The Beginning

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Before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we were members of Hope Church in Wellingborough, which belongs to the Elim Church network. These are our brothers and sisters in Christ, whom we love and value very much.

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When the war began, we became very active in volunteer work. As a servant of God and a former military chaplain, I was able to use my contacts, and we started helping Ukrainian soldiers. Every week we traveled to Ukraine, bringing helmets, vests, uniforms, generators, and other needed supplies.

Hope Church gave us a place to gather donations. Brothers and sisters joined in with open hearts — one sister even bought a van to carry aid to Ukraine.

 

Helping Refugees

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We also worked with sponsor visas for Ukrainians escaping the war. Through our help, more than 300 people were able to move to Northamptonshire and Wellingborough. We supported them as they adapted, found jobs, and became part of English society.

Because of this, our ministry began to grow, and soon we could no longer fit in the Hope Church building. Not wanting to cause any inconvenience for our brothers and sisters, we started looking for our own place.

 

The Founding of a New Church

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Our first meeting place was a small Quaker church building in Wellingborough. At that time, we had about 50 visitors and 27–28 church members.

Since there was no Ukrainian Pentecostal church in England yet, we decided to start the first one. At our opening, Bishop Yuriy Veremiy, overseer for Europe, came and ordained me, Anton Meshcheryakov, as pastor, and brothers Oleg Moroz and Volodymyr Kuchma as deacons. Later, after a trial period, our ministry was officially recognized.

Since then, we have already held four water baptisms, and new brothers and sisters have joined the covenant with God.

 

Our Present

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Today our church is called “New Life.” We are developing several important ministries:

• Women’s Ministry. Many women came from Ukraine with children and faced difficult situations. We hold women’s conferences, retreats, training, and give help in hard times.

• Youth Ministry. We have about 40 teenagers, and we started a youth club. We plan to involve young people more in evangelism, especially in Northampton, where there are no Ukrainian or Russian-speaking churches.

• Children’s Ministry. This year we held a camp for 50 children called “Four Kingdoms.” It was a real celebration for the kids.

• Social Ministry. We help migrants, families in crisis, and people struggling with addictions, so they can find support, hope, and new life in God.

 

Expansion

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In the past few years, God has blessed us with the opening of new churches:

• in Dublin, Ireland

• in London (Wimbledon area)
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We are also praying about starting new churches in Peterborough and Northampton.

 

Our Plans

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Today about 70 people attend our services, with more than 50 church members. On holidays, we gather up to 150 people. We have already moved from the Quaker building to a local community center, but we are praying for our own building where we can serve 24/7.

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Our main calling is to help people find the Lord, adapt to life in England, support those going through hard times, and serve the community where we live.