Pastor’s Journey Charts Country’s Progress
The experience of pastor Pavel Golub of Apostolovo, Ukraine, demonstrates the progress of the Church of God in the former Soviet republic.
The Calling
Pastor Pavel Golub was born into a large, Christian family in Russia in 1959 and committed his life to Christ in 1978. He sensed that he had a calling on his life, and his ministry soon developed from youth work into evangelism and church planting. Under communism, it was forbidden to hold church meetings; still, the believers wanted to come together to pray and to grow in the Lord. On one occasion the militia interrupted their youth meeting, and the house owner was fined for allowing the group to meet there.
Pavel was married in 1979 and entered military service the following year. “The state tried to shake my belief in God,” he remembers. “They considered each believer to be a potential traitor of the country.” After the military, Pavel returned to his hometown, preaching in church, spending nights in prayer for revival and memorizing entire passages from the New Testament. He traveled throughout various Soviet republics, planting churches and starting prison ministries.
A New Church
In 1998, Pavel sensed God was urging him to leave his home country. The churches in Russia had grown both quantitatively and spiritually and were planting new churches on their own. He moved his family to Ukraine, and their services soon took on a new character with the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. “Some pastors and churches tried to prevent this move of the Spirit, so we planted a new church in the town of Apostolovo,” Pavel explains. In June 2000, having made the decision to start a new church, a small group of people began church services in the Golubs’ home. This young church quickly developed and, within half a year, had to move its services into a rented auditorium. The congregation then consisted of 70 people, besides three church groups they were caring for in the surrounding villages. The ministry grew.
In the summer of 2007, while serving as a regional overseer for 22 churches, the Lord gave Pavel a revelation that involved three clear actions:
– Beginning a weekly prayer meeting,
– raising up new leaders to take on responsibility,
– and constructing a church building for the growing congregation.
“Through this vision it became clear to me that I could not devote myself fully to preparing pastors while also serving as regional overseer, so I decided to focus my attention on the ministry of training pastors,” he tells.
The Lord has blessed Pavel’s obedience, and the church has grown numerically and spiritually. The members eagerly share the good news of Christ with the lost, and they have witnessed the real, life-changing power of the gospel. Broken families have been restored, and many people have been delivered from drug and alcohol addiction. In fact, the church is currently developing a rehabilitation program in order to do even more to meet this critical need in their community.
Construction of a New Building
Since then, the church has outgrown its rented facilities. When they purchased a building plot in 2007, God granted them favor with the property owner, allowing them to secure the land for much less than the competing bids. With the assistance of a charitable mission, the congregation was able to construct the frame of the church building in 2008. Pavel shares, “My dream would be to complete the church building in 2009, and we pray for the Lord’s favor in financing the construction.” A further $80,000 will be needed before the congregation can use the building. The most immediate needs include the roof, windows, doors and plaster for the outer walls, so the building can be shielded from Ukraine’s harsh weather during the winter months. The sooner the congregation can move into the building, the sooner they can stop paying rent for a meeting place and can put those expenses toward the further construction.
Pastor Golub has now been in full-time ministry for over 20 years and is an enrichment to the work of the Church of God in Ukraine. He and his wife Luba have seven children and five grandchildren who are all serving the Lord and are active in the church.
Would you partner with us in helping him and his faithful congregation to complete the vision that the Lord has placed on their heart for a church home from which they can reach the people of Apostolovo?
Dieter Knospe, Field Director
Apostolovo, Ukraine
Church Building Project Number: 1329061
