On February 26 and 27 our church organized a women’s conference with a title from a famous Bible story: ” Woman, you are being set free…” (Luke 13:12). Forty women took part in it. The idea to have this conference was born three years ago when a team of women from our church attended a similar conference in another city. It was a time of healing and restoration of relationships with God. We had a dream to have it in our city for our women. We prayed for three years and now our dream has come true. In our church many women came to faith later in life, already hurt and broken.

 

 

They found a safe place in the church, but often, they come to worship loaded with the past hurts and pain, and take them back home when they leave the church. Not being able to experience the abundant life that Christ has for them. Inspired by powerful preaching and sincere testimonies at this conference, women felt free to open their hearts, bring them to the Cross, and to receive God’s healing and forgiveness. Each sister was prayed for individually. It was also a special time of fellowship. We believe, it is only the beginning. We want to help more women to experience freedom in Christ and help them to be happy and fruitful in the Kingdom.

-Pastor Katya Zoubkova, Tyumen United Methodist Church of Salvation

 

Religious freedom is getting tighter with all world events. Our sister church in Russia, Tyumen United Methodist Church of Salvation, tells us they have less and less opportunities to share the gospel freely outside the church building. However, the church is blossoming on the inside.

Pastor Katya reports the building, which First Methodist Midland helped build, is finally fully functional and busy every day. She tells us that with their new home, they have grown their small congregation and now they have three different worship teams. They even provide a worship service in English which is mostly attended by students from Africa and church youth.

This update from Tyumen United Methodist Church of Salvation shows us just how impactful our giving is and how we can spread the word of God thousands of miles away.

 

Below is a collection of photos sent to us from Tyumen United Methodist Church of Salvation.

Dear Pastor Tim, Linda, Billie, Sally and Diane, dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ from First United Methodist Church in Midland!

We want to thank you so much for being in partnership with our church in ministry here in Siberia in such a special way. Thank you for coming and visiting us, for fellowshipping with us, for praying and praising our Lord, for participating in His ministry here. We were “comforted together with you by the mutual faith” (Ro.1:12).

Thank you for all the gifts you brought to the church in Tyumen – computers, beautiful banner, many children’s ministry supplies, a printer, flipchart and many other gifts for the church and members of the church, for the resources for ministry and leadership development in the church. Thank you for caring for us and for the ministry here in such a special way.

We all want to thank you for participation in construction of the church building. So much has been done last year and is in process now. Every room on the ground floor is used currently for the ministries of the church. Our prayer that all the building will be serving God’s people in this part of the city.

We want to thank the team from Midland for their testimonies of faith, for the seminars on children’s ministry and in-depth Bible study. We want to thank your church for supporting and Pastor Tim for leading the seminar for pastors in Ural-Siberian region. You have been a blessing to the greater Christian community here in Urals and Western Siberia.

Members of the Tyumen UMC of Salvation send you warm greetings and their love. We are praying for your ministries in Midland, we know you are a powerful witness of Christ in the community. We pray for your pastors and staff. We pray for all members and their faith. We pray for the rain in Midland.

With Christ’s love, Rev. Katya Zubkova