Building opens the door to Bible Society ministry in southern Ukraine
Focus on Southern Ukraine

Photo: Alexander Babiychuk, the Southern Region Director of the Ukrainian Bible Society [photo:UBS/Dag Smemo WR404/2 UKR06DJ-112]
Photo: Alexander Babiychuk, the Southern Region Director of the Ukrainian Bible Society [photo:UBS/Dag Smemo WR404/2 UKR06DJ-112]

UKRAINE — Alexander Babiychuk, the Southern Region Director of the Ukrainian Bible Society, was a Pentecostal pastor before he took on his current role 12 years ago. At first, the regional office in Kherson consisted of nothing more than a rented room. Now, though, 42-year-old Mr Babiychuk and his staff of 10 work from purpose-built premises which include a bookshop, a warehouse and a large meeting room where Church leaders gather once a month (see also).

“I had been aware of the work of the Bible Society for some time when it decided to establish a Southern Region office in 1994,” he recalls. “At that time I was involved in a tent-based ministry. We travelled from town to town, collaborating with local churches. We used New Testaments and children’s leaflets from the Bible Society and often sold Bible Society materials from displays in our tents. I was invited to apply for the Bible Society job and was lucky enough to be accepted.”

Church cellar

Setting up a permanent Bible Society presence in the region brought many challenges, says Mr Babiychuk. “At first it was very hard. Our ‘office’ was a single room in a church cellar. We had no warehouse and we had to use our own vehicles. Making good contacts with local officials and church leaders was also difficult. Now things are a lot better. We have a strong relationship with the churches and I have had several meetings with the mayor. He’s even visited our offices.”

As a father of eight, Mr Babiychuk has significant family responsibilities. But his work also makes many demands on his time. With responsibility for a region where there are more than 2,000 churches, including around 700 in the Kherson area alone, he has to travel extensively to raise awareness of the Bible Society’s work.

High esteem

“We began operating from these premises five years ago,” this quietly spoken man explains, “although there was still building work going on when we moved in. We experienced some opposition to our plans to buy this land, as it used to belong to a man who fought for the Partisans during the Second World War and is still held in high esteem. People saw us as a sect and thought that we would destroy his memory.

“However, they started to become more positive towards us when we explained that we would rebuild the man’s house and use it as additional space. They also saw that we would contribute to the neighbourhood, as the plot was in a bad state of repair and was being used by homeless people, which was causing problems for neighbouring properties.

“Later they started to thank us and we received some positive media coverage. That all helped to improve the Bible Society’s reputation!

“This building has played a key role in raising awareness of the Bible Society’s work in this area. Last year we sold 80,000 Scriptures, our best year ever. We really benefit from the fact that our building serves the needs of many different people: our staff, our volunteers, our visitors – including Church leaders – and customers in our warehouse and our bookshop.” (WR 404/2 - 08.06) [3 photos]