Thirty years ago, Zhovti Vody, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine, hosted an evangelistic program conducted by Vasyl Semanivsky. It resulted in the formation of an Adventist community.

The community has gone through many trials over the years, but the most important thing is that it has not lost its main mission: to preach the eternal Gospel and be a light in the world.

At the Sabbath service on May 6, 2023, the community remembered the path they had traveled. On that day, many guests came from different cities, including Kryvyi Rih, Hannivka, Pyatikhatky, and Dnipro, as well as local residents—130 people in total attended.

A baptismal ceremony took place a week before the anniversary, on April 29, when three new members joined the congregation. This was a testament to the fact that the church continues its mission of proclaiming the good news of God's salvation. It was symbolic that during the anniversary gathering, three more people, the Frolov family and Oleksandr Lubchuk, recalled their experiences 30 years ago when they joined the Adventist Church.

The service was attended by a children's choir and a combined Kryvyi Rih choir; Alla Bukhanets played the dombra, and Vasyl Ivashkiv and Maryna Lebid praised God with singing.

Volodymyr Yarosh, treasurer of the Eastern Dnieper Conference (covering the territory of Dnipro, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Kharkiv regions), greeted and encouraged the audience. The pastors who had served in the community for 30 years were also honored. During this time, many social events, evangelistic programs, cooking classes, and meetings for children were held. The community has a Pathfinder club, a program for the all-round development of teenagers. Therefore, during the celebration of the anniversary, special attention was paid to children, and exciting workshops were organized, including anti-stress, drawing with air foam, and working with air plasticine.

Over the past year, during the full-scale Russian invasion, the community has been actively involved in helping displaced people, providing food and hygiene products. Many local residents join in, spending their time and energy on organizing the aid process. Thus, the community continues to serve the society, overcoming various challenges together.

At the end of the service, the guests received the book I Will Not Leave You as a gift, and the conversation continued over lunch, lovingly prepared by the hospitable hosts.

The original version of this story was posted on the Euro-Asia Division Ukrainian-language news site.