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A report by Jim Mumper, Sweden Here in the Nordic Vineyard churches (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) we normally have an annual summer camp (with the 2 Covid years being the exception). In the past we have been able to host many Ukrainians at this event as well as others from other nations. To put the summer camp in the words of John Mumford “It’s the best thing going in the Vineyard internationally!” we are usually a bit over 1000 people living in either caravans, tents or hostel rooms spread out over a campground that also has a large dining facility, various meeting rooms and cafes as well as a large conference hall. We also generally have various guest speakers from the Vineyard world that are our guest speakers. This year we had Dave & Colleen Petersen from South Africa, who have frequented us many times, as well as Mike Pilivachi from Soul Survivor as our guests along with Anna Beth Morgan from the US as guest worship leader. We always have translation at these meetings – with all of our main meetings being in English at both the Youth camp and the Adult camp. We were able to also provide translation to Russian in the adult meetings, while the Ukrainian youth were able to handle the English for the most part. Photo: Dave and Colleen Pederson from South Africa We also were able to host about 35 Ukrainians who have been displaced from the war. Other guests included a group from the Vilnius Vineyard in Lithuania. The Ukrainians that were there have mainly been settled in Norway and Sweden, with some in Germany and Lithuania. It really was a fantastic week, as usual, but in particular for our Ukrainian friends who were able to meet and hang out with other Ukrainians in the same situation of being resettled. Probably 65% of them were already Christians while the others were not, but as the Holy Spirit has His way, that stat is rapidly changing and the interactions within this group was so gospel good. Our camp is generally divided into 3 age categories: Children ages 1 to 12, with appropriate divisions within, Youth ages 13 to 20, and then everyone else. This year we were also able to cater to the needs of Ukrainian kids in Ukrainian/Russian. It is hard to sum up what this week meant for these displaced families other than to say that it was truly magical for them. We took 100% of the costs for them to be there, and it was so worth it, especially when we spoke to all of them individually to ask how the week was for them. We have 18 Ukrainians here with us in our church, although only 13 of them were able to attend, but when I asked one of our 15 year old girls how the camp was for her, she just broke out sobbing saying “I don’t want it to end!” She was previously brought up in a secular home, but she was able to experience the love of God in a tangible way and sensed the Holy Spirit moving in her heart. We also baptized 2 Ukrainians at the camp. It was a lot of work to get them all there as well as making sure things moved along well at the camp and when it was over, I felt like I really needed a vacation! Last week in our city, we were able to assist a Ukrainian group that had a week-long day camp for Ukrainian kids which ended last Friday in our church with a concert and a BBQ behind the church building. (Our church building is very central in the city and the back of our church has a grass area that merges into a large park.) All in all there were 125+ Ukrainians that were part of this with about 75 of them being kids. It was such a joy to see them all get together everyday and make new friends with those who can relate to one another. Quite honestly I was shocked at how many Ukrainian kids we have in the city. Our church is well positioned to minister to Ukrainians being that we have several people in the church who can speak Ukrainian, plus the leader for our children’s ministry is herself Ukrainian who is married to a Swede, making it easier for us to be able to host them in our church meetings. Jim Mumper is the pastor of the Norrköping Vineyard, Sweden, and long-term missionary working in Russia and Ukraine.

Recently I (Russell) had the opportunity to visit some of the church pastors in Ukraine. It was a good time to eat, speak and pray together. Each church has its own unique culture, opportunities and challenges that it is facing. In the following articles I will try to introduce you to those men and women who are working hard to grow and develop healthy Vineyard churches in Ukraine. Please hold them in your prayers as you read. We currently have 3 Vineyard churches in Ukraine; one in Kremenchuk, one in Kyiv and the other in Lviv. There is also a homegroup that is meeting in Odesa and a charity that looks after disabled children and adults in Zhytomyr. It would be great if in the future there will other new churches and charities in these and other regions of Ukraine. Perhaps you could look at the map below and pray for the expansion of God’s kingdom over these cities and regions. Alexander Goncharenko – Pastor of Kremenchuk Vineyard Alexander (Sasha) Goncharenko was born and raised in Kremenchuk. He is the father of 2 daughters, and husband of one wife. He was formerly a photographer and an electronic department salesman. Currently, he is full-time pastor of the church in Kremenchuk. It has not been an easy ride since he became pastor of the church back in 2016. He remembers distinctly how before this he had promised God in prayer that he wanted to serve, and was willing to do the jobs that even others didn’t want to do. Then in 2016 he was asked to take on the role of pastor of the church. It was then that God reminded him of those prayers and promises that he had made. Despite many difficulties and hardships he has faithfully served the church, and continues to do so in these difficult days of war in Ukraine. The best parts of the job for Sasha are seeing people grow in faith and in their giftings. He loves the opportunity to pray for people, and help people to see the gifts they have been given by God. Although Sasha often seems inconspicuous, it is because he is busy serving those members of the church and wider community. The biggest challenges that he sees in the near term are ones that will affect the entire city – a lack of heating. Several Russian missile attacks have left the city’s heating system inoperable, and so it is looking set to be a long, cold winter in Kremenchuk. Another big challenge is the loss of jobs and the increase in internally displaced people. Whilst I was visiting I had chance to see how the church had furnished the local bomb shelter, and also how Sasha was serving the church and the community through support and distributing humanitarian aid, as well as helping elderly members of the community fill in paperwork and applications for support. Sasha’s biggest prayer now is for wisdom, and also for time to enjoy the greatest gift of God, which are his family and relationships that God has given him. There is also a dream of being able to rent a place where the church can meet on a more stable basis. Photo: Vasiliy (left) and Sasha (right) in Kremenchuk Denis and Olya Kondyuk – New City Vineyard Church, Kyiv Denis and Olya are the husband and wife team who lead the New City Vineyard Church in Kyiv. They started the church in 2020 just in time for the start of Covid-19, and are now pastoring the church through the troubles of war. Despite these difficulties they remain optimistic about what God is doing. Denis was born in Vinitsa region of Ukraine, as a student he moved to Kyiv, where he stayed and is currently a lecturer in theology. Olya was born in Kyiv, before moving with her family to Perm, then Mongolia, before returning to Kyiv in 1989. They are both currently working at the Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary just outside Kyiv as well as pastoring the New City church. For Denis and Olya it is important that the church has firm Biblical foundations and that it is a place where people are able to think about faith and be ready to think and give rational answers for what they believe. The dream is also for a church that serves those who want to serve the city; that includes volunteers and those want to be involved in changing society. Many people are already serving in many spheres, and Olya highlighted that it would be great if the church could come alongside those people and together find answers to difficult questions. New City church would love to see more professionals involved in church life and able to influence the culture with Godly values. One of the best parts of church life is how people want to stay around at the end of the service and chat further. New City church has offered a place for people to come together and discuss life and its challenges as well as to pray together. Olya mentioned how it is great to worship together with others, especially through song and music. Slowly this aspect of church life is growing. For Denis the chance to work together with others and see how things come together whilst being led by the Holy Spirit. He also valued the way that church was able to demonstrate care for each other. He mentioned how another member of the church, also called Denis, had supported him and his family through these difficult times. At the moment the team is still small, and Denis and Olya feel that this is not the right time to overwhelm people with new projects and tasks. That said, the do have a vision to see the team grow, and see people who are willing to take on some responsibility for leading new initiatives. Part of that dream is to find a space which will allow events to happen, people to gather and think and discuss together. It is particularly a place to bring together both believers and non-believers. Another aim is to allow the stabilization of weekly meetings, and develop an increasing openness to new people. Now seems like a crucial time to take the opportunities that God is providing; particularly to help those who are leading in the church and serving others in the wider community. Serving those who serve is a major part of Denis and Olya’s vocation, whether it be working with volunteers who are delivering humanitarian aid, business people involved in economic spheres, or indeed any leaders who are serving in all areas of society. Denis also recalled the need for much wisdom to find those who are genuinely in need. At this stage of the war people are tired and losing motivation and energy so now is the time to get ready for the long haul. Of course Denis and Olya hope for a quick end to the war, but are also preparing for the fact that it may last for some time to come. Vasiliy Kostetskiy – Lviv Vineyard Church Vasiliy was born in Vinytsa Oblast, but his parents moved to Crimea when he was only 1 year old. It was there, in Simferopol, that he became a Christian. He served in the church as a childrens’ pastor, and recalls the advice that ‘all future pastors should start with children’s ministry’! After the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 he felt called to move to Lviv in Western Ukraine. This idea to move to Lviv had already been planted in his heart some years earlier while he was studying at the Vineyard Leadership School. He’d had a dream of going to Lviv and starting a church there. Whilst in Kyiv, after receiving this dream, he had an incredible experience of seeing an amazing salvation and radical change in the life of a woman he had prayed for. It was, for Vasiliy, a confirmation that he was making the right decision to go Lviv. One of the highlights of church life for Vasiliy is the missionary journeys; whether it be trips on to the streets to serve food to the homeless, or praying for people to be saved and receive healing, or all of these together. Whereever he is Vasiliy loves serving people through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and equally enjoys teaching others how to do the same! At the moment, the biggest challenge for the church in Lviv is building a team. Vasiliy dreams of gathering those who share the same values and who are willing to take responsibility for areas of ministry. As part of the compassion work of the church, the Lviv Vineyard has also recently started a charity fund. This charity is particularly focussed on meeting the many needs of those in Ukraine at this time of war. Vasiliy is very open to new partnerships and would love to help facilitate missionary visits to Lviv and further in to Ukraine, to serve those areas which have even greater needs. It should also be mentioned that Vasiliy’s daughter is Katya, who is married to Pavel, and that this family are currently seeking to grow a church community in Odesa. Please also keep them in your prayers.

by Oles, New City Vineyard Church The trip to Chernobyl was a success. We drove in a group of 9 people in two buses and a car. In the beginning, we had serious difficulties due to the bureaucracy in which the possibility of corruption could be seen. Local officials did not allow us to give food to the organizations that invited us and have shortage in supplies. I haven't been in situations like this for a long time, but it all reminded me of the times of the collapse of the USSR. Unfortunately, it still remains the same in many ways. We realized that we need to find out for ourselves how to help the locals. Some of our group had been to this area before and had the contact of a guide who accompanied tourists in peacetime. In this way we managed to guide ourselves and find someone to go to. We distributed the products to two military units (approximately 30 people each) and also to local civilians - self-displaced people. We just stopped near the houses, where traces of living were noticed. So we found 19 residents and had the opportunity to communicate with those who live there permanently. Most of them were there during the Russian occupation. It was interesting to hear their stories It was an intense time of fellowship, testimony, and prayer. There are plans for the future to continue to help people in those places.

Ukrainians are experiencing unprecedented physical, psychological and emotional trauma due to the ongoing war. There are not enough specialists to meet the needs of more than 35 million Ukrainians experiencing some level of trauma, so Wide Awake International launched a call centre made up of trained Ukrainian operators and a team of psychologists to oversee the initiative. If you know anyone who needs some support, please have them call... +380 67 480 63 78 +380 50 590 10 42 +380 63 250 60 65

The day of Pentecost is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom of God prior to this day could only be present in Christ Himself, but on this day it became available to His Church. Being filled with the Spirit before the day of Pentecost was an exclusive event for a select few. And only for a while. On this day, the democratization of access to God took place. Rich and poor, men and women, people from different regions of Palestine were equally filled with the Spirit and began to preach and glorify God in different languages. The kingdom not only appeared to them, but the Spirit immediately made them servants and heralds of the kingdom. John quotes Jesus as saying that He is the true vine that one must abide in in order to bear fruit to God. But it is on this day that these words take on meaning and power, because the only way to abide in Christ is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Vineyard Churches value the importance of being filled with the Spirit and being sensitive to His work, His voice. The day of Pentecost is both the beginning of the expansion of the Kingdom, which is already here, but yet to come, and the beginning of the growth of the Vine, which bears fruit through the local communities. And it is also a celebration of God's sensitivity to people, because not only people hear God on this day for the first time in such a massive way, but God also speaks to people not just in an understandable language, but in the languages ​​of their various homelands. For the work of the Spirit is about respect for our uniqueness, it is about respect and sensitivity to our home, native language, native problems. The Spirit does not make identical imitators of Christ out of all, but, revealing their diversity, creates a multi-colored bouquet of the Church. Happy Trinity Day (for on this day God is revealed to people in full, as the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit)! Автор: Денис Кондюк Пастор церкви «Нове місто», Київ

Vineyard churches in the Nordic region have been active in Ukraine since 2005 when collectively they sent out a team from various churches in Sweden to Odesa with the purpose of planting a church there. The leader of the church plant then was Henrik Ahlström from the Norrköping Vineyard. Jim Mumper was the pastor of the Norrköping Vineyard and was the overseer for the Vineyard Nordic’s work in Ukraine and Russia. As life happens while being on mission in foreign countries, Henrik as well as one other team member from the Norrköping Vineyard, both each met their wives in Odesa. After several years passed these couples eventually relocated back to Sweden with their wives who have now integrated quite well in Sweden. Currently, one of the Ukrainian wives serves as Children’s pastor in the church in Norrköping. Spinning the time machine forward to March 24 2022 – Russia starts their war against Ukraine, with rockets and missiles hitting several cities all at once creating terror across the nation. Henrik’s wife, Olya, and Andreas’ wife Nastia received reports of missiles being fired into Odesa and their families wanting to get out. So on the 4th day of the war, 4 of us drove down to the border and retrieved these families. Returning back to Sweden, honestly we didn’t have a plan, but when we got back home, we took these people we rescued into our homes to stay. It was of course quite a shock for these displaced family members, but they all experienced peace and safety in Sweden. But something happened on that trip. In actuality it was a combination of things that happened. First of all, I, Jim Mumper, had another “calling encounter” with the Lord. God broke my heart for the plight of Ukrainians in general, and in specific, those we brought up to Sweden. The second thing that happened was the response from so many people on social media to what we did. Honestly, all we did was drive 1600 kilometers down to the border area, spend the night, and then pick up some people and drive back to Sweden. A good number of my friends asked me how they can support what we were doing. People from Europe, the US, Hong Kong, Australia. We didn’t have any fundraiser or plan. We just reacted to the emergency, and yet people were wanting to get involved. So we had people wanting to help, I had a “calling encounter” where God broke my heart for the hurt and pain of these people having to leave their homes and all that their lives had been because of this war. Having been a missionary for over 30 years, I had my experience with refugee camps over the years. Here in this situation, with a family living in our home, a vision was born to change the narrative of the “refugee” experience. As more and more people were expressing their desire to support what we were doing, we decided that we would reach out to a network of people we had in the Vineyard churches in the Nordic countries to see if there were families who would be willing to take a refugee family into their homes. We had a bigger response than expected. So a plan started to develop. It really has been a plan on the fly, but we were early responders to this crisis and we just sensed God breathing on what we put our hands, feet and hearts to. The financial response led us to offer Ukrainians we knew who were still in Ukraine that wanted to leave, a place to stay. Mind you, most of them were people we knew as family connections, church relationships within the Ukrainian Vineyard network, or people known to the people we assisted already. So word spread that we would pay transport by flight for anyone who wanted to leave Ukraine and come to either Sweden, Norway or Denmark. Truth be told, most Ukrainians want to stay in Ukraine – it's home, but were also in need of safety, so leaving only with some reluctance! Currently in the Vineyard Nordic, we are housing 40 displaced Ukrainians, providing them with the support and aid that they need to live in our society and thrive. Of course, surviving is good, but thriving is even better, so that is our goal for our friends. So far we have been able to provide food, housing, local transport and phones and more for these 40. From the donations we received, we are able to care for these families for at least one year. About 20 of them are in Norrköping Sweden about 10 in Larvik Norway, and 5 in Stockholm Sweden, with others in other places. In addition to these 40, we also send financial support to other groups who are housing displaced Ukrainians, both inside Ukraine as well as in the border regions. The support is going to groups who do not have easy access to support funding for the aid they are giving. In addition, we were able to purchase a 9 seater minibus and send it in to Ukraine as a gift to one of the churches in Ukraine that are involved with providing aid and transport for people in need of getting to safer places. We were also able to fill the bus with various aid, such as food, mattresses, blankets and clothing. In early May, I was able to travel to Ukraine to meet with some of our friends there. While there we were able to meet with a group who just arrived to Lviv in eastern Ukraine from Mariupol after enduring 26 days under siege in a bunker with little food and water. We were able to provide rent for them for a few months, and are monitoring if they need to stay longer, then we will support them for a longer period. We also met with some displaced Ukrainians in Poland that we were able to help with their flights to the US where they had a family to host them. While we didn’t have a plan to begin with, except to rescue some people, we have now developed a plan that we are following in the Nordic Vineyard. There are 4 phases to our plan, and we work the first 3 in tandem Emergency phase – initial rescue including transport, initial stage housing in church family homes, registration with the Migration Department, language learning, school registration for kids. Intermediate phase – finding a temporary living situation where our friends can begin to establish themselves in the society and regain some autonomy, providing food support, rents, utilities, phones, internet and local public transport fare cards, etc. In this stage they are able to live fairly autonomous and get around on their own and live somewhat on their own terms with our aid and assistance. Longer-term phase - finding housing for an indefinite amount of time, furniture and household furnishings and goods, general support for rents, utilities local public transport, bicycles, and food support as needed. By the time they are in this phase, the government is providing some support for food for them, but not for rents. We also assist them in their language acquisition with the goal of finding work to support themselves. We have just entered this phase and we should have enough in our budget to support the ones we have in our care for at least one year if needed. With the stability we currently have, we are looking to return to the earlier phases and bring some more families under our supportive care. We will likely begin with some of the families who are in refugee centers close-by and in need of more support than they are currently getting. We also will continue to be attentive to our friends who are still in Ukraine in case the war gets worse that it is now and they feel the need to escape. Rebuilding phase – when the war is over we want to have the support necessary to repatriate our friends, support them for a time – maybe 6 months or so. Some of our friends have no home to return to, so rebuilding their lives will be quite a challenge. Many of them will not have their jobs to return to. We would like to be able to provide assistance for them for getting jobs, including assistance for needed training, marketing, etc. In addition, we will be supporting the re-establishment of our churches in the nation. Two personal experiences in closing. Two weeks ago, a Ukrainian woman who is a dual citizen with Sweden and the president of the local Ukrainian club here in our city told me something that really was a blessing to hear. She is active in our whole region and visits all the refugee centers in our region. She told me that the Ukrainians we have in our care are by far the best adjusted and emotionally healthiest of ALL the displaced Ukrainians she has met here. A big part of that is because our church has really taken this opportunity to bless our guests and help them integrate. They have all become a part of our church family in such a special way. Having a Ukrainian Children’s pastor has made this also easier than it could have been. Our guests are socially connected at a deep level because of the church. The other personal experience is that for those of us who have hosted Ukrainians, most of us have expressed the feeling that having these people in our homes, it kind of feels like we have Jesus in the flesh, in our homes. It is SUCH AN INCREDIBLE BLESSING! I have been a missionary for a long time. I have seen God move in incredible ways when we just align ourselves with the places where He is doing His work, which is often with the brokenhearted, the marginalized, the poor, the homeless, victims of injustice, the refugee. As I said, we didn’t have a well thought out plan – we only responded to a crisis of need. What that has led us to has been a challenging but rewarding adventure. We couldn’t do it without the prayer and financial support we have gotten from the Vineyard Nordic churches, as well as other Vineyard churches around the world, in the US and in Australia, from friends and from family. But we definitely could not do it without the prayer and the incredible amount of financial support from one of my top missionary inspirations and friend, Jackie Pullinger and St. Stephens Society in Hong Kong. A missionary who has outgiven us all – combined – twice over! A little footnote. Whenever we step out of our church comfort zone, we find Jesus is there. We also often find resistance from the enemy. Working with displaced Ukrainians, I have actually found that the biggest critique and attack for actually caring for and housing our Ukrainian friends has come from the larger church body locally. https://www.vineyardnordic.org/church-planting/

1. It is important to keep a detailed record of what money is sent to whom and for what. 2. We have told people that our money will be spent in the following four ways as that is the basis on which we have been given it, they are: a. Immediate relief for our churches and any benevolence that they can practically express. b. Extraction of certain people, particularly the vulnerable, women, and children from the war zone areas. c. Partner with certain humanitarian organisations where appropriate such as Humedica, Tearfund, Red Cross. d. Help in the rebuilding, post-war, of the churches and their mission in Ukraine. 3. Practically: a. Immediate relief for our churches and any benevolence that they can practically express. i. Keeping the pastors of Vineyard Churches fed clothed and housed in the short term. ii. Giving relief to the families of those associated with our Vineyard churches. This may include food and clothing and accommodation on a short-term basis. iii. The expression of benevolence that can be expressed by our churches in their current locality and situation. iv. Setting up temporary infrastructure to offer relief, such as office or warehouse accommodation and vehicle costs. b. Extraction of certain people, particularly the vulnerable, women, and children from the war zone areas. i. Priority is given to Vineyard people, but others considered on a case by case basis. ii. Relief packages for refugees when fleeing the country (e.g., food for the journey). iii. Medical needs as is appropriate. c. Partner with certain humanitarian organisations where appropriate such as Humedica, Tearfund, Red Cross i. These should be based on agreed plans and objectives, with clear conditions and objectives associated with the funds given. d. Help in the rebuilding, post-war, of the churches and their mission in Ukraine i. This is the largest imponderable and in reality, the hardest area to raise money for. Long after the drama of the war is over it will require hard work and planning and money to rebuild the churches and indeed the land.

Are you currently looking for somewhere to live? Are you from Ukraine (and lived there prior to January 2022?) Would you be willing to move to the United Kingdom? At the moment we have families who are willing to sponsor your stay there for a minimum of 6 months (as required). If you and any dependents in your family are interested, please could you fill in this form as a first step. We will try and get back to you as soon as possible. https://forms.gle/nAQRG5iTVhsB5NGe8

The Vineyard has been church planting in the Ukraine since 2006 It has been a long hard journey, but the spirit of the Ukrainian people is indominable. Initially we planted: · 2 churches in the Crimea, one in Simferopol and one in Sevastopol/Lubimovka both of which were annexed in 2014 with the Pastors having to leave quickly. The churches did survive in a reduced form and currently exist on occupied territory. They do loosely relate to the Russian Vineyards, but legally they cannot associate with the Ukraine. · A Church in Kremenchug which is still going and Pastored by Sasha and Lena. · A Church in Odessa which closed after a few years, but we have just recently started a small group there with a young couple Katya and Pavel. · A Church in Kyiv which has had a chequered history with us and is now no longer part of the Vineyard, but out of that we have planted the current Kyiv Vineyard Church called ‘New City’ church pastored by Denys and Olga, helped by Russell and Masha. More recently: · In 2021 we planted a church In Lviv lead by Vasiliy. · In addition to that we have walked along side Jed and Kim Johnson who run a Ministry in Zhytomyr called Wide Awake, rehousing, and rehabilitating older severely disable orphans. It is a beautiful thing to see. · We also have a small project in Vinnytsia run by Ruslan and Marina What is happening now as at 8th March 2022. Well, it is a very fluid situation and changes by the hour. · Denys and Olga and their son have finally manged to get out of Kyiv and are holding out in a church hall in the Zakarpatiya region. Denys is a theology lecturer at a seminary Kyiv and has taken 40 seminary students with them · Russell and Masha have also managed to get out of Kyiv with their three young boys. Masha and the boys have now found their way to England to stay with Russell’s parents. Russell in the meantime is in Poland trying to buy a van for relief work and is going back to Lviv very soon, as his operating base. · Sasha and Leana are staying in Kremenchug spend much of their time responding to sirens and staying in the bunker. · Vasily in Lviv, with his group of people is doing all he can to minster to the refugees that flood through the city. · Ruslan and Marina in Vinnytsia are staying put for the time being, Ruslan has volunteered to go and fight in the war. · Katya and Pavel and their son Vlad are still in Odessa, they try to do what they can to support others, but the situation worsens by the day. · Jed and Kim and all the Wide Awake team stayed for as long as they could, but Zhytomyr started to take direct hits from bombs and missiles, some targeted at military sites others resulted in the indiscriminate killing of civilians and damaging the local hospital. They had to relocated 44 people. Most of them are now in Romania, then Jed and Kim and 6 children drove on to Germany in a non-stop Journey, without sleep, which took 34 hours. Practically, there is also an immediate need for finances, so with this in mind, we are building a fund in the UK and Ireland, which we will use for the following purposes as the story unfolds: 1. Immediate relief for our churches and any benevolence that they can practically express. 2. Extraction of certain people, particularly the vulnerable, women, and children from the war zone areas. 3. Partner with certain humanitarian organisations where appropriate such as Humedica, Tearfund, Red Cross. 4. Help in the rebuilding, post-war, of the churches and their mission in Ukraine. The funds will be restricted, but we want to let you know that if it outgrows what sits comfortably within VCUKI, we will then want to be free to use such funds through other organisations which might have more structure on the ground for distribution, as we have done in the past with Tearfund. If you would find it useful to your church, you can process giving within your church and then transfer it to VCUKI for distribution or give directly. We want you to know that there is no compulsion to give, but there has been a large number of enquiries to us, and we wanted to write to you all with the necessary information should you find it helpful for you and your church as you consider ways to respond. The details for giving are: Account Name Vineyard Churches UK and Ireland Account number 80285048 Sort Code 40-25-49 IBAN GB50HBUK40254980285048 SWIFT/ BIC HBUKGB4187W Reference Ukraine Thank you for your continued support of our brothers and sisters, as they live through this war.

Notes for the Kyiv Conference (26th February 2022) from Jeremy Cook A very warm welcome from the UK. You are very much in our thoughts and prayers as we see the build up of Russian forces. We pray for your safety and wisdom . I understand this a is a leadership conference and I wanted to give you some outline thoughts on leadership. There are many different types of leaders from pastoral to administrative, but today I want to talk briefly about pioneering leadership. That is leaders who are able to start new ministries or new churches. Some leaders are very good and maintaining, and some at pioneering. What do we mean by pioneering, we mean those who have both vision and ability to start new things such as new churches, or new small groups, or children ministry, or poor ministry. Over many years in the Vineyard we have identified five main characteristics that such leaders have. However before I discuss those I want to say that leadership is a gift from God as expressed in Romans 12:8. If we have that gift then we are told to do it well. Leaders improve with training and practice and feedback. The five characteristics that we have identified are: Vision and Calling Communication Spiritual and Emotional Capacity Gathering and Mission Leadership and Multiplication Let me give you a brief picture of each one. Vision and Calling You have in your mind a clear picture of God the Father, God as Jesus the Son- His work on earth, and God the Holy Spirit who is with us now . The Vision is the mission of God to demonstrate his love mercy and justice to a lost and broken world. That mission must include justice and mercy to the rings of humanity. As we communicate that vision form God then it connects with others who want volunteer and serve that vision. The vision is given to leaders but belongs to God. We do it in the context of who the Vineyard is in recent church history. We are called third wave, the first wave was the Pentecostal move of the spirit beginning in the Azusa St revival of 1905. That was followed by a second wave of the Holy Spirit in the Charismatic Movement which had it roots in the 1960s. Then there was a third wave starting in the late 1970s In the case of the Vineyard it was characterised by signs and wonders and kingdom theology. The Kingdom has come but not in its completeness or fulfilment. We express Vineyard values. We are about building teams to share in the work of ministry. We model a lifestyle in inviting people into our lives. We constantly work at communication vision to those around no us recognising that it inspires and releases resources. Communication. Not just public speaking but the ability to connect in many situations and be understood . It would include preaching and teaching , well planned well prepared well taught. This takes time and effort. It takes study prayer and thought . It requires the ability to communicate in difficult situations such as: Possible suicide situation Bereavement Leading difficult groups or people. Giving people feedback so they can grow as leaders. Developing your own style, we are all different. Require effort and planning - adjusting your schedule to make time to do it well. Spiritual and Emotional Capacity This is key to finishing the race. We are in a marathon not a sprint. We want to finish the race and not burn out, or fail morally in some way. Many of you will have looked at this already Self awareness is the key. There are many helpful tools such as Meyers Briggs or the Enneagram. You must understand how you function. Are you an introvert or an extrovert. Do you talk a lot or little. What fears and insecurities do you know you have. How do you deal with anger. What activities restore you, Hurts form the past , family ,marriage , sexual, rejection, this is a huge area and needs to be dealt with and healed over time. Have you developed a good fruitful personal prayer life, Do you know how to worship, in all you do, placing God in the right place . Keeping your heart free from hurt and pain. Forgiveness, thanks giving, joy, repentance. Understanding mental health , your and being able to see it in others. Stress, anxiety, , depression, anger, apathy. Spiritual formation - the disciplines of spiritual growth, fasting, silence, solitude, reflection, meditation on scripture to name just a few. Gathering and Mission Study Paul and his letters for his Apostleship, his view of the Church, his view on the Holy Spirit and his view on the resurrection. These are the instruction manuals for the early church. How to do youth ministry and connect with young people Children’s ministry Singles and singleness Building healthy marriages. Students and young adults Event planning and budgeting Street evangelism Personal evangelism and group evangelism Leadership and Multiplication Take your own pioneering leadership seriously, ask questions, get advice, reflect, get feedback NT leadership is servanthood - foot washing IRTDMN new leadership. Seek to reproduce yourself. Plan to lead for the long journey. Think in terms of 30 -40 years . Church finance and budgets Personal financial planning . Monitor and nurture leaders, they grow quicker. Women in leadership Come as you are: learn and teach about inclusion Learn to ask searching questions

JOHN WIMBER KINGDOM LIFE What are the characteristics of someone who successfully cooperates with Christ in the process of discipleship? Although the list is incomplete, there are the following signs of a mature Christian character: 1. A mature Christian is a servant. He does nothing out of a desire for selfish gain, understanding that the characteristic feature of a servant is that he obeys God's will. He doesn't do things for God; but he does things under God. And he expects nothing in return for his service. When people are disappointed (and they certainly will be), God's servant rises up, turns to God, praises Him for His grace, and asks Him for further guidance. 2. A mature Christian confesses his sin to the Lord. As Paul said, “Therefore I myself strive always to have an undefiled conscience before God and men” (Acts 24:16). Repentance requires humility before God and towards brothers and sisters when we have done wrong to them. It also requires knowing how to accept forgiveness when God extends it to us, and this leads to a clear conscience, an appropriate self-image, and humility. As a result, the mature Christian is distinguished by righteousness and behavior that does not allow even a sign of sin. 3. A mature Christian is honest and open in friendship with brothers and sisters. He is able to be sincere with others, sharing what God is doing in his life, not being afraid to admit a mistake or weakness. 4. A mature Christian brings his personal problems to the Lord. Instead of running away from unpleasant situations or personal defeats and weaknesses, he meets them boldly face to face, bringing them before God and asking for His help. Indeed, meeting these difficulties will make it possible to turn them into victory more than once; in all cases, God will use them to further the development of His character. 5. A mature Christian is generous. He is generous with his time and money, because he is a steward and understands that he has nothing, but is responsible to God for the possessions entrusted to him. Thus, he is free to dispose of his resources without worrying about his provision, because he knows that God will provide. 6. A mature Christian teaches others how to live a righteous life. This does not mean that he is a pastor or a Sunday school teacher, but the way he lives and his knowledge of biblical truth convinces others of the gospel. He is always ready to talk about Jesus Christ with others, especially those who are lost. 7. A mature Christian handles his responsibility well in all areas of life. As a father, he successfully takes care of his family. At work, he is reliable, honest and diligent. In the church, his word is solid as a rock, a word in which everyone has confidence. 8. A mature Christian knows how to be obedient. It seems so simple, so obvious, but it's rare among Christians today. Many who want to obey God cannot take direction from the brothers and sisters whom God has placed over them. The mature Christian is not threatened by godly authority because he submits to Christ and is safe under him. 9. A mature Christian knows how to properly treat brothers and sisters. He knows how to encourage and rebuke, how to correct bad deeds, how to build lasting relationships. He is distinguished by a loyal attitude towards brothers and sisters, always wishing them well. His tongue is under control; he is especially careful to avoid slander and gossip. Maintaining the unity of the body of Christ is his highest priority. 10. A mature Christian maintains personal spiritual discipline. He has a regular prayer life, knows the Scriptures, is free to worship God, he has a daily open relationship with the Father in which he submits every area of ​​his life to Him. One of the best-known secrets of the Christian life is that, with God's help, it is possible to grow up before you grow old. Let us resolve to surrender our lives to the Great Teacher and cooperate fully with him in his work to shape us in the image and likeness of Jesus.

John Wimber (founder of the Vineyard movement) said this… “Our responsibility to the poor was etched into our spirits right from the beginning as the Lord made it a personal issue with us in the Vineyard. It is something that has been entrusted to us, and something we must guard and cherish because it is very very important to him. My advice to you is to use the outpouring of the Spirit in doing good for the poor. Spend the power of God helping the Poor” Across the Vineyard there are so many expressions of how we can do this whether small, big, seen, unseen and everything in-between. No two churches will have identical Compassion Ministries, but each will be tailored to the needs and context of their surroundings, and every individual in the Vineyard will play their part, whether it is as simple as providing clothes, furniture or food to be given away; as small as giving a pair of shoes to a child; as kind as a hot shower and change of clothes for a rough sleeper; as thoughtful as baby equipment for a new baby; or as open-handed as providing beds to a refugee family who have been sleeping on the floor. Each person plays their part and each church meets needs specific to their area. The impact is more than we can imagine! The Vineyard movement is committed to loving our communities and spending the power of God in helping the Poor and those on the margins of society.