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Sister Church Information
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I grew up in a small family with a brother that was very close to my age. As brothers will, we had our fights and problems, but we were also playmates and fast friends growing up. Today, I enjoy an excellent relationship with my brother. I experienced that good sibling relationships can be some of the most rewarding blessings in our lives.
Relationships with spiritual siblings, brothers and sisters in the faith, can be just as rewarding. In fact, such spiritual relationships can often run deeper because of the eternal and spiritual bonds that are created as we share life together. Many Christians enjoy the fruit of such God-given relationships as they fellowship with individual brothers and sisters in the faith. However, the same kind of reward, blessing, and fellowship can take place on a larger scale as well. Whole congregations can become closely tied together by the bonds of love and fellowship that similarly connect close friends and family members.
We read about such a reality in the book of Revelation, as believers of all races, tribes, tongues and nations stand side-by-side worshiping our Lord. But why wait until the end of time to begin enjoying the blessing that kind of fellowship and worship? It is possible to begin now to develop deep and fulfilling eternal relationships of the nature that are depicted by John in His visions. That is the goal of our Sister-Church program. It is our desire that families of believers in America might be able to develop that kind of deep and lasting bond of fellowship with families of believers in Ukraine.
Please note that I called this a Sister-Church Relationship not a Daughter-Church Relationship. There are many churches throughout our country that have initiated the planting, growth and development of daughter churches both in America and around the world. As the very name suggests, there is an inequity of relationship in this kind of structure from the outset. One church is the Mother church, while the other is the Daughter. This kind of structure implies by its nature a dependent relationship with the daughter relying on the mother for emotional, social, psychological and material support. This is not the type of structure/relationship that we wish to foster. Rather, we wish to foster a relationship between siblings on an equal footing. We believe that Ukrainian congregations have much to offer American congregations! And, of course the reverse is also true.
It is our conviction that a Sister church relationship --the development of Christian bonds of friendship and love between two congregations-- is not only a blessing to both those congregations, but is something that furthers the Unity of the Body of Christ that is so important to our Lord Himself (please refer to John 17:21-23). Our hope is that Ukrainian congregations and American congregations might begin to develop such Sister-Church relationships. And our hope is that this will, in turn, lead to an increase in cultural and spiritual dialogue between brothers and sisters of faith in different cultures and situations, furthering the unity and ministry of the Body of Christ.
In order to facilitate relationships of this nature, we have outlined below some aspects of what we might hope and expect to see as two congregations grow in their relationship with God and each other
1) Prayer support for one another
Expectations-pray for one another on a monthly to bi-monthly basis, sharing openly with one another prayer needs and praises as well as what the church has been doing.
[Requests need to be sent through Light for Life ministries where they will be translated and sent to the appropriate contact person in the church]
2) Exchange of ideas in order to grow
[This would be realized through conferences/pastor training and more.]
Another possibility could be
3) Growth in relationship via Team exchange
expectations: not expected, but is always uniquely rewarding to all involved
[In order for this to be realized on the part of Ukrainians, American families would probably have to sponsor a team member as they probably would not have enough money to pay for a plane ticket]
Many American churches ask about assisting Ukrainian churches with financial support. This is a natural question. Ukraine, as a part of the still-developing Eastern Europe, is at best, a 2nd world nation. They lack many modern conveniences that we possess and life is often very difficult from a purely economic standpoint. However, as James points out to us in his epistle, God has chosen for the poor of this world to be rich in faith. (James 2:5). We have found that many Ukrainian Christians are richer than we are!
Of course, they still lack, at times, the basic necessities of food, clothes, or money to pay their bills. Therefore, it is possible to give financially to your Ukrainian Sister Church. Such giving is not a requirement of a Sister-Church relationship, but we hope that this may become a rewarding part of your relationship.
Some churches may think that they are too small to give much or perhaps, are a large church but already on a tight budget. We would like to just plant a thought in your mind for those of you who desire to give but think you can't. Take a church that has a regular attendance of let's say, 80 people. If each attendee gives just 1$ a month, it would be possible to support a pastor, pay for the tuition of 2-3 university students within that church, pay for emergency surgeries or other needs in your Ukrainian Sister-Church, and so on. The economy is such in Ukraine right now that a little bit of money goes a very long way. We see in Acts that the churches that Paul was working with in Asia gave financially to build up the Jerusalem church when it was in need. It is very Biblical that we give to those who have less than us so that none would have a need. We understand that by our giving, we can not wipe out poverty nor meet every need but we can do our part to share in alleviating a part of the poverty. And poverty is very real to some in Ukraine. We know of pastors who have walked over an hour one way to get to church because they lack 50 kopeks (about ten cents) for the bus fare. Others have eaten only potatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner because they lack money to buy more than that. We are not telling you this to make you feel guilty but to help you realize how just a little bit of giving will help a lot.
We realize there are many demands financially in each church and our desire is not to place more demands on you as the body of Christ but just to plant seeds of thought. If this kind of giving is done, our hope and intention is that this giving would be done in the same way that a sister might give a gift to her siblings. It is not our intention, nor our desire that an American church should provide funding in a way that would make a Ukrainian church financially dependent on outside sources. As was described above, we are not interested in creating a dependent relationship. In our opinion, this would not normally be healthy for either congregation. However, gift giving is a natural part of any healthy relationship. So, if an American congregation desires to give material gifts to their sister church, this is fine. But, this kind of gift-giving is not, nor ever will be, a necessary part of being involved in a Sister-Church relationship that our ministry helps to structure.
Should an American church sincerely feel called by God to regularly support a certain Ukrainian pastor, missionary, or ministry, and if the governing body of the local church agrees that this is what God is asking the congregation to pursue, then arrangements can be made to accommodate that sense of call. However, never under any circumstances, will an American Sister-Church be under financial obligation to support their Ukrainian counterpart. Likewise, a church choosing to regularly support a Ukrainian ministry will not be required to continue that support indefinitely. When the church feels that it is time to end such support, they are free to do so. We only ask that the American church give advance notice to their Ukrainian Sister (perhaps 3 to 6 months notice) so that the Ukrainian congregation can prepare for that transition adequately.
Should an American congregation choose to give a special financial gift above and beyond the regular support to meet a given need of their Sister Church, we will ask the pastor of that Ukrainian church to report back on how that money was used for ministry and to report on the results of the invested gift. For example, if funds were given to help provide surgery for someone, the pastor would give follow-up reports on how that person is progressing. If funds are given to provide materials for a ministry project, such as Vacation Bible School (which Ukrainians call "camp ministry", reports would indicate not only how the money was used, but also how children were impacted by the ministry, and so on. All funding and gifts will likewise go through our office, where they will be recorded and then distributed to the designated ministry or need. We will ensure that 100% of gifts/funds donated by an American Sister Church will be used for the purpose intended and only in the areas and churches designated by the giving congregation.
We believe that reporting by Ukrainian pastors is very important. This is not because Ukrainians are untrustworthy and must be held accountable (though accountability is always a good thing). The opposite is true. Ukrainian Christians are very conscientious in their work for our Lord. Rather, such reporting enables a glimpse into how God is operating in and moving in Ukraine. And we hope that this leads to a growth in faith and encouragement among American believers as well as the Ukrainians who are seeing God's activity in their situation first-hand.
We would like to address one final issue that we hope will not come up: discontinuing a Sister-Church relationship. Should one of the churches involved in a Sister-Church relationship feel that circumstances warrant a withdrawal from the relationship, they need only submit this request to our office in writing (preferably with a note relating the reasons why such a withdrawal is necessary). Our office will relay that information to the other church and within one month of the withdrawal request, termination of the official relationship structure will be completed. Should the withdrawing church later wish to re-establish the relationship, a written request must again be submitted to our office and shall be subject to review.
My family and I have been personally blessed by the relationships that we have developed with Ukrainian churches over the last three years. We trust that your congregation will also, as you become acquainted with the richness of the faith and culture of our brothers and sisters in across the sea.
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