Ukraine evangelicals have faced huge changes

• Published in: Canadian Mennonite (Waterloo) Vol. 8; no. 3; p. 22
• Main Author: Raber, Mary
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Waterloo Mennonite Publishing Service 09.02.2004
• Subjects: Evangelism; Ukraine
• ISSN: 1480-042X

"I see degradation at work in the church," says Pavel Grishchenko, another pastor. He cites sacrificial service among the casualties of freedom. "Earlier, we couldn't do enough. We carried heavy musical instruments for long distances through the snow to get to a meeting. Nowadays you can't get people to take communion to old women in the village unless there's a car available." "We're losing unity," says Grishchenko. "Instead of submitting to church discipline, people just go somewhere else until they find what suits them." "The traditional church leaders operated alone," remembers Sergei Timchenko, director of an educational centre in Kyiv. "They were always concerned for purity... They tended to control people, not mentor them."