The Evangelical
Lutheran congregation in Johannestal has been revived.
Here
is a report of what
happened written by Pastor Serhiy Somin on May 23,
2000.
Praise be to Jesus Christ!
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
With great respect to you and to your request to tell about the regeneration of the congregation of the village of Ivanivka (Johannestal) of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church, I Serhiy Somin the president of the congregation and a deacon (now pastor), together with the Deacon Vadym Kolesnyk, will tell you about the life of the congregation.
Mission work in the village of Ivanivka began in the middle 90's, after the fall of the communist regime. A newly-created congregation of Lutherans in the city of Mykolayiv (Nikolayev in Russian) started the mission work in the village of Ivanivka fulfuilling the request of several village residents of German origin who, together with their parents, had been members of the Lutheran congregation of the village of Ivanivka before 1943. Trusting God alone and relying on His help, these people have preserved faith in their hearts during the horror-filled communist years. Communists took everything from them - the Bible, possessions, the church, but they couldn't take away their faith, and we with God's help are starting the mission work and have seen that the people were, since childhood, taught Luther's catechism and the basics of the Christian faith. They, having nothing, remained faithful Christians and confessors of their faith. In the middle 90's all who desired them received copies of Luther's catechism and the Holy Scriptures - that is what the mission work began with.
Due to God's grace and blessing on July 10, 1998, on the basis of the Ukrainian Law "On the Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations," taking into account the request of the faithful, the constitution of the congregation was officially registered. Later on, the congregation joined the Ukrainian Lutheran Church (ULC) and was comprised of 10 adult souls, mostly women. Concerning men there is a problem of moral decay and alcoholism in the village. That is true even in regard to the young people and even children. The only way of salvation is preaching the Word of God in all its power and purity.
In August of 1999, due to God's blessing, Bishop Yaroslav Shepelyavets sent two deacons of Saint Sophia Seminary for mission work and the Ministry of the Word. They are supervised by Pastor Oleh Stetsiuk from the city of Sevastopol and in part by Pastor Sonne from the city of Mykolaiv.
Today there are 26 adults and 30 children in the congregation. And if this is the will of God, we are planning to conduct the first Confirmation Service on the Day of Pentecost. Today the worship services are being conducted in the building of the former church, which unfortunately belongs not to the congregation but to the local collective farm because of the fact that it had been taken away by the Soviets in 1943. That's why the congregation, using some archival data and the testimony of the members of the former congregation and on the basis of the Ukrainian Law, are corresponding with the Chairman of the City Administration with the purpose of having the church returned to its owner; i.e. to the ULC congregation of the village of Ivanivka.
On April 22, God blessed us with two baptisms - one an infant and a twelve-year- old girl whose parents are members of the congregation. These are the first baptisms which have been conducted since the time of the reestablishment of the congregation. It is noteworthy that this baptized infant boy named Valentine is the only newly born child over the last five years. As the result of moral and more importantly spiritual decay, the village death rate is higher than the birth rate. The economic situation is bad and yet we thank God for all of His blessings - the Word of God is being preached and yields its fruit among the villagers.
The work of the Sunday School has begun in the congregation. There is a small youth group. The choir has been organized. Today we take care that the children receive a good Biblical education, since that is our future. We have also been able to organize free lunches in the local elementary school for the kids whose parents cannot afford to do this either entirely or partially.
Several times now, humanitarian aid has been distributed from our American brothers. The Humanitarian Committee has given things to everyone according to his or her need.
Partial cosmetic renovations have been carried out in the church building. We thank God for all blessings He gives us. We also thank you for your aid and ask you to pray for our church and its revival. We need your sustenance of prayers because we openly and truly work on the territory of Satan and thus have problems. We trust and rely on God and ask for His help.
With honor to you, brothers and sisters in Christ. The Congregation of the Village of Ivanivka (Ivanovka or Johannestal), from Deacon Vadym Kolesnyk and the president of the congregation Deacon (now Pastor) Serhiy Somin.
I Corinthians 15:57-58 But thank God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Stand firm, then, my dear fellow Christians, and let nothing move you. Always keep on doing a great work for the Lord since you know in the Lord your hard work isn't wasted.
Pastors and Congregations of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church
Chuhuyev - Ihor Khustishvili
Donets'k - Vadim Kolesnyk*
Feodosiya - Vladislav Baydak
Ivanivka - Serhiy Somin* - used to be the German Lutheran village of
Johannestal in the Berezan District
Ivano-Frankivs'k - Oleh Yukhymenko - used to be called Stanislau in German,
which used to be the center of the German and Ukrainian Lutheran Churches in
Galicia
Kharkiv - Ihor Khustishvili
Kherson - Serhiy Somin*
Koktebel - Vladislav Baydak
Korostuyshiv - Serhiy Borsch*
Kramators'k - Pavlo Bohmat*
Kremenetz - Andriy Honcharuk
Kyiv (central) - Bishop V'yacheslav Horpynchuk
Kyiv (left bank) - Yuriy Fizer
Lazarivka - Andriy Honcharuk
Lviv - Olexander Simashko
Mariupol - Vadim Kolesnyk*
Mykolaiv - Olexander Sonne
Radomyschl - Serhiy Borsch*
Rivne - Andriy Honcharuk
Sevastopol' - Oleh Stetsiuk
Simferopol' - Ihor Ratushniy*
Simferopol' - Vladislav Baydak
Slovians'k - Pavlo Bohmat*
Ternopil' - Joel Rakos (from the Evangelical Lutheran Synod) - St. Sophia
Lutheran Seminary is located here
Tokmak - Vadim Kolesnyk*
Vinnytsia - Deacon Vadim Zinchenko
Vorobiyivka - Vice-Bishop Taras Kokovskiy
Zaporizhia - Serhiy Zuyev
Zhytomyr - Serhiy Borsch*
Zuya - Vladislav Baydak
Seminary Graduates 2001
Compiled by Horst W. Gutsche, March 18, 2002