving as Chairman, and Deacon Honrud is the Treasurer.

Churches in Eastern Europe served by JEEP agree to submit regular financial information to the EC, in order to remain qualified for assistance. The majority, but not all, of the CREC churches in Europe have come under the JEEP umbrella. Participating churches are located in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Belarus. Rev. Bogumil Jarmulak is the point man for JEEP in Europe. In addition to ministering to his own congregation in Poznan, Poland, “Bubu” travels to JEEPserved churches several times per year and generally administers JEEP activities in
the region. In Ukraine, he is ably assisted by Rev. San Sanych, pastor of one of the two CREC churches in Rivne, Ukraine. Bubu also serves as a non-voting member of the JEEP EC.

Church Plant in Hungary

Rev. Attila Hajdu (pronounced hoy due) has labored as a CREC church planter in Diosd, Hungary, since 2008. Diosd is a suburb of Budapest. This is a slowly growing ministry. Last year, there was a shakeup that led to a couple members leaving. One was a person who had caused problems for a long time. The other was rather tragic, since the husband had converted under Attila and was seeming to make significant progress.

This change led to a reboot in the ministry, but the congregation is now again meeting regularly for worship on the Lord’s Day. Midweek Bible teaching also continues. Attila has translated several Christian books into Magyar, the Hungarian language. This has been a helpful tool as he instructs his people in the Christian faith. The congregation remains small, but the people are faithful and growing in their devotion to King Jesus.

Poland

Pastor Jarmulak is the shepherd of Evangelical Reformed Church in Poznan, Poland. With assistance from several CREC churches, ERC recently moved its worship to a new location, a building which the congregation remodeled. New members have been added over the past year, attesting to the effective ministry of Bubu and his elders.

As mentioned above, Bubu also spends a significant amount of time visiting, supporting and encouraging other CREC pastors in Europe. He is a key figure in organizing annual events, such as the Youth Camp in Ukraine and continuing education seminars for pastors and elders, sponsored by JEEP. To enable Bogumil to do this work, he receives financial support from JEEP.

Bulgaria

Pastor Yavor Rusinov shepherds Presbyterian Reformed Church in Burgas, Bulgaria, on the shores of the Black Sea. This congregation has been a CREC member church since 2010. It hosted the Second Annual CREC Theological Conference in 2010. In addition to pastoring the Burgas church, Yavor helped start a mission in another town in the mountains northwest of Burgas. Sadly, the mission closed when the pastor had to leave the area for work. Some members of the former mission now attend PRC. Yavor is bi-vocational.

Ukraine

Ukraine is the fastest growing region in the CREC. Rivne Biblical Church was the first CREC church in Ukraine, joining in 2010. There are now four member churches, two missions and one candidate church in the country. This growth is attributable to the diligent work of San Sanych, Bogumil and Sasha Pavlyuk (pastor of Holy Trinity Reformed Church in Dunaivtsi), supported by JEEP.

One Ukraine church has recently launched a Christian school as part of its ministry. Also, the CREC mission church in Ivano-Frankivsk operates Nazareth House, a Christian orphan ministry. Nazareth House and Pastor Ihor Lishchinskii receive regular support from JEEP. The Annual Youth Camp has become a crucial ministry to the Eastern European churches, particularly in helping young people grow in the faith and become acquainted with Christians of their own age. Youth have attended from North America, Belarus, Japan, Poland, and Ukraine.

Finally, JEEP also contributes to a periodic chaplaincy work on the frontier of the war in Eastern Ukraine, which is encouraged by the Ukrainian government. CREC men participate in this effort, and when they do, financial assistance is provided through the JEEP budget.

Belarus

This is JEEP’s newest field. Through the efforts of San Sanych and Bubu, a relationship developed with a pastor in Mogilev, Belarus, who had been laboring alone. JEEP provided some assistance and, in 2015, Evangelical Reformed Church of Mogilev was admitted as a member of the CREC. Pastor Sergey Udaliov is also working with another group nearby, which we expect to emerge as a CREC mission at some point. Please be aware that Belarus is a tough country for the church.
Belarus has had a very difficult time breaking with its Soviet past, and Christian churches struggle in a hostile environment. Please keep Pastor Udaliov and his congregation in your prayers.

JEEP Financial Status

The Executive Committee is pleased with the growth of our mission work over the past two years. Not only is the ministry expanding in JEEP-served countries, but the financial support from churches in the U.S., Canada and Japan has been gratifying.

The JEEP fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. Hence, we are currently in Quarter 3, FY18. Our budget is based on anticipated giving, as God provides us partners who commit to supporting specific projects or to donating for the General Fund. The EC, in cooperation with the churches we serve, identifies priority funding projects. In addition, we identify other European needs and assign funding levels based on gifts we anticipate coming in. If giving exceeds our targets, we are then able to adjust the next year’s operating budget accordingly.

In FY17, we were able to fully fund our priority items for the first time, thanks to our partners in churches throughout the CREC. We were also able to begin increasing support for second tier priorities. The adopted budget for FY18 is $86,900. This fully funds the top tier.

A word about administrative expenses: JEEP never has and does not now peel off any money for the cost of administering grants to European ministries. Every dime given to the JEEP General Fund or designated for specific ministries or projects, goes to fund JEEP supported ministries in Europe. When there are costs (such as transfer fees) they are absorbed by the founding churches. All EC labor is entirely voluntary and unpaid.

Thank you for your support of God’s work through JEEP in the former Soviet Bloc countries of Europe.

Rev. Jack Phelps, Chairman
Joint Eastern European Project