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About Caleb
I was born and raised in Washington State, in the small town of Gig Harbor where my father started Discovery Baptist Church in 1981.
I began to get interested in missions after listening to missionaries who visited our church. One day in 1994 I was invited to hear, then president of ABWE, Dr. Wendell Kempton speak at a nearby church. Afterwards I asked him about summer missions opportunities.
He told me:
“There’s a great opportunity in Ukraine this summer.”
I had no idea how life changing that moment would be! At that time I wasn’t interested in Ukraine and I’m not even sure if I could have found it on the map. Nevertheless I went home and told my parents about the opportunity. When my dad heard about it he said:
“Great, I’ll go with you!”
I hadn’t even decided to go myself yet and my dad was ready to go with me, so I decided to try it out and I went on my first trip to Ukraine in 1994.
You might think that trip suddenly made me decide to become a missionary to Ukraine, but it didn’t! It was years after that trip and after other trips to Ukraine and South America and after I met Christina that we together decided to go back to Ukraine and serve full-time.
Before I came to Ukraine in 2007 I studied at Shasta Bible College and Northwest Baptist Seminary (now Corban School of Ministry), where I graduated in 2005 with Masters of Divinity.
Books I’ve written
The first is a short e-book about the differences between Orthodox Church and Protestant teachings called
“Church, Tradition and Scripture, Where Does the Authority Hide?”
I published my second book in 2014.
It is available both in print and in Kindle e-book.
“What If… How to Kill Worry and Anxiety Before They Kill You!”
My 3rd book was published in December 2017.
“Is God Calling Me to Missions, 10 Questions to Help You Determine Your Calling”
Stay tuned to find out more!
About Christina
I was born and raised in the former Soviet Union and came to the U.S. in 1996 to study at Shasta Bible College in Redding, California.
I grew up in a typical Soviet family, my parents were secular, they worked their jobs and were more or less good moral people, but we didn’t know God. In the eighty’s my father obtained a Bible on the black market, he read it to my brother and me every night. Unfortunately, he didn’t know where to start so he opened it to the middle and read from the book of Job to us. As a 10 year old child it wasn’t the most interesting thing to hear so my brother and I both fell asleep quickly, but my father had many questions.
Later after the Soviet Union fell we were invited to a Christmas outreach by a local Baptist Church. We went and finally my father found someone who could answer his questions about the Bible. We started attending a small Bible study and shortly afterwards my parents both believed in Jesus. I also put my faith in Jesus a few months later.
One year I went to a Bible camp and at the end of the camp the leader asked if anyone would like to become missionary to toss a stick in the campfire. I was only 14 years old at that time and I had no idea what it meant to be a missionary but I felt god calling me to it, so I threw my stick in the fire! I told my parents about that but it was difficult for them to see how I could become a missionary living in a country like Ukraine with so little resources.
God knew better!
In 1994 I met a pastor who give me the opportunity to come to the United States to study at bible college. It was there that Caleb and I met… but that’s another story, you’ll have to watch our video to hear that story!
Interview with Christina about growing up in Ukraine.
Our ministry
Our goal is both to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Ukrainians and to help Ukrainians take the Gospel further than we could ever do alone!
How can we do that?
Through our local church
One way we do that is through local church ministries. Caleb has served as a pastor at Hope for People Church before transitioning to help at Tabernacle Church in the city center. Through the local church we are able to engage in regular Bible teaching, evangelism outreach, and aid our brothers and sisters in growing a strong Biblical Church. Now we are focusing on starting a new church with internationals called “Odessa International Fellowship.”
Through training in churches country wide
Caleb also services as director of “Blagovestie.today” Center for Evangelism and Discipleship. The purpose of the center is to aid local churches in effective Biblical evangelism and discipleship. Together with other Ukrainian pastors we led seminars in churches all over Ukraine as well as some beyond the border of Ukraine. We focus on teaching church members how to share their faith in a way that is understandable and effectively communicates the core message of the Gospel.
Last year our center led about 20 seminars in nearly different churches all over Ukraine.
Through outreach to women
Christina is involved in a pregnancy care center that our mission started here in Odessa. The center aids women through pregnancy, encouraging them to choose life for their unborn children. After birth they also help them with various classes and education on child raising. Christina councils regularly with women who come to the center. These are great opportunities to share the gospel with those who haven’t yet heard it.
Through online resources
In today’s connected world it would be a sin not to use the opportunities God has given us through the internet. That is why we developed “Blagovestie.today” a Russian language site that focuses on publishing Biblical articles on evangelism, discipleship, and church ministries. Caleb usually writes articles once or twice a week that are then published in Russian. Other Ukrainian pastors also contribute articles. Additionally we often translate helpful material from Desiring God, 9 Marks, and other solid Biblically solid websites.
The best way to stay in touch with us is by e-mail. In addition to regular blog posts you’ll also get exclusive content that I only send out via e-mail.
Now Is The Time Podcast
I publish the podcast 2-4 times a month, each episode is about 20-30 mins long. I try to focus each episode on different aspects of worship, whether it’s church life, our personal relationship with God, evangelism or any other issues that are related to worshiping God in every aspect of our life.
Here are some recent episodes:
I also usually take a few minutes at the beginning of each podcast to fill you in on what’s happening in our ministry and in Ukraine before I get into the meat of the content.
How You Can Listen
I recommend subscribing on your mobile device using either iTunes or Stitcher.
Or you can subscribe via the RSS feed using any podcast catcher.
Blog
I also write on my blog usually twice a week, below is some recent content.
Here are some recent posts in my “writing” category:
Find out what’s going on in our ministry with these posts:
Here are some posts about Ukraine:
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