On Sunday, June 2, 2024, members of Grace Avenue Bible Church, Sacramento, gathered 2 hours earlier than usual to participate in the baptism and support it with their presence, singing and prayers. The service took place on the lawn in the church yard. Ten people were baptized.
Every summer across the United States most churches hold a kid’s camp called Vacation Bible School (VBS). The purpose of VBS is to minister children of the home church and create an opportunity of outreach to neighboring communities with the message of the Gospel. For five days, children are learning God’s truth through songs, lessons, crafts, sports and even drama skits. In most churches it is the largest evangelical event of the year that requires involvement of the whole church.
On June 6-9, Grace Avenue had a youth camp with Living Stones, First Slavic, and House of the Gospel. The camp took place at Rollins Lake and it was an awesome and fun time of fellowship with our friends in nature.
PCSBA's May newsletter is available here: in English | in Russian.
Dear brothers and sisters! Happy Trinity Day! The day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles is a unique event of the birth of the church, and beginning of the ministry of the Holy Spirit which continues to this day.
From June 23 through July 8, the Second Slavic Baptist Church, supported by many other Christians, is going to run an annual reunion camp for about 200 widows and 320 orphans in Ukraine. These are women and children who have tragically lost their husbands and fathers because of the ongoing hybrid war in the Ukraine.
On April 28, thirty young men and women were baptized during a joint service of the Russian and English church service at Grace Family Church. There were a lot of guests, a beautifully-decorated stage and baptistry, and special testimonies of those who were getting baptized, which made this church service very joyful and special.
At the end of April, two pastors from Grace Family Church, Vasiliy Khripunov, who is the associate director of the PCSBA’s Missions Ministry, and Andrey Kobzar went on an extended trip to Uzbekistan, Poland, and Spain.
In 1952, a joint resolution of the United States Congress established a National Day of Prayer. In 1988, President Reagan set that day as the first Thursday in May. On this day, Americans from all walks of life join together around the country to call out to God for Him to work in and through our country. This Thursday, May 2, we ask you to join us for a day of prayer.
PCSBA's April 2024 newsletter is available here: in Russian | in English.
In his interview, the president of the “Coram Deo” International Counseling Institute, A. Tolochyants, and one of the professors, S. Drodz (pastor, a vice-chairman of the Union of ECB in Belarus, and the dean of the Minsk Theological Seminary), shared about the distinctives of Coram Deo compared to other counseling programs, and how it has impacted them on a personal level.
God continues to use this family's ministry to save the Slavs who have migrated to Valencia and the surrounding cities in Spain. Read Alik Shipuk's letter about what exactly they do and what results the Lord gives in their ministry. The letter is in Russian only.
In their April newsletter, the Sheremet family shares about their blessings, ministry trials, and ask for prayer support. Their visa extensions were not granted, so they are going through an appeal process. Pray for God’s help in resolving this, and other issues that they are facing while serving in Poland. The letter is available here (in Russian only).
Every Tuesday and Thursday at 3:15 p.m., the Association is broadcasting radio programs at 87.7 FM which include interviews with missionaries, ministry leaders, and heads of the Association’s departments. You can access a nine-year archive of the programs on the Association’s website – click this link (in Russian only).
After about a half year break, the newspaper is now ready for subscription and delivery to Russia. The subscription can be made at: https://www.nashidni.com or by calling the editorial department at (916) 457-2626. The cost of the subscription is $60.00.
Ten new members joined the Good News Church in Tacoma. Right before the Easter celebration, on Saturday, March 30, young men and women dedicated their lives to the Lord and entered into a holy covenant with Him.
There is a saying: “Big things are seen from a distance!”, and that is very true! There are churches in the Association that are doing their own ministry, and it seems that there’s nothing special that is going on.
On April 21, Grace Avenue Bible Church (previously known as Third Slavic Baptist Church) celebrated their 25th anniversary.
Sunday April 7th at Forward Church, we had Taco Sunday. We provided a taco lunch to everyone who came to church. This was the Sunday right after Easter Sunday and so we wanted to invite back all the new visitors that came to our church for the first time on Easter Sunday, for them to come back the following Sunday. We ordered food truck to come to the church. After service, everyone was able to eat a delicious taco lunch and have fellowship with one another. This provided a great opportunity for our members and guests to get to know each other better, by sharing a meal together.
Cornerstone Church is preparing and will host a conference on parenting with Henry Cloud, a well-known American Christian psychologist and New York Times bestselling author.
PCSBA's March Newsletter is available here: in Russian | in English.
The pastors in Israel are asking us to support them praying for the following:
“During the month of March, we have street evangelism in various cities and villages proclaiming the Messiah, the Savior – Jesus Christ! It is a spiritual warfare for the people’s souls. There are many enemies, those who show apathy, atheists, zealots for the law, and various worldly mindsets.
We need intensified prayer for the cleansing and forgiveness of sins of the nation. May many hearts in Israel and in every place where the message of Christ is preached turn to Him! Grace upon grace to you!”
On March 6-9, The Word of Grace Church in WA hosted a conference about Spiritual Warfare. Many pastors and leaders from the Association were able to attend this conference. The speakers were invited from the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia. The seminars were very practical: “Reality of Spiritual Warfare”, “Spiritual Warfare in Ministry”, “How to Resist the Enemy?”, “Strategy of the Devil in the Church”, “Demons Attacking Pastors”, and more. To watch all 11 seminars, visit this YouTube channel, click this link. All recordings in Russian only.
The question of predestination, especially the so-called “double predestination” is interesting for many Christians. The churches are divided because of disagreements over this question, and sometimes church members have many misunderstandings and concerns about this theology.
How can you tell if your local church is growing or dying? During a three-day seminar at the New Hope Church, a well-known Ukrainian pastor and speaker, author of materials in missionary ministry and evangelism, Vladimir Omelchuk talked about the detailed models of growing churches and the dying churches. He also presented the methods on revitalization and recovery from the passivity and reactivity of the local church. The recordings of the seminars can be found here (in Russian only):
A person with an unusual past, who was a counterfeiter, famous criminal on the USSR time, received the Lord Jesus Christ and then became a pastor and evangelist. Viktor Ivanovich Sikorskiy was able to visit Sacramento in February. Together with the assistant of the head of the Association’s Missionary Ministry, V. Khripunov, he participated in teaching seminars in street evangelism, developing evangelism in various places, and in the local churches.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! I want to greet you on this great holiday and wish you all Happy Easter! Christ has risen! He has risen indeed!
On February 24, 2024, there was another meeting of pastors of the Association’s churches at Bryte Church in West Sacramento. The first part of the program was dedicated to evangelism and the role of senior pastors in developing the culture and atmosphere of evangelism in the local church. That is the only way how this mission becomes the priority of the church, when the evangelism to the people around us becomes a natural lifestyle of every church member, and it isn’t getting accomplished just by a certain church program or activity.
Mikhail Cherenkov, Doctor of Theology, and pastor of Revival Baptist Church in WA shares about the perspectives and plans for ministry and the work PCSBA’s Executive Committee. The interview was conducted by a member of the Information Ministry, S. Iotko.
PCSBA's February newsletter is available here: in Russian | in English
This is an unforgettable experience when people expresses their desire to give their life to God and dedicate themselves to follow Him, and to be baptized!
On February 3, 2024Б Salvation Baptist Church in Orlando, FL (pastor Andrey Kravchuk) hosted a conference for the pastors in Florida. Pastors of Slavic churches of ECB from all over the state came to this event.
On February 24 from 6:00-9:00 p.m., Second Slavic Baptist Church in Sacramento will host an evening of recognizing a poet – Andrey Neyfeld (Minneapolis, MN). The participants will also include Galina Shirokova and Larisa Lysak, who are the authors of music composed to his poetry.
Greetings in the spirit of fellowship and community! Sierra Pines Camp is thrilled to extend an invitation to your church community for a transformative experience in the heart of nature.
Discover God's Beauty: Sierra Pines Awaits Your Congregation!
After His ministry on Earth, our Lord Jesus Christ left the Great Commission for His disciples and to us, and that commission is to share about the goodness of our Lord to all the peoples.
The survey of the convention’s delegates serves as a tool for us to better understand ourselves as an Association. It is a perfect opportunity make some conclusions and improvements for our future ministry. Having looked at the survey results, we can plan for achieving certain goals and move forward to these goals as opposed to being in a place where we are today. Although the convention’s delegates cannot truly reflect all 100% of the various views of all the PCSBA’s churches, nevertheless, they do represent the general understanding of the situation.
On January 13, The Spring Church in Moraga had a leaders meeting for those serving in mission ministry and for PCSBA’s pastors of Bay Area. Aleksey Kharlamov was the one to initiate and organize this event. He is a pastor of the church that recently became part of the PCSBA.
Dear sisters! The ministry "Healthy Christian", the Second Slavic Baptist Church, invites you, your sisters, mothers, grandmothers and friends (ages: 13 - 99+) to the next women's evening, which will take place on March 8, Friday, from 6-9 pm!
PCSBA's December newsletter is available here: in Russian | In English.
Speaker: Peter Patz, Germany
Venue: Bryte Church, 1000 Sacramento Ave, West Sacramento, CA 95605, room 202 on the second floor.
Date and time: December 30 from 9:30 am to 12 noon.
Everyone is invited: directors, musicians, choristers, as well as directors of children's choirs - for them, there will be specific information on working with children and their voices.
Should you have questions about this event, please contact to Sergey Yanovskiy: (916) 595-3480,
This is unheard of in the Slavic churches! Over 12,000 people attended the “Bethlehem Village” at the Bryte Church. There was so much going on in this village! Over forty stations including a prayer station, Bible and Gospel tracts distribution station, and much more. Over 800 volunteers were dedicated to preparing and serving at this event. Their main goal was to unite the church members, and to share the story of Christmas with unbelievers.
On December 15, Cornerstone Faith Church in Sacramento, organized a unique event for immigrants. This was a Christmas quest which was inspired by the mystery and adventures of a book by C.S. Lewis and is recognized around the world. The event included a Christmas lights limo tour as well. About 500 people were able to participate.
On February 3rd, First Slavic Baptist Church will host a conference for Sunday school teachers.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ! As we celebrate these wonderful holidays, may our minds be focused on Jesus Christ! The uniqueness of Christianity is in the person of Jesus Christ and that is incomparable with any other religions of the world. The Apostle Paul in one of the letters to Timothy summarizes the entire Theology of the “uniqueness” of Jesus Christ:
I am honored and humbled to have been elected to the Executive Committee of the PCSBA. Having grown up in a Slavic Baptist Church for most of my life, I have a deep love and affection for the Slavic people. I distinctly remember driving to Sacramento from Seattle with my parents to attend the PCSBA annual conventions as a teenager. At that time, I was still living in Seattle, Washington, and the church that we were members of was also a part of the PCSBA. After getting married and moving to Southern California in 2006, I have been a member of two churches, both of which were part of the PCSBA.
Prayer week schedule is available here - click this link.
Family-friendly Christmas Light trail. Immerse yourself in the story of the first Christmas through a miracle night walk, adorned with brilliant lights, delightful treats, and a captivating candlelit show. Join us under the stars for an adventure where each light weaves a story of hope and wonder.
PCSBA's November 2023 newsletter is available here: in Russian | in English.
The well-known Moldovan missionary music group “The Kirnev Family” plans to hold Christmas evangelistic events in several cities of Lebanon: Tire, Sidon, Beirut, etc. Sergey and Pavel, members of this group, explain why they decide to take such a risky trip to a country in the south of which there is military action - watch the recording of their interview (in Russian only.)
The attention of the majority of people today is towards Israel and to what is happening in that region. Unprecedented brutality of Hamas shocked everyone. Civilians and children have suffered, and the blood of both Israelis and Palestinians continues to be shed. Our brothers and sisters suffer along with everyone else.
Please read J. Sheremet's November newsletter about ministry in Poland here - click this link (in Russian only.)
Tirelessly, every Saturday and Sunday in a new place, a team of local missionaries, led by Pastor Vasily Khripunov, preaches the Gospel on the streets of different cities in California, holding meetings in local houses of prayer or missionary points. The past Saturday and Sunday, November 18 and 19, were the same for them.
On October 11, 2023, Grace Family Church in Sacramento hosted a Mission Reunion, which is a friendly get-together of missionaries from different countries. Over 100 people from different cities were able to attend.
Our Association has many talented people! One of them is Pavel Lvutin who is a pastor at the Word of Truth Church. He wrote five books some of which are published and can be found on Amazon. For a short summary for each book and where each one of them can be found, visit this page (in Russian only.)
While evaluating the results of the past convention, we can say that the 85th convention has a special place in the Association’s history. We celebrated the 95th anniversary of the Association. What seems to be such a distant past, in 1928, the first convention of the Slavic immigrants on the West Coast took place in Kerman. The issue at hand was about developing the ministry of the Slavic immigration. By now, 4-5 generation passed, but by the grace of God, the Association continues to care about impacting the next generation. They are still focusing on missions work both internationally, as well as locally.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! Happy Thanksgiving!
«In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. » 1Thess. 5.18
PCSBA's October 2023 newsletter is available here: in Russian | in English.
«Old Fashioned Country Festival» was a huge event that was organized by the Cornerstone Church in Sacramento on October 15. The premises of the church were decorated in old West style, and many guests dressed for the occasion. Over 500 people visited this event.
On September 19-20, there was a pastors’ retreat near Athens. Close to 80 people were able to attend. Joseph Sheremet and the missionary ministry of PCSBA had an idea of such retreats which later became a regular annual event.