About
WHO WE ARE
We are ordinary people who came to understand that, being sinners, we needed a Savior, and that Savior is Jesus Christ. He died for the sin of this world, and now gives salvation from the slavery of sin to everyone who receives Him through faith. We believe the Bible is the Word of God, and that this book is the authority for our lives.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: to serve as Christ served, to love as Christ loved, and to be salt and light in a dark and tasteless world.
The church is a member congregation of the Ukrainian Baptist Convention in the USA (UMBS).
What we believe, in brief
Who we are
We are a Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist church in Lancaster.
What drives us
We strive for Jesus Christ to be glorified in everything.
What you'll find here
Here you'll find support, prayer, and genuine community.
Our foundation
Studying God's Word is the foundation of our growth.
For everyone
Children, youth, adults: everyone has a place in the body of Christ.
STATEMENT OF FAITH
Beliefs
“We preach Christ crucified… the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:23-24
These are the 15 articles of our Statement of Faith, the convictions that hold our congregation together. Tap any one to read it in full.
We believe the Bible, in its canonical form, is a God-breathed book, the one perfect source for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness.
What the Bible says, God says. So its entire many-sided content: history, prophecy, poetry, song, wisdom, sermon, and letter, is to be received as from God.
2 Tim. 3:16; Rom. 15:4; 2 Pet. 1:19-21; Heb. 4:12
PASTORAL LEADERSHIP
Viktor Shchypailo, Leonid Bliznyuk, Kyrylo Stoliarov
Come by on a Sunday and meet our pastors in person.
CHURCH HISTORY
Our story
Our church's story began on August 8, 1999. On November 13, 2005, the Ukrainian Evangelical Christian Baptist Church of Lancaster was officially opened.
1999
The first Ukrainian church in Lancaster
When Leonid and Halyna Bliznyuk's family arrived in America, Pastor Ivan Kovalchuk, then head of the Ukrainian Baptist Convention in the USA, proposed starting a Ukrainian Baptist church in Lancaster. It was a dream he had carried in prayer for a long time. The Southern Baptist Convention helped find and pay for space in an American Baptist church in New Holland. The church officially opened on August 8, 1999, with the men's choir of the First Ukrainian Church of Philadelphia taking part. Ten families were the first to join the work.
2002–2003
A new name and new people
In 2002 the church was renamed the Slavic Baptist Church. That same year a Bible study and a Ukrainian school for children began in East Petersburg. In 2003, together with the First Ukrainian Church of Philadelphia, the church marked the 100th anniversary of the Bible's translation into Ukrainian and remembered the victims of the Holodomor on its 70th anniversary. Local residents of Slavic background were invited by postcard, and some of them began seeking God and fellowship with other Ukrainians. This laid the groundwork for a Ukrainian church in Lancaster.
2005
The Ukrainian church is born
On August 14, a members' meeting of the Slavic Baptist Church in Stevens, joined by Pastor Ivan Kovalchuk and the Convention's secretary, Pastor Anatoliy Moshkovsky, took up the question of forming a Ukrainian church in Lancaster. About 80% of those present voted in favor, and Pastor Leonid Bliznyuk was blessed for this ministry. The first service was held on September 11 at a Mennonite Brethren church in East Petersburg: about 60 people came, children included, and shared the Lord's Supper. On November 13 the church was officially opened at Lancaster Moravian Church, and on November 27 it celebrated its first Harvest Festival.
2006–2008
A church that hosts
In 2006 the church hosted the 6th sisters' conference, and in 2008 it hosted the 63rd convention of our Ukrainian Brotherhood, held in a spirit of joy and peace. Evangelistic meetings with the churches of our Convention were held regularly.
2009
Serving near and far
The church took an active part in opening a church in Berezhany, in Ukraine's Ternopil Oblast, whose ministry began in an orphanage. We supported it with prayer and money and sent the orphans clothes, food and warm underclothes. The sisters and young people raised the funds by making pelmeni and other food to sell at markets, and the youth ran a coffeehouse in Ephrata. That same year, with the choirs of churches from Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Stevens, the church held a festival of Slavic culture where guests also heard the Gospel of Christ.
2020
15 years
In November the church celebrated its 15th anniversary. Looking back, we can say with confidence what the prophet Samuel said: “Thus far the Lord has helped us” (1 Samuel 7:12).
2022
New brothers and sisters
When Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, many believers came to the United States, and a number of them to our church. They have all thrown themselves into its ministries: preaching, singing, teaching and more.
2025
New deacons and 20 years
In the summer the church chose two brothers, Sevastian Usenko and David Mararenko, for the ministry of deacon. After a one-year probation, the church plans to ordain them. Then on September 21 the church celebrated its 20th anniversary together with the Harvest Festival.
About the 20th-anniversary celebrationToday
A living church
Pastor Leonid and the whole church are handing the pastoral ministry on to a younger pastor, Viktor Shchypailo, who previously served as pastor of the First Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church of Philadelphia. We worship every Sunday, pray together on Tuesdays and study the Bible on Zoom on Thursdays, joined by guests from Ukraine and other American cities. A choir sings every Sunday, alongside poetry and music groups. We have a Ukrainian school and a Sunday school, a Christian day camp called Dzherelce every summer, and baptisms by faith almost every year. Today the church has 60 members.
Next
A house of prayer of our own
We rent our space today and are raising funds for a building of our own.
Give toward the building