Robby Interview Pastor Hossana Church Ukriane

So, I know you're going to be thrilled that I get to spend some time with some saints from another part of the world and get some insight and some of the cool things that God is doing to hear the story, so to speak. So, I have a good friend, Dennis Lennon, who actually was my Sunday school teacher when I first came to Winston-Salem nearly 30 years ago.

And we shared some cool things. Well, one of the cool things that Dennis got to do, because he learned Russian while he was in the military, is he, as soon as the Iron Curtain came down, Dennis was one of those people who went over there and began to share the Gospel in different ministries that he was connected to. And so, here we are 30 years later, and we have with us Dimitra and Bahit. Actually, Bahit is in our church that I used to sit not far from him, you know, at Calvary many, many times.

So, that's very cool. But they are here from the Ukraine, and yes, they have a church, and yes, they have lots of church plants, but I think I'd like to start at the beginning since I know so little about it. So, Dimitra, can you kind of tell me how God got a hold of you first before you even became a pastor? Dimitra Kolesnik Hello, everyone.

My name is Dima or Dimitra Kolesnik. I am from Ukraine, from the western part of Ukraine, and the last 22 years, I have been a pastor in church. I started, and we planted four daughter churches after this. So, my story is very simple. I grew up in an alcoholic family. I didn't meet my father, never, and my mother died when I was in Soviet Army. I started in Soviet Army. I was 15 years, and from this time, I was looking for love, and I find my Lord saved me when I was married with my wife, Natalia, and I was 21 years old.

Darrell Bock Could you take us back to that? Okay, so you met your wife. Was she a Christian when you met her?

Dimitra Kolesnik No. We was together unbelievers, guys. Darrell Bock And so, who introduced you?

How did you find out about God? Dimitra Kolesnik Right. My relatives invites us to Billy Graham Crusade. It was in Germany, but it was translation. I believe it was translation for 180 different countries, and one of these translations was in Ukraine, in our city, Lviv, and we was together there. Our relatives invite us, and God calls us together. Darrell Bock And so, you actually heard the gospel through a translator translating what Billy Graham was actually saying.

Dimitra Kolesnik Yes. You know, I remember only one thing. You are sinner. You need Christ. You must repent and give your life to Christ. I don't remember anything else from these times, but it was enough for God touch our hearts, and we became Christians. Darrell Bock Both you and your wife at the same time? Dimitra Kolesnik Yes. On the same crusade.

Darrell Bock So, I'm really curious, because I'm just that kind of person. Like, you're on your way home from this event. You and your wife are new believers, right? And so, you looked at her, she looked at you, and what was the discussion?

Do you remember at all? Dimitra Kolesnik It was a very difficult time for us, because as an unbeliever's people who became married and have no understanding what marriage is, and we had many troubles in our relationships, and even in those days, we have big, big discommunication. We don't speak with each other those days, and when we go back, we're still in bad relationships, but we understand we need to change something, because God gave us a chance, and our bad family became good family.

Right now, in our church, family ministry is very important for us, because we know what a bad relationship is. Darrell Bock So, we're going to get there, but I want to stay back, because I find this absolutely fascinating. I'm sure my listeners are, too, because I've heard some stories. I never heard one like this.

So, there you are. You're coming back from this event, and your marriage has been rocky, like most young people's marriages are, quite frankly, especially if we don't have Christ, which I can remember those days. So, how did the Bible get introduced to you? I mean, how did you find out about the Bible?

When did that start? Alejandro Can I use my friend Bahit for translating for me, because I want to be more deeper. Darrell Bock Yes, let's get the good translation, yeah? Bahit Kerman All right, my name is Bahit Kerman.

I'm a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem for 30 years already. So, and I still remember the language that I came with to the United States. It's a Russian language, so I helped. Alejandro Okay, thank you, Bahit. So, after we repented, they've been invited to the little Bible study group, and that will change their life. Bahit Kerman Sure, if somebody would tell me that time that I will be pastor, I will be preacher, I would be laughing into their faces. Bahit Kerman Well, for the first time, he was offered to lead a small group in Bible study.

His wife told, I won't come to your group, because I have enough here at home. But God gives wonders, and he gave us the future that I never thought about it. Darrell Bock So, going back to that Bible study, I mean, that's absolutely amazing. It's really, really cool that you were saved, and then God put you this place where he literally gave you his word where you could get to know him. And so, I'm curious, you start to read the Bible, and did the light start coming on, like, about certain things that you saw in your life?

Can you remember some experience of that? Bahit Kerman Frankly, when I started to study Bible, I thought, well, that will change my wife, because I was an ideal husband, but she wasn't. However, while reading Bible, I found out that I'm not so ideal, and it turned my life upside down. Darrell Bock Yeah, and you could clearly see the fruit of that, that God has taken that beginning, right, and started, as your transformation happened, right, you could relate, because I think it's in Hebrews where it talks about that the high priest had to be a sinner, a big time sinner, in order so that he could relate to his sinner congregation, right? And so, you began this small church with the Bible study, I would assume, and so, kind of take us up to now, you've got churches that are being planted, and I suppose you have other pastors that you're in the point of training, right? Bahit Kerman Yes, we organized our church with only seven people in it.

Darrell Bock Right. Bahit Kerman When we did first church planting, we had 125 people. So, with our church, we have four more planted churches in overall a congregation is about 300 people.

And also, we are approaching about a thousand people in different spheres of life. For example, those people with disabilities, and one of our plant churches actually works with the blind people. We also serve the orphans, and we have many good projects to serve the orphans. I'm not going to list all the spheres of our service, but very recently, I found one that bothered me. I found out that as Christians, we do serve in many, many fields and beautiful fields.

Yeah, it is absolutely beautiful. And really, really cool, because as I am listening, I'm hearing that the intimacy of the small group, right, you didn't lose that feel as you began to plant other churches where people feel like, this is my pastor, this is people that care about me, and this is people that are walking with me as I'm transformed into Christ. Whether that's people with disabilities or orphans. And it's interesting, because my own life is very similar. Next thing I knew, I was working with special needs people, people with Down syndrome and autism and that kind of thing. At the same time, I also help out at a nursing home. And there's just different places that Christ gives you once he begins to enlighten your own soul. You get those different opportunities. So I'm curious, when you think about the audience that you might be speaking to right now.

So there might be people, there are people in India, there's people in China, there's people in Vietnam, there's people in England, and in actually over 50 countries that could be listening right now, not just the United States, and I hope a lot of people in Canada and Mexico. So that audience, the hope that Christ has given you, these people all planted in strategic places, just like you were. What would you share with them that you feel like God gave you in order to grow to be the light post that you are? It's very important for me to understand from where God took me out. I clearly remember what kind of future would be mine if I wouldn't repent. And because I remember that, I'm looking for the people who don't see their future, just like I did.

So, but they will have hope. Oh, that's beautiful. Yeah. So maybe you're listening to this today. And you don't know who this Jesus is, but you can hear clearly this story of a man who came from alcoholic parents and a marriage that was struggling. And all of a sudden, God got to him through a translator, right? And you can hear the translation yourself if you're listening to this.

And maybe you understand this language better than I do. But the point of it is, is God has a way to talk to your heart that only God has that way. And you too could come to faith and know that you can not only begin to enjoy this life, but then spend eternity with God. And so what would you share along those lines of the gospel essentially with those people that might be listening right now who don't even know who Jesus is? What was it that Billy Graham said through that translator that grabbed you? And to prove that he gave his only son for you. And that means that he loves you most of all, most of everything that he created. And I also mean that regardless where you are, what's your situation, God has the future for you. Just find Lord, grab it and God will reveal to you your good future. What a promise that is. And so if people want to look up your ministry or find you, do you guys have like a website or someplace they can find you on the web or some way they could connect with you?

Which I suppose would be the Ukraine. So let me share another vision that I have. Give me the chance to say it.

Do you have this chance? You do. Thank you. So I told you before that our church serves all kind of people, all their needs, but we forgot about a couple groups. So we serve too poor, we serve too ill, we serve too needy, but we forgot about people who are rich and we think they have everything. What do you think about politicians? Many of us hate these people. Many of us think this is a group of people who don't need to hear gospel, but I believe they are people, they are human too.

They have broken hearts and broken lives. And the last couple months I am trying to serve the politicians and I have vision how they can to hear gospel and I ask you to pray for me about in this vision because it's very difficult, but in our last election, more than 300 good Christians were elected and then I present the team who tried to serve the politicians. Pray for us and help us to create good networking because maybe in the close future, we go with those guys to the United States and show them really good and strong Christians. Pray for us. And pray for the politicians. Yeah, I love what you said, of course. God wants to read the rich or think that they're rich, right? And certainly he wants to reach the politicians and I'm so glad that he's given you that vision and I'm so glad that we had this chance to share with you today in this podcast and so pray, all of us.

What a neat thing God is doing. God bless. Thank you. Thank you.