Church Ministries Institute

The staff of CMI, even during the war, are looking for opportunities for active service. The Church of "Renewal" in Kiev, holds evangelistic meetings in order to give hope to people during the war. For some time the church team through interaction with children (handicrafts, snacks, entertainment, games) proclaimed the Gospel, giving joy and hope for God.
The pastor of the church, Olexander Khandus, says: "We, as the church of Christ, cannot stand aside from the pain and experiences of people, and are ready to serve for the glory of the Lord and the consolation of people."
Children and parents are very happy with what the church does. People are surprised by the ministry of the church. Even when it's time to finish the program, the kids don't want to leave and ask the team when they'll be back.

Church Ministry Institute has always considered working with pastors one of its priorities. More than 260 brothers from different parts of Ukraine (June 25 and 26), despite the war, gathered in the Zhytomyr region to meditate together on God's Word and try to find answers to many acute and actual questions.
Olexander Khandus attended a pastoral conference, where he had the opportunity to communicate with church ministers and hear the challenges that arise in the ministry today. There were topics like: personal spiritual life of a minister during the war, pastoral care of families during the war, church leadership during the war and many other relevant topics. A pastor should remain a pastor and be a role model in ministry even during the hardships of war.

The staff of the Church Ministry Institute is involved in various services for people affected by the war. Oksana Kiryanenko tells about her ministry: "On February 24, 2022, a full-scale aggression of Russia against Ukraine began. Millions of people were forced to leave their homes and run away from the war. These people needed help and I decided to respond to God’s call to action. Together with my brothers and sisters from the church , I help refugees from other regions of Ukraine. We help with their accommodation, participate in the organization of meals and food rations. But the most valuable thing for me is something else. I can support morally and psychologically those who have experienced the horrors of war". May the Lord bless all who need help!

Christians study the Old Testament in many churches and colleges. The study of the first 39 books of the Bible took place in Sumy. After the course, Diana Duzhnikova shared her impressions: we were glad to attend the session and delve into the colorful pages of the history and poetry of the Old Testament, considering the Law of Moses in the light of the New Testament, draw parallels between them, and also emphasize the main ideas and principles of spiritual life.

The Old Testament is an amazing part of the Bible. It becomes especially interesting when it is studied in a team of fellow students and teacher Vitaly Maryanovich. For student Oksana Bogomaz, it was especially valuable to study the theological topics of the books of the Old Testament, and how God led his people during that time. Unfortunately for students, study is always limited by time.

Ukraine is filled with beautiful places and each region of our beautiful country is rich in its own way. Vladimir Nikolaev and Alexander Khandus last week visited with an important mission Polesia, picturesque expanses of our country. The majestic land of the "Ukrainian taiga" created by the Lord and God's Word - two days of wonderful communication with brothers.
About forty pastors and preachers from only one of the Rivne region attended the training. During the blessed time we studied the book of Jonah together. God's mercy is one of the most important themes of the message left to the Jewish society. The Creator shows His compassion for every person, regardless of his nationality. And we, the followers of Jesus, must also spread God's mercy.
We are glad to receive many positive feedback from the preachers and are very grateful to the pastors and members of the church of the village of Vitkovichi for the warm welcome and care. Special thanks to the regional pastor Yaroslav Borovets. We are waiting for the next training on the book of 2 Timothy.

We traveled to Sumy (a city in Eastern Ukraine) at the end of November! After taking the Hermeneutics course, student Vlad commented, "If so much can be learned from the study of one book of the Bible, there is so much more truth in the other parts of the Word of God!"

Active Scripture study and fellowship with students creates a conducive environment for God to work in shaping the next generation of ministers! Pray for students that the interpretation skills gained will be applied in their daily reading of Scripture.

A few days ago, the Students of the Khmelnytsky Regional College gathered again to to continue their studies. This time they took a course on "Spiritual Formation" of a christian. Several students shared their impressions of the educational process.
Poberezhna Ilona: The third session was quite interesting, because the spiritual formation of a Christian plays an important role. The teacher, Marcel Karimov, gave many examples and gave instructions based on the Word of God on how a Christian should grow spiritually, starting with a "baby" and reaching the level of a "mature Christian". I personally realized that prayer, the word, communion and fasting should play the same roles in life, because they should be interconnected. There was a lot of valuable information, now it's time to apply it in life.
Dovgan Natalia: The 3rd session took place at the CMI on the basis of the Khmelnytsky Regional Bible College in Yarmolyntsi. The training took place unobtrusively in interesting, informative dialogues and discussions. The theme of the session is good and allows you to reflect on your Christian life and rethink your attitude to many aspects (prayer, reading and studying the Bible, fellowship with other members of the Church and the practice of fasting).
Thank God for the opportunity provided by the Church Ministry Institute to study spiritual disciplines.

Thanksgiving and opportunities
It is easy to thank God when everything is well with us. But when we face challenges it is difficult to thank God.
Last year, the whole world was plunged into obscurity due to the pandemic. For the Church Ministries Institute this period is also associated with many challenges. Our students can’t come to the session to Kyiv campus because of financial crisis, not everyone can pay for tuition.
Therefore, the CMI team conducts field sessions on the basis of churches and colleges.
We are grateful to the Lord and to our American friends for your support. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve churches outside of Kyiv! More than 120 students study in various programs, they are pastors and leaders of churches, brothers and sisters.
We are so glad to serve outside of Ukraine as well, to fulfill God's mission. This year, Armenian students completed the study program from the CMI. We also opened our program in Kyrgyzstan. We are grateful to all the friends of the CMI for your love for the Lord and faithfulness in prayer!

From ancient times to modern times, from Manas to Kurmanzhan Datki, the Kyrgyz people were distinguished by freedom and peacemaking, hospitality and industriousness. During my trip to Bishkek, I was once again confirmed in the DNA of this amazing nation. It is impossible to take your eyes off the beauty of the Tien Shan Mountains (which translates as "Heavenly Mountains"). The Kyrgyz say of their lands that it is a country house of God. Long before Muslims, this geographical location was one of the centers of Nestorianism, with many communities and even metropolis. The Christian tradition has deep roots and now, in the context of Islam, believers in Jesus worship and spread the Gospel.
I'm thankful to God for new acquaintances with ministers in the Kyrgyz churches - Samat, Bakhtiar, Ravshan, Bekzat, Bektur and others. Warm communication and deep immersion in the Word of God have united us together. Church leaders have theological education but want to teach members of their churches. With the congregationWe began our study with the first subject, Principles and Methods of Bible Study. According to the participants, they took a fresh look at the ancient text. The problems of first readers are very similar to modern and God’s solution is still valid today. An interactive approach to Bible review allowed participants to ask many questions and find answers in the Evangelical text.
Pray for the Kyrgyz people so that they can continue to be faithful to God and with the unity of the Spirit can expand the Kingdom of the Lord!

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit”. 2 Cor.3:18
By the grace of God, we started educational process for brothers and sisters in Zolotonosha.
The process of assimilating into the image of Jesus Christ is a spiritual formation that begins from the moment of repentance and ends with the last breath of God's man on this earth!
All Saturday I had the privilege of teaching the course "SPIRITUAL FORMATION" in Zolotonosha city, Cherkas’ka region from the Church Ministries Institute.
A very hospitable brotherhood, churches, participants in the class. I felt like I had known brothers and sisters for a very long time. Thank you for the warm welcome, hospitality, openness and desire to learn the Word of God. I wish to all of us spiritual maturity in Jesus Christ!
Vitaliy Fomin, CMI Teacher