Baptisms in Ukraine during the War

The kingdom of God is expanding regardless of the circumstances.

April 26, 2024 | Natalia Luchak, Ukrainian Union Conference

In the challenging times facing the Seventh-day Adventist Church community in Ukraine, the work of God continues. Here are testimonies about individuals who have recently received Jesus and committed their lives to Him.

God’s special blessings were experienced by the youth community “Upstream” in Kyiv, when two girls and a young man dedicated their lives to Jesus and were baptized on March 16. Each of them at one time had heard about Jesus and got to know Him through the study of biblical truths.

On Saturday (Sabbath), March 16, a baptism service was held in Mykolaiv. Four people made a covenant with God and joined the church. Two people became members of the Adventist Church in Berezanka and two more in the Mykolaiv community. The oldest of the newly baptized, Andriy Prokofievich, is 92 years old.

On the same day, five people made a covenant with God in the Adventist community of Bila Tserkva, Kyiv region. The people baptized were from Bezugliak, Bila Tserkva, and Volodarka. Some made their decision after an evangelistic program held in the Bila Tserkva-2 community, and others after personal study with their pastor.

Also on March 16, three boys were baptized in the first Rivne community. They had been attending youth Bible study meetings held every Tuesday by Serhii Soya, a pastor in that region.

From March 22-24, a youth mission congress titled “In the Footsteps of Jesus” was held in the city of Vyshhorod, where the young people of Chernihiv, Sumy, and Kyiv regions gathered. This special event led to the baptism of three young people.

On March 23, two men and two women entered into a covenant with the Lord and joined the church family of the First Community church of the city of Berdychev, Zhytomyr region.

In Kyiv on March 23, a solemn service of water baptism took place, where representatives from various communities of the city gathered, and 15 people who had undergone Bible studies made a covenant with the Lord.

During evangelistic meetings in the Rivne region, two people were baptized in the city of Dubno. For almost a year, Alla attended church services and took Bible studies. For Yuri, the evangelistic meetings were the first contact with the Adventist Church.

Evangelistic meetings held in Lutsk also brought results. Four people joined the Adventist Church, and now they will help seekers of God’s truth to grow in faith.

Two young people, brother and sister, Maxim and Albina Shaposhnik, attended the Adventist church in the city of Lutsk. They were born into an Adventist family, and after studying the Bible courses at the Bible School, they decided to be baptized.

Two more people who were baptized in Lutsk, Yevhenii and Olga, were also familiar with Adventists because Yevhenii’s cousin is a member of the Adventist Church. When missionary Serhiy Meles visited them, the couple showed interest in Adventist teachings. As a result of regular meetings and the study of the Word of God, they were baptized on March 23. Five people who studied biblical truths and were prepared for baptism made a covenant with God.

The original version of this story was posted on the Ukrainian Union Conference news site.