Makarov Christian Church

Pastor Maxim Mamakin

Baptism is a consolation in the midst of war, when the temporal turns into the eternal. We hasten to share with you the joy of the Lord that seven more souls have entered into a covenant with the Lord. This was an unscheduled additional baptism, as we usually have not baptized people in the winter for a long time. We remain faithful to our calling to make disciples, and you are faithful to us!

Those being baptized are immigrants. ​These people become part of the church, and our family grows. May God bless you for the labor you do in praying for us and helping us in every way possible. Share our joy in this labor as it is your fruit as well. You sow, we reap, but we rejoice together

Baptism

​The new year, 2025, began for our community with a festive and important event for every church: - water baptism. Four sisters and three brothers made a covenant with God. It is interesting that all these people at different times in the last two years, after Makarov was liberated from the Russian army, came as immigrants from the eastern regions of our country. Leaving their homes, their relatives and everything they and their families had received throughout their lives - came here to find something much more valuable and important here - a new family, church, support and a real relationship with Christ.

​The ages of the newly baptized range from fourteen to seventy-four. Among them there are a mother and daughter, the son of one of our rehabilitants, the husband of a wife who had been baptized before, and the fiancée of a man who had long ago made a covenant with God while still living in the Donetsk region.

Such different ages and status of our new church members encourages and calls us to serve different people, in different directions, in different areas and unites us around Christ. The Lord is always looking for faithful people who are ready to go and spread the Good News. Pray for us to be attentive to the call of God, to go and serve those people whom the Lord has already prepared for Himself. Pray for those who have been baptized, that they may be fully joined to our family, and that in this fellowship they may be able to be comforted in all their sorrows. Pray for those who are contemplating baptism, that their hearts would be open and willing to choose Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Ministry

​The war continues. We pray for peace and victory, but now the Lord is leading our country even more so. More of our brothers are joining the military and going to defend us, our homes, our lives. Three people, Ilya (a member of our church), Vitaly and Igor (relatives of our church members) have been missing for a long time. We pray for any news about them, pray for their families and trust God in everything.

​More and more villages and towns continue to be captured by the enemy in eastern Ukraine. More and more people are fleeing the war and coming to us in Makarov and neighboring villages. Our brothers are actively involved in the evacuation of such families. Now we are preparing another house for the possibility of living for a family that will be able to come to us the next day. Before the new year we received a large family with 5 children, who have already been displaced twice since 2014 because of the war in Ukraine. The three older brothers and one of the sisters are already getting all the documents to transfer by study to the local school. The family needs everything for their studies from notebooks and pencils to briefcases and clothes. These children have spent the last 2 years just sitting at home and studying online to the sound of guns. We as a church desire to support this family in their needs as well as other families who are in need of wood to heat their homes, warm clothes, and food. Many, especially single displaced women live in Makarov in a modular town - in addition to our worship services, they always attend home groups and a doctrinal study. And one more such complex for older single immigrants is located in the village of Kolonshchina, which is 15 kilometers from Makarov. We have begun to invite those who wish to come to our Sunday meeting. We gladly take everyone and bring them back by car.

Prayer Needs For MHC

Under all these circumstances, we see how the Lord is leading us to a new, but very relevant ministry. ​And the most recent celebration of baptism shows that this is really important, both for the church and for Christ.
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Pray that the Lord will bless:

• The entire ministry of the church and the building of the House of Prayer
• The filling of houses of rehabilitation and the growth of new ministers
• Our country with peace and the end of war