I often get asked how things are going in Ukraine. I tell them the war continues, people are being killed and injured, but life goes on. As I talk with my friends in Ukraine and ask them what their needs are, they consistently share that the needs have shifted from humanitarian needs to spiritual needs. They share that God is working and because of how the evangelical church has provided so much care and assistance to the needs of the people the past 18 months, the church is growing and the needs for more churches and more ministers is greater than ever.
Summer camps offered this summer were some of the largest in a long time as the kids and families want something that can provide hope and perspective to them. But as I talk to my friends in ministry in Ukraine, they also share that people in ministry are tired. The demands and stresses of the past 18 months and the continued stress caused by the war and continual missile attacks across the country is wearing them out.
Having listened to the needs, we are focusing our ministry efforts in 4 areas and are raising funds to support these ministries:
First is a training retreat for church planters. We are gathering 25 church planters and their wives together to offer training, rest, and encouragement in October of this year. We will be speaking at this conference as well as providing the money to cover the cost of this retreat in a nature setting near Lviv.
Second, we are also sponsoring a training retreat for the Children’s ministry leaders from all regions of Ukraine. This group of leaders is so important as they are leading the efforts to provide programming for all the kids who attended camps this summer each week in the church. This retreat will take place in October and Beth will be speaking at this conference.
Third, we are looking for partners who are interested in helping to start new churches in Ukraine. Start-up costs for a new church are around $6000. This covers costs of equipment, seating, and rental of a facility for the church to meet in. Our goal is to help start 100 new churches over the next 5 years and want to find partners who would like to adopt and church plant.
Lastly, we are looking for partners who would like to sponsor a pastor and their family as they start a new church. Each church plant is being sponsored by a church in Ukraine, but there is need to help with the costs of supporting the pastor as they are in the start up phase. We are looking for partners who would commit to $500 per month for 5 years. This is $6000 a year.
We realize that that not everyone can cover all the costs, so we are pooling resources to help as many pastors as we can. Currently we have 11 church planters who have been approved as church planters by the Baptist Union of Ukraine and need financial assistance as they start their church.
If you would be interested in supporting these ministry plans, you can give donations at our website at https://www.potentialendeavors.com/donation/donate/ through Venmo to @Potentialendeavors, or by check made payable to Potential Endeavors at 840 Aspen Circle, Little Canada, MN 55109.
If you have questions or want to discuss more about sponsoring a specific pastor or church, please contact me at Rick.Post@potentialendeavors or call at 651-329-6033 and I would be happy to set up a time to meet with you or your church or organization.