Our Church Partnerships initiative started in 2020, when Mike Roper, UCM Trustee and Elder of Bethel Baptist Church in Farnham, visited Ukraine and spent time with Dima and Nastya, who lead the church in the village of Kadena Gora. This personal connection developed into a relationship between the two congregations which is flourishing despite the constraints of the pandemic and the war. In the past year two more partnerships have been established, linking Denghi Church with Chiddingfold Baptist, and Christmas Church in Cherkasy with Ruwach Christian Church in Haywards Heath.

‍Regular Contact
‍One of the best ways of maintaining and growing the partnerships is through personal contact. “I am in regular contact with Dima on Facebook Messenger,” Mike explains. “The frequency varies with what is happening in our churches and what needs there are.  As a church we meet occasionally (although more frequently during the early days of the war) for prayer with Dima, to encourage him and share what’s happening. Sometimes we exchange videos with messages, and Dima sends us videos of his aid work and testimonies from people he has helped. I share clips in our church services, mission meetings and so on.”

Dima reiterates the importance of personal connection. “We pray for each other and share our needs. We exchange news and pray for everything that is happening in our churches.” Sasha Ponomarenko, leader of Denghi church, echoes those thoughts. “We recently met on Skype and shared how our ministry is going. We shared our experiences and listened to each other. We’re friends.”