Bombs and baptisms
Catch up on the latest news from The Christian Chronicle.
TWO UKRAINIANS PUT ON CHRIST in baptism as plumes of smoke rose from the across the Dnieper River — Russian missiles striking the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.
Erik Tryggestad reports on those Christians celebrating new life amid wave after wave of deadly missile strikes.
Also in this week’s newsletter, Jeremie Beller reflects on the power of church camp in our latest editorial.
Bombs and baptisms
By Erik Tryggestad | President and CEO
It was just another Tuesday in Ukraine.
As Russian missile strikes rained down across the besieged nation in Eastern Europe, Churches of Christ kept preaching, teaching and conducting Bible studies with their war-weary countrymen.
In Zaporizhzhia, a city near the frontlines of the four-year-long conflict, two women decided to give their lives to Christ in baptism after studying with minister Andrii Bilokonnyi. He and a small group of church members took the ladies to the Dnieper River to immerse them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins.
“Just before the baptism, there was another attack that took people’s lives,” said Svetlana Shevchenko, a church member and journalist in Zaporizhzhia.
In photos of the baptisms, plumes of smoke rise from the attacks across the river.
“We saw and heard the explosions and at the same time heard the women confessing Jesus as their Savior.”
“We saw and heard the explosions,” Bilokonnyi said, “and at the same time heard the women confessing Jesus as their Savior.”
In a text message, Shevchenko added, “We live in such a city and such a world. The devil takes lives, but God saves for eternal life! What a blessing to be together with the Savior!”
The attacks on Zaporizhzhia are part of an intensive wave of Russian strikes across Ukraine in recent days. In the capital, Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called one such raid “one of the most massive ballistic attacks” since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, the BBC reported. Meanwhile, Ukraine has launched multiple drone attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, leading to a nationwide fuel crisis, Reuters reported.
As they assess damage from the recent strikes, Bilokonnyi and his family make plans to distribute relief through Program for Humanitarian Aid, a Texas-based nonprofit supported by Churches of Christ.
Seeing ‘God’s hand at work’
In the midst of the attacks, more than 400 Ukrainians gathered in western Ukraine for Camp Amerikraine, an annual retreat sponsored by Churches of Christ in the U.S. and Ukraine. Jeff Abrams, the camp’s founder, reported multiple baptisms during the camp and in the days after at Churches of Christ across Ukraine.
“Thank you to all who travel a difficult path to get here,” Abrams, director of the nonprofit Rescue Ukraine, said in a message from the camp. “Thank you to the team that plans and organizes everything. Thank you to all who pray and pay for this annual family reunion to occur.”
One member of the organizing team, Stas Kuropiatnykov, was baptized at Camp Amerikraine 20 years ago.
“Back then, I had no idea what God was preparing for my future,” said Kuropiatnykov, who now ministers for a Church of Christ in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv and served a tour of duty in Ukraine’s military during the war.
“That 20-year milestone is especially meaningful to me,” the minister said. “Looking back, I can clearly see God’s hand at work through every season of my life.”
Mariupol survivors return to Ukraine
During the camp, Yevheniia Kalchuk shared her testimony of survival during the brutal siege of Mariupol in the early days of the invasion. She and her family were among 33 people — ranging in age from 9 months to mid-70s — who spent 51 harrowing days in the Mariupol Church of Christ building as the war raged around them. After an exodus that took them to Sopot, Poland, they spoke with The Christian Chronicle about their ordeal in mid-2022.
“God did not remove me from difficult circumstances,” Kalchuk said during a session for women at Camp Amerikraine. “Instead, he was with me in them. He did not stop the war. But he led me to safety.”
RELATED: War in Ukraine: Links to The Christian Chronicle’s coverage
Kalchuk and her husband, Aleksei, have welcomed two daughters into their family since leaving Ukraine. The family made frequent trips back into Ukraine to help distribute humanitarian aid. Last year, the Kalchuks made one such trip to Vinnytsia, a small city in western Ukraine. That visit led them to do what other Mariupol survivors might consider unthinkable — they moved to Vinnytsia and planted a church.
“Today that church has more than 50 people attending,” Yevheniia Kalchuk said, “and I believe God is preparing salvation for many of them. Today I am the mother of four daughters and serve alongside my husband in that church.”
Amid the horrors of Mariupol, “God (was) shaping his vessel,” she said. “He was shaping me. He is shaping all of us so that we will be ready for heaven.”
Editorial: More than just memories
By Jeremie Beller | Contributing Editor
In one of my earliest memories, I’m 3 or 4 years old and sitting on the lap of a woman from church, crying. We’re under an old A-frame pavilion, just after an outdoor worship service.
My parents have joined a shaving cream fight between Bible campers and counselors. From my vantage point, Mom and Dad seem to be losing. I’m far too young to appreciate what’s really happening.
Roughly 45 years ago, that was my first taste of church camp.
As summer draws to a close, youth ministers, parents and congregations are recovering from the tremendous work and energy poured into the most important week of the year for some children.
For many Christians, those two words — church camp — are filled with memories of silly songs and serious Bible study, late-night devotionals and lifelong friendships. Countless believers trace the beginning of their walk with Christ to a week spent at camp.
The significance of church camp is reflected in the language of both campers and staff. Camp is frequently described as a “temporary escape from the world.” For some, it provides a welcome break from the boredom of home or the demands of a summer job, band practice or athletic training.
For far too many others, however, a week at church camp offers a refuge from the painful realities of a broken or dysfunctional home.
Not every child who attends camp comes from a Christian family, and even among those who do, family dysfunction is often still a painful reality. For these campers, the week provides far more than Bible classes and recreation. It offers safety, stability and a Christ-centered community where they are loved, encouraged and known.
When done well, church camp reminds young people that faith is far more than a Sunday activity. Bible classes, worship and one-on-one conversations invite them to wrestle with meaningful questions about God and their lives.
“When done well, church camp reminds young people that faith is far more than a Sunday activity.”
Sports and other activities become opportunities to embody the life of faith. Even the goofy skits, talent shows and other camp shenanigans help campers see that the adults leading them are genuine, approachable people who love the Lord and love them. And when a camper decides to put on Christ in baptism, few experiences compare to watching fellow teenagers surround them in the pool, rejoicing as they welcome a new brother or sister into the family of God.
One other benefit of church camp is often overlooked. During a meeting of partners with Pepperdine University’s Empower and Equip Initiative for Rural and Small Churches — funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. — one participant observed that church camps play a unique role in unifying congregations.
Youth ministers, parents and volunteers from multiple churches work together to direct and host camps, bringing their young people together for a shared week of worship, study and fellowship. In the process, they build friendships that extend beyond their own congregations and create a shared identity that was once more commonly fostered through Christian universities, lectureships and other gatherings. Church camp reminds us that we are not isolated congregations but members of one body of believers, united in the mission of passing our faith to the next generation.
If you are one of the camp directors, counselors, cooks, nurses or volunteers still recovering from late-night devotionals, Bible classes, games and endless activity, remember Paul’s encouragement:
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain” — 1 Corinthians 15:58.