The Euro-Asian Federation, together with the ECB Unions and Associations of Europe, America and Australia, will hold an online conference on the Zoom platform on April 8-9, 2021. Conference topic: “Mass media after the pandemic. Increasing the efficiency of information ministry ”. The conference program can be found here - click this link.

We received Easter congratulations from brotherly unions, missions and individual churches:

PCSBA's March newsletter is available here: in Russian | in English.

Dear Brothers and Sisters! Happy Easter! Christ has Risen! Christ has risen indeed!

In its significance, this event cannot be compared to any other event in the history of the Earth. This is an event of universal proportions! The ramifications of the resurrection of Jesus Christ go beyond our salvation, redemption, forgiveness, and peace with God, but also encompass the confidence of the eternal life which we have in Him. He has risen, and because of His resurrection, thanks to His victory over death and hell, He gives us the confidence of the resurrection of our bodies!

On March 14, Good News Church in Tacoma, WA had a grand opening ceremony for the dedication of the new church building. For a long time now, the church was renting and praying that the Lord would bless the church with a place of their own, and the Lord blessed them in their search. After some remodeling, these brothers and sisters were able to move into the new building.

On March 7, 2021 together with two other local churches, our church House of the Gospel in Fresno, CA had an amazing opportunity to serve our church neighborhood in a project called, Serve Fresno. This was an event aimed at beautifying our streets and alleys and to clean up the city.

On March 21, Second Slavic Baptist Church in Sacramento had an especially joyful service during which three young brothers were ordained as deacons: Yevgeniy Ivanilov, Vladimir Kruglikov, and Vladimir Lobkov. The ordination was officiated by Ivan Mileyev, Vladimir Petrovich Brutskiy-Stempkovskiy, Viktor Koleukhov and other local pastors.

On Saturday, March 27, from 9 am to 5 pm, the “Personal Evangelism” seminar will be held at Bethel Church. The seminar will be conducted by Pastor Vasily Chursin, director of the “EE - From Heart to Heart” ministry in Eastern and Central Siberia. The seminar program includes:

On March 10-14, 2021, a group of people went to a missions trip to Mexico to host a two-day camp for the local children. The group was made up of 30 members from the churches of two cities – Sacramento, California, and Salem, Oregon.

On February 27, Second Slavic Baptist Church hosted the Association's pastors conference. The conference was attended by over 30 church pastors and provided multiple seminars.

"Moms in Prayer" ministry is organizing a prayer breakfast on Saturday, March 27 at 9:30 am at Bryte Church, 1000 Sacramento Avenue, West Sacramento 95605, Room 202.

PCSBA’s February newsletter is available here: in English | in Russian.

Greetings to you dearly beloved brothers and sisters! Lately, the circumstances were hostile against the Sunday School ministry and it was unrealistic to host any events for those serving in the Children's Ministry. However, the department regularly had meetings with their committee in order to be ready to organize the conferences and retreats as soon as they would be allowed. That opportunity presented itself on February 5-7. The retreat was hosted at Zephyr Point –Lake Tahoe Conference & Retreat Center. It should be noted that this is a wonderful, convenient and picturesque place on the shores of Lake Tahoe, where a magnificent panorama of the lake surrounded by mountain peaks opens right from the windows. Taking advantage of the free time allotted in the schedule, everyone really enjoyed taking walks out in the open while being filled with gratitude to the Creator for a wonderful weather and a stunning beauty of His creation. 

On January 30, a master's program was held at the Montebello Church. The students were taught by Alexey Ivanov a course on the Old Testament (see pictures below). On February 2-5, a session was held in Spain. The program takes place at the Zoom site, and was taught by Sergey Pronin: "Doctrine about the Church and the End Times".

On Friday evening, February 19, Adolf Andreevich Pichaj went home to be with the Lord, whom he had served since his youth. Here is what his son writes about the last days of Adolf Andreevich:

The representatives of the Associations of ECB churches in America who are in charge of the organization of the missionary congress had their meeting on February 19. The main question of the meeting was when and where will the International Missionary Congress take place. After a lot of thinking and deliberation, everyone came to a unanimous decision to have it on May 20-22 of 2022 in Sacramento, CA.

The Association's committee had their latest meeting at the Association's office on February 19. About half of its members were present in person while the rest participated through ZOOM. These types of meetings create an interesting dynamic of fellowship and decision making. Interestingly, although the meeting was in this mixed format, the important issues were resolved.

Over the last few years, God allowed us to take a part in sharing the Gospel with many people who just recently arrived from the countries of the former Soviet Union. In the Fall of 2018, we had the opportunity to organize an event at the park for close to 500 people. With some of them, we were able to establish connections and long-lasting friendships. It is impressive to observe so many immigrants who are currently residing in Sacramento and who came from various regions of the former Soviet Union. The main difference that we noticed during conversations with people is that the previous immigrants arriving to the U.S. for the most part already had relatives with whom they were able to reunite. The present immigrants, however, come not as legal immigrants and do not have any relatives or friends. This is a very desperate step that they have to take in order to hope for a better future for themselves and their families.

PCSBA's January newsletter is available here: in Russian | in English.

Gary Ball is a teacher, mentor, and has done missionary work in India. Gary with his wife Jan, a certified family counselor, have served as an excellent example of self-sacrifice and love for the Lord at Grace Avenue Bible Church for five years. They are now moving to Idaho, where the Lord will use them in new serving capacities. In his interview with David Karkhut, one of the leaders at Grace Avenue Bible Church, Gary Ball shares his personal testimony on his journey of faith, his understanding of the mission field, and about the importance of mentoring and training up young preachers who would continue his vacancy.

Last year has proven to be a very difficult year for many and it is uncertain what is in store for us. People are troubled and are looking for answers. Some of them are in fear of the upcoming day. But we as Christians who are going through the same things have a confident hope in God and His promises. We know that we are not alone, and God will never leave us and He will lead us through all of life’s difficulties. That is a reminder to us from God’s ministers who are our church pastors, and who encourage us through their sermons.

Life at Sierra Pines Camp is moving along at a fast pace this winter!  We are glad to be able to report that a new camp manager is now in place at the camp!  Vitaliy’s expertise in camp maintenance is a great asset and we are glad to have him and his family join us.  Additionally, a husband-and-wife team relocated to the camp to perform janitorial and custodial services.  This will ensure that that we are able to accommodate a greater number of AirBnB customers at the camp!  

Hayward Slavic Evangelical Christian Baptist Church officially changed its name. It is now Mission Boulevard Baptist Church. 

Greetings dear churches! The past, 2020 year, was an unexpected year for many of us. However, what is unexpected for us is always known by our great God. He has purposes that he fulfills in ways that are beyond our understanding, but that is why he is God and we are mere humans. David reminds us that we are dust (Psalm 103:14), yet God is still, “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” He works justice, but he also does not keep his anger forever (103:6, 9). In many ways Mission Boulevard Baptist Church has seen God's mercy and grace and loyal love toward us in this past month and more so in the past year. 

Everyone is invited to the ZOOM conference, which will be held on Saturday, January 30 from 10:00 am to 11:30 am (PST). The topic of the conference: "The reliability of the Holy Scriptures."

On Wednesday, January 13th at 6:30 pm, Moms in Prayer Ministry will have an hour of prayer joining the World Day of Fasting and Prayer of the Moms in Prayer ministry. Christian sisters around the planet will unite in prayer for children and schools. For Russian-speaking women, a prayer is organized at ZOOM, the link is given below.

PCSBA's December Newsletter is available here: in Russian | in English.

In light of the challenges due to COVID 19, stepping down of Pastor Benjamin Gorelov due to health issues, and high rent cost, our Slavic Evangelical Missionary Church of Orange County decided to merge with the sister church – the Forward Church.

Was it worth it to dedicate oneself to studies for 4 years? To limit oneself in rest? To discipline oneself in reading about 380 books and to write almost 2,000 pages of essays? Was it worth it to ride the bus at night to Los Angeles on Mondays to be able to make it to class on Tuesday mornings? And then at the end of the week to come back to Sacramento. Was it worth it to limit oneself in such ways while at the same time to be active in all of the church’ activities?

As you may be aware, Pacific Coast Slavic Baptist Associations (PCSBA) owns and operates Sierra Pines Camp, a four-seasons campground and retreat center located in the beautiful High Sierras of Northern California.  As 2020 comes to a close, we want to express our sincere appreciation for your prayers and support for Sierra Pines Camp.  Even though the camp was shut down for several months due to COVID restrictions, Sierra Pines found new ways to serve by making individual cabins available for rent via Airbnb.  Praise God for that!

We got the news from Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Last night, December 10, a fire destroyed the Hope Center for women and children. Two floors are on fire when the fire brigade arrives. By miracle, none of the inhabitants was hurt except for one woman who was brought to hospital because of smoke inhalation. But all of the kids are well.

On December thirteenth, after a serious and prolonged illness, Sergei Ivanovich Neverov, a pastor and a fervent preacher, went to be with the Lord.

Sergei Ivanovich Neverov was born on December 1, 1942, in the large family of Ivan Grigoryevich and Anna Fyodorovna Neverov, in the city of Tashkent. From his childhood, at the age of five, Sergei was passionate about reading books.  His mother Anna Fyodorovna taught him to read early. Because there was not enough money to buy books Sergei needed to be creative.   He found a way to raise funds by selling ice-cold water.  Borrowing his mother’s tea kettle; he filled it with water from the well, added ice, and sold to passersby.  With the few rubles raised, Anna Fyodorovna bought books for little Sergei.  After thoroughly reading them his mother would sell those to buy new ones.  The entire family enjoyed evenings of needle point while listening to Sergei reading from his books.  Furthermore, Sergei loved poetry, which later became an integral part of his sermons.

On December 11th, the Association’s ministry leaders had their last meeting of this year. This meeting was over ZOOM, and it was dedicated to giving thanks to God for the past year and to plan the upcoming year.

With the change of leadership in the Missionary Ministry, there have been some other changes as well. There were also changes to the ministry team as well. Some could no longer be a part of this ministry while others joined their ranks. At the end of October, the team had an annual retreat and the team went to great length in making all the necessary preparations.

The prison ministry has always had enough things to do. However, lately, those who are involved in this ministry have been unproductive. Due to the pandemic, they are not allowed to come to prisons, and every form of communication with the inmates happens through writing. However, over the last two to three weeks, the Lord has accomplished amazing things in this ministry. In the past, we have never ministered to women. Suddenly we were approached by a woman named Natalya. She is 28 years old and about eight years ago she stopped coming to church. When she was attending church, she had a great joy of fellowship with Christians and enjoyed reading God’s Word. But then she grew cold and walked down the wrong path and ended up in jails.

I hope this letter finds you walking in the grace and truth of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are many things to be grateful for every single month in the life of a church. God created rhythms in weeks, months, and years to help us slow down and assess what He's been doing. He himself worked six days and rested on the seventh. Therefore, here is an update of His faithfulness in the life of our church.

PCSBA's November newsletter is available here: in Russian | in English.

Dear brothers and sisters! Happy Thanksgiving Day!

We need to always be thankful to God for everything that He gives us…This is what Apostle Paul meant when he was writing in Romans: “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28.

Our Association has finally had the long-anticipated youth retreat for everyone who is engaged in any kind of youth ministry either at their local church or in other youth ministries. The retreat took place on November 13-15 at Sierra Pines Camp.

On November 7, Grace Avenue Bible Church hosted the 13^th annual Missionary Reunion, which was attended by representatives from various churches of our Association:  First and Second Slavic Baptist Church, Bryte Church, Living Stones Church, Mission Bible Church (Bay Area), Grace Family Church, and Cornerstone Church. There were also guests from Russia: American missionaries from Moscow and Ufa, and Word to Russia Mission in West Sacramento.

On October 31, the First Slavic Baptist Church of Sacramento hosted an annual meeting of the Association’s ministers. The meeting was attended by the church pastors, the Association’s ministry leaders, as well as the members of the Executive Committee of the Association.

PCSBA's October newsletter is available here: in Russian | in English.

On October 3-10, there was an apologetics conference, “Jesus on Trial” with the involvement of well-known authors and apologists. The goal of the conference was to strengthen the people’s faith in Christ, and especially to defend the reality of His resurrection. The conference’s attendees were primarily teens and youth who were fluent in English. For those who did not understand English, there was Russian translation that was made available.

In light of the upcoming election, on behalf of The Pacific Coast Association I invite you to unite in prayer, which will take place on November 1, 2020. This is a prayer for our bigger home, for the country, which we love and care for, both in the present, as well as in the future. The United States is at the crossroads, and the outcome of this election will have a huge impact on the future of this country.

On October 9 and 10 the Light of the World Church hosted the training session where two subjects were taught: Theology, and Spiritual Development. This was the second session, and we are grateful to God for such an opportunity. In light of the pandemic, it is uneasy to begin the year of instruction, but thank God that He opened “the doors” for us at this time.

PCSBA"s September newsletter is available here: in English | in Russian. 

If you have children or grandchildren, work with children at church, or you have neighborhood children whose parents you know, please take note of the information below and pass it along to others. Schools are distributing this book to children through the Scholastic Book Club.

«So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. » (Rom. 14:19)

At first glance, what is so special about regular fellowship with another? Why is it so important to have such fellowship? What can we offer to our companion and what can we gain in return? What are we seeking and what is our purpose in fellowshipping with others? The Word of God calls us to seek that which serves for peace and building up of another, and that is exactly what we are encouraging our youth to do.

«Northern Thunder» or «Church of the Almighty God» is a fast-growing cult whose proponents pose as Christians, but are actually twisting and rejecting the biblical teaching.