“By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Hebrew 11:9-10

WHO WE ARE:

We have been ministering in Ukraine as one of the founding Pastors of Almaz church in Kyiv, Ukraine. While we were on holiday in Germany, the war in Ukraine started and we found ourselves in a difficult situation. Should we return home; home where our house is, where are material possessions are and where are friends are?

Nickolas and Kati Skopych

As we prayed for the leading of the Spirit, we believe that His desire was for us to stay here and minister in Germany. We feel like Abraham who was a stranger in a foreign land (Heb 11:9-10), but we understand that we are here for a purpose – to reach Ukrainian refugees!

Wherever we go, we remain followers of Christ first and foremost. The circumstances of life may change dramatically, but they cannot keep us from fulfilling the Great Commission.

WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW:

We continue to serve remotely in Ukraine. Over the past few months, we have organized a Ukrainian missionary service “ALMAZ EUROPE” in Gummersbach, Germany. Our ministry right now includes:

  1. Weekly church services. We hold weekly services for Ukrainians. We have about 140 people attending each week.
  2. Ukrainian Refugees. We reach Ukrainian refugees in the countries of Germany and the Netherlands.
  3. Pastoral Support. We are ministering to approximately 60 Ukrainian pastors who also find themselves outside Ukraine. Some of them are depressed and lost, and need someone to minister to their souls.
  4. We are also ministering to Ukrainian youth refugees who ended up in Europe. Our primary means of reaching them is through social media. Right now, we have contact with over 600 young people. Our teens are active in helping us minister to this group too, which is an incredible blessing.
  5. “Ukrainian Lunch”. Each month we hold a lunch with traditional Ukrainian food with the purpose of bringing a little bit of home to Ukrainian refugees. This is open to any Ukrainian – churched or unchurched – in our area, and we are seeing 300-400 people each time we do it. We have to turn people away because we only have room for 400 people. We present the Gospel at each luncheon and invite people to come to our ministries. You can see more at the link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqqV6r6FSHY
  6. We also hold weekly Men’s Club and Women’s Club meetings.
  7. As the Lord provides, we are also providing humanitarian aid to refugees.

Each of these projects requires funds to maintain. We have been blessed to have a partner church that provides us space, but we are asking the Lord for funds to allow us to continue to minister in the areas we are currently minister in.

WHAT WE DESIRE TO DO:

God has laid on our hearts deeper ministry to the Gummersbach community. As God provides, we are striving to:

  1. Create a uniquely Ukrainian center to reach unsaved people. The goal is to organize a space that will have two functions:
    • A place for evangelism events and regular meetings; a central point for inviting people to engage in Spiritual conversations;
    • A space where people can visit during the week for small gatherings and a hub of spiritual life of the church.
  2. Organize a conference “Do not waste your life in vain” for Ukrainian youth who ended
    up in Europe. We want to energize and encourage the youth to be unhappy followers
    of Christ in the circumstances where God has placed them.
  3. Organize a conference for pastors and ministry leaders who also found themselves
    outside of Ukraine.
  4. Organize a teen camp or festival. Now we are taking care of 40 teenagers and young
    people who come to our “Youth club”. And we really want to hold a large-scale event
    for them to attract new, unsaved Ukrainian refugees who live in our city.
  5. Renting an apartment to serve as a temporary base for refugees.

We ask you to join us in prayer for people of Gummersbach. If the Lord leads you to give, please donate to “Friends of Ukraine” with the button below. Select “Almaz Europe” for your contribution. We covert your prayers and your support as we minister as refugees to refugees.

Founder and leader of the ministry Nickolas Skopych

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