The joy of Christ is not just a personal joy, but joy for the whole church - for all the brothers and sisters in Christ united by the blood of the spotless Lamb. For this reason we greet our church family with the words "Christ is risen!" We know that what we will hear in reply is more than just a formula; it is a sincere confession of a living faith - "He is risen indeed." This year, as always, we exchanged Easter greetings with our sister church in Saint Charles. The greeting from Poltava, "Christ is risen" was sent to the U.S. by Pastor Valery Antonuk on March 31, and now here is the reply, "He is risen indeed." We received it on the eve of Easter, according to the Eastern calendar. For those who did not hear the reading of this greeting from our sister church during the Easter service, here is the opportunity to read it.

On April 20 in Poltava at the Christian Ministry Center there was a children's ministry conference with the theme: "The Hands of Christ." The conference was organized by the Child Evangelism Fellowship team of Salvation church. There were 80 participants representing 27 churches in the Poltava region. There were those who work with children inside the church and outside of it, as well as people who prayerfully support the children's ministry area.

What is the image that comes into our mind when we hear the words "righteous man"? Are there any saints today? Do they go to our church? Did you make friends with them?

Through the years, as you live the Christian life, you become more and more convinced that a righteous man is a real, living person who makes mistakes, who, like all others, is flawed and needs improvement, but nevertheless has certain characteristics that distinguish him from most other Christians.

On April 5 SMS Club celebrated its 8th birthday. Who would have thought that the club would carry on that long. But in spite of all the difficulties, mistakes, failures, the club continues to proclaim the Good News to the youth of Poltava.

The evening was a great success!

One of the recent major events in children's Sunday School was an intellectual game which surpassed everyone's expectations. Those who were there can guess what I am going to talk about next ... And for those who could not attend the battle of wits, I will describe it for you.

They say that the problem with Ukrainians is their indifference. And it's hard to disagree with that. Alas ...

However, among our fellow Ukrainians are those who do not remain untouched by the problems of others. The SMS Club, in conjunction with the orphans' foundation "Heart to Heart", dedicated their most recent theme night to the topic of good works.

Since ancient times the custom of the Slavic peoples has been to place the cross on the dome of the church to crown the whole structure, completing its form and pointing the whole construction toward the heavens. For a long time now residents of the Levada neighborhood have been wrestling with the question of the purpose of the building with the mysterious name "CMC" at Prospect Mir 24.

 

How long do you think we can celebrate Christmas? You won't believe it, but we were able to stretch it to the first day of spring! More than a thousand children can attest to the extended holiday, which included these "innovations".

 

There may be no other topic as interesting to young people as relationships with the opposite sex. The lack of empty seats at the SMS club theme night on this topic is evidence enough. I don't think that anyone went away disappointed or bored.

Recently we hosted another large group of people in our church building and the Christian Center. Approximately 600 Poltavans came each day to study English, thanks to the hard work of the teachers from "Michael Gott International". For the second time God gave our church this chance to share the love of Jesus Christ with new people. But were we ready to take advantage of it?