About the Baptist Union
The Evangelical Baptist Union of Ukraine (Baptist Union) integrates provincial and regional associations of religious communities of Evangelical Christians-Baptists. The aim is organizational and spiritual unity of believers for spreading the Gospel and ideas in society.
Structure
The Baptist Union consists of 25 regional associations of Baptist in Ukraine, headed by senior presbyters, five associations of Evangelical Baptist Churches of the Ukrainian Diaspora in the USA, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Paraguay and Portugal.
- The highest governing body is the Congress of the Baptist Union,comprised of representatives of the churches, is held once every five years. The Congress approves statutory provisions, the spiritual path and the organizational structures of the Baptist Union, elects the head of the executive committee and audit committee and approves the composition of the Union. Between meetings of the Congress, management of the Union is carried out by the Union’s Council (Union chairman, deputy chairman of the Union’s senior presbyters and leaders of major parts of the Union) and the Executive Committee (chairman and deputy chairman of the Union).
The Baptist Union’s Council determines the strategy of the Union and is responsible for convening meetings, coordinating the activities of associations, educational institutions, missions and charitable organizations.
Past Chairmen of the Union were Jacob K. Duhonchenko (1990 – 1994), Gregory I. Komendant (1994 – 2006 years.), VyacheslavNesteruk (2006 – 2014 years.). In 2014 the chairman of the Union was elected Valery S. Antoniuk.
The Union Council has a spiritual advisory committee comprised ofexperienced and competent ministers for the purpose of mentoring and assisting churches when solving problems.
Number
The Evangelical Baptist Union of Ukraine is the largest Protestant community in Ukraine. January 1, 2017 the Union reports 2,272 churches and 320 missionary groups that bring together over 113 thousand faithful who consciously profess and practice Baptistdoctrine. On average, the worship services of the Baptist Union are attended by about 300,000 people each Lord’s Day. It should be noted that membership is held by those who profess the faith in accordance with the ECB confession of belief, as an adult were baptized by immersion in water, and who regularly attend services and participate in community life.
Activity
Internal church and missions activities provide service in various areas, including: missionary development, Christian education, youth, children, women, family, information, music, choral and social needs.
The Social efforts of the Baptist Union include the following services: medical, chaplains for prisons, help for the hearing and visionimpaired, orphans, and the rehabilitation of people with drug and alcohol addiction.
Members of the Evangelical Christians-Baptists have opportunity toreceive higher education in twenty spiritual educational institutes.
Missionaries of the Union serve in Poland, Latvia, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Egypt, Ecuador, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, China and Thailand. They teach children, workwith students, organize and conduct camps, provide social services to local communities’ and partner with local churches, when possible.
Linkages
The Baptist Union is a member of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations and the Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine aimed at representing Church interests in Ukraine and the world. The Baptist Union is a member of the European Baptist Federation and the Baptist World Alliance, is actively involved in European and global conferences
Fundamental positions
The Baptist Union’s founding document is the Charter of Registration which the state government legitimizes the activities of the Union, its institutions and organizations determining their activities, competencies and powers. The fundamental doctrines of the BaptistUnion are based on the Holy Scriptures (the Bible).
