s t

r e

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD SHINING IN UKRAINE

Ukraine can be dismal—especially in winter!

Bitter cold and weeks without sun onlyre

ﬂ

ect the gloom and malaise that dominate the culture. Consider that: • Corruption is rampant. A recent survey revealed that half the Ukrainians who received medicaltreatment last year paid bribes for it.• The average woman has six abortions in her life.• Nearly 75% of marriages end in divorce.• Ukraine has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS infection in Europe.• Odessa is a haven for human tra

ﬃ

cking (women and children).• The country is still in devastating economic crisis.• Perverted gender roles encourage men to be brutal and unfaithful and women to be anorexicand despairing of self-respect. Where does the average Ukrainian turn for hope? Manyturn to a bottle. TIME recently reported that more than half of alldeaths in Russia are alcohol-related (compared to 3% globally).Others merely give up. Former Soviet states have the highest sui-cide rates in the world.But there is hope. Though the darkness is pervasive, it can-not overcome the True Light.For 15 years, MTW missionaries have been striving tofurther God’s Kingdom by establishing a Presbyterian denomina-tion in Ukraine. In 2007, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ukraine became independent, with 12 churches planted acrossUkraine. In each one, dozens of men, women, and youth who havefound hope and new life through Jesus are taking the good newsinto their work places, schools, and neighborhoods. ChristChurchhas been a major partner in this work as our

ﬁ

rst (and most

ﬁ

nan-cially generous!) supporting church. Bob Burnham leads MTW’schurch-planting team in Odessa, and his wife Andrea ministers towomen in the community.Change comes slowly, though. Investment in people foreternity takes time. The Russians have a saying: “We cannot con-sider ourselves good friends until we’ve shared a pound of salttogether” (assuming you use a dash of salt with each meal). Ittook months for Andrea and Bob to win the trust of Tatiana, a lo-cal shop employee who was beaten by her husband. With anoth-er friend, Natasha, it was eight years before her grace-awakeningtook place. Marriages that have seen years of dysfunction don’tturn around overnight, even with biblical counseling.Challenges abound. Recently, a church-plant lost theirmeeting place and was forced to worship in the pastor’s apart-ment. Bob, an avid photographer, came up with the idea to rentspace for the dual function as a Family Photography Center dur-ing the week (facilitating relationships with local families) and achurch on weekends.Through contacts like these, the Light of the world isslowly spreading throughout Ukraine. It’s a work in progress.Please pray for God’s guidance and blessing.To receive the Burnhams’ monthly newsletters, youmay sign up at www.BurnhamSnapshot.com.

A newsletter connecting people, their faces & stories, to buildrelationships at ChristChurch Presbyterian, Atlanta, GA

THE CONNECTOR -

CHRISTCHURCH PRESBYTERIAN - WINTER 2010

WINTER

2010

EDITORIAL STAFF FOR

THE CONNECTOR

Editor: Ida BellWriters: Mellissa Dickinson, Betsy Long,Bob Burnham, Aaron Je

ﬀ

rey, Ann RobertsonPhotographers: Bobbi Jo Brooks, Kristin TimmGraphic Designers: Ben Rupp, Elise Ziegenbein

~Bob Burnham

God who said, “Let light shine out

o darkness” made His light shine

in my heart to give me

the light o the knowledge o the

glory o God in the ace o Christ.

But I have this treasure

in an earthen vessel to show that

this all-surpassing power is rom

God and not rom me.

adapted rom 2 Corinthians 4:6-7

Your grace is suf cient or me,

or Your power is made perect in

weakness. Tereore, I will

boast all the more gladly in my

weaknesses, that the power o

Christ may rest upon me. Tere-

ore, I can be content in weak-

nesses, in insults, in hardships, in

persecutions, in dif culties, or

Christ’s sake. For when I am weak,

then I am strong.

adapted rom 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Te Burnham family, our missionaries in Ukraine.Back row: Bob and Andrea; Front, l to r: Abigail,9, Emily, 7, Iris, 5.Church in Ukraine with Christianworshippers.

STUDENTS AT GEORGIA TECH TASTE AND SEE THATGOD IS GOOD

“Fellowship” is the operative word

that describes the Northridge/Dunwoody Home FellowshipGroup. We began meeting

ﬁ

ve years ago at the home of Glyn and Hilarie Jones. When they movedaway, we changed location to Bill and Betsy Long’s home (AKA “Wild Kingdom,” so named for itssetting within a National Park in the Northridge/400 area).Our group of between 14-18 might more aptly be named “The Baby Boomer Home Fel-lowship.” Most of the regular attendees have grown children in various stages of college, marriage,and families. Some of us are enjoying young grandchildren while caring for aging parents. Becauseof the unique challenges of this stage of life, we are so fortunate to have one another to learn from,pray for, and support.Our time together begins with a deli-cious dinner supplied by all. At the

ﬁ

rst meetingof the new year, we had a chili cook-o

ﬀ

with

ﬁ

veyummy variations, along with all the trimmings!We take our time around the dining table gettingcaught up on each other’s lives, discussing theol-ogy or politics, or telling stories. For the remain-ing time, we gather around the

ﬁ

re and share spe-ci

ﬁ

c prayer requests and report on how God hasanswered earlier or ongoing prayers. It has beensuch a blessing to see God at work in each of ourlives through the last several years.We would love to welcome anyone, of any age or stage, to join us in Northridge/Dun-woody on the 2nd and 4th Sunday evenings from6-8 pm. For more information, call Betsy Long at770-587-1363 or email bettsmom@aol.com.

Do you long to know the love, truth, power and beauty of God?

Are you eager to belong to avibrant, Christ-centered community? Lori White arrived at Georgia Tech nearly four years ago. She,like so many others, had questions: Does Christian faith and practice make any real di

ﬀ

erence tome? Is the good news about Jesus real? Is the Bible reliable and does science disprove Christianbelief? Is God good? She longed to taste and see God’s goodness and come to terms with herbeliefs.Today, Lori is preparing to work as an intern for Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) atGeorgia Tech. God faithfully revealed His lavish goodness to her. His reality hit home as she, fromthe very start, experienced belonging within the RUF community.Lori received unearned and undeserved acceptance and love within RUF, which showedher a re

ﬂ

ection of the character of the One they worship. She experienced real relationship. Later,she even met her

ﬁ

ancé, Nathan, while serving the campus community side-by-side with RUF. Loriappreciates the authenticity displayed in the lives of RUF students – being real about sin and en-thusiastic about grace and hope in Christ.RUF is a question-provoking community at Georgia Techthat gives students space to wrestle with life’s hard questions.They stand as a sign of God’s presence, a foretaste of how thingswill be when Christ returns, and a participating agent in His mis-sion. Rev. Aaron Je

ﬀ

rey and his wife, Amy (daughters, Payton &Sarah), planted and have been serving with RUF at Georgia Techfor three and a half years. They have enjoyed pace-setting in theestablishment of cooperative e

ﬀ

orts between Christian minis-tries at Georgia Tech. They are grateful for ChristChurch, whosepartnership allows them to witness God at work - bringing stu-dents to know, love and follow Jesus and, like Lori, taste and seethat He is good.

DEACONS

NORTHRIDGE/DUNWOODY: BILL & BETSY LONG

Curtis BrownRyan DuncanCharles FlanaryPatrick Gra

ﬀ

agninoHarold HenrySean HenryHolcombe KelleyDavid McBrideJe

ﬀ

PerkinsMark PresleyAaron StewartBen SmithCharlie BaxterBob FowlerChuck FrancisCraig Ho

ﬀ

erPete JacksonPaul JosephChris MardisTrent McEntyreDanny McKinneyPaul QuirosMike RiggsRandy Stair

Senior Pastor >

Paul Gardner

Pastor for Congregational Life >

Pete Jackson

Director of Music & Arts >

Greg Hill

Youth Pastor >

Nathan Parker

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ce Manager >

Robin Parten

Assistant to Paul Gardner >

ChristyYakovlev

Administrative Assistant >

EliseZiegenbein

Assistant to Greg Hill >

Beryl Fowler

Children’s Ministry >

StephanieHolby

College Ministry >

Trent McEntyre

College Intern >

Nagib Hermes

Mercy >

Curtis Brown

Missions >

John Robertson

Women’s Ministry >

Jane Carter

Young Adults Ministry >

ﬀ

Shaw &Anna Eubanks

Ministry Facilitator >

Bria Washington

STAFFELDERS

~Betsy Long~Aaron Je

ﬀ

rey

Amy and Aaron Jefrey

Home Fellowship Group>>

TITHES & OFFERINGS

September 1, 2009–December 31,2009Annual budget for above dates:

$735,617

Actual tithes and o

ﬀ

erings rceived:

$730,354

Shortfall in giving for above dates:-

$5,263

To welcome the new year, everyone enjoyed a chili bufet at the Long’s home. l to r: Ken & Jeannine Kott, Beryl Fowler, Cathy Friesen, Kathy & Randy Stair, BobFowler.

THE CONNECTOR -

CHRISTCHURCH PRESBYTERIAN - WINTER 2010

OUR MISSIONARIES SEND SNAPSHOTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Al and Elaine prayed for ways to relate to students younger than their own children, and God reminded them: accept yourgospel dignity in Christ, but walk on the ground as a servant leader.In 2004 a Chinese scholar invited Al to row with him in a dragon boat race. Rubbing shoulders with members of the NationalAssociation of Chinese-Americans led to an opportunity to speak to a group of over 200 internationals.

Lesson: Just pick up a paddle. See where the Lord will take you.

At RUFI’s weekly Dinner and Discovery meetings, local Christians lead discussions for 50-75 international scholars. Afterlooking at John 14, one student asked, “Do you mean Jesus has the key to heaven?”

Lesson: When you help others discover the gospel, you get renewed in the gospel.

To learn more about RUF International, go to www.internationalbuzz.org.

East Asia

( ):

A believing student was able to give a presentation on “The Book” in a universityclass. “Classmates and professor were very into it . . . nodding and taking notes . . . pray for them.”

East Asia ( ):

John Gunter

reports, “Recently, as I was visiting with a team in this city, they men-tioned a day hike at a local mountain that they had organized. As they hiked, they utilized the time to shareabout what it means to be a Christian. By the end of the day, eight of the college students, many of whom hadbeen hearing the Gospel from their friends, decided to place their faith in Christ. . . Amazing that the Lord useda day hike to bring eight students into the kingdom!”

Atlanta:

David and Cindy,

members of ChristChurch who have long been involved in cross-cultural work,have been invited by a church in Queens, New York to develop a team in their multi-ethnic neighborhood.Please pray for all aspects of this transition.

Mexico:

”Reaching Students for Christ and Equipping Students to Serve,”

Peter Dishman

(MTW/RUF) con-tinues to teach, serve, work, and play with students at UNAM, the largest university in Latin America. Peter was joined by

Steve Robertson

, church planter in Guadalajara, (also supported by ChristChurch) for a fall retreatcentered around the theme, “Lost in the Middle of the Movie.” Both these missionaries covet prayer support forthe ministries God has called them to.

Thailand

( ):

“Little Prik-khii-nus” is the word for a tiny, but very potent, Thai pepper. Sincechildren are also tiny, but potent, the

MTW team in Bangkok

chose “PKN” as the theme of their Christ-focused,fun-

ﬁ

lled day camp. After singing, learning God’s word, doing art projects, visiting a museum, swimming, anda very hot

ﬁ

eld day, the children went home singing of the God of the universe. Please pray that God wouldown the hearts of these “little peppers” and that He would use them as keys to win their families for Christ.

Bosnia

(Bosna):

Nathan Dicks

reports, “Despite hospitalization, sickness, power-outages, and other dif-

ﬁ

culties, our team has continued to build relationships with several students who have genuine interest in thetruth of Scripture. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this!”

Peru:

David Larson’s

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oat plane landed on the Pisqui River near a remote village, called “New Eden” be-cause of its beauty. He then jumped into a dugout canoe and headed downstream to a village where a newchurch for speakers of the Shipibo language was to be inaugurated. During the celebration, which lasted threefull days, David was able to preach (with a translator!) for an hour on Hebrews 11 and Ephesians 2. At the endof the festivities, nine people professed faith in Christ and others were renewed in their commitment. For moreinformation, check out David’s blog, http://dlinperu.Blogspot.com/.

Atlanta:

Al LaCour,

former pastor of ChristChurch, celebrates over

ﬁ

ve years of ministry with RUF Interna-tional at Georgia Tech. He shares a few of the life/ministry lessons he has learned:On a campus where Christians have endured severe persecution and even incarceration in the past, a team has been gettingout, making friends, and sharing the message of Christ’s salvation in one-on-one situations. They have seen 15 students become Chris-tians. “Honestly, in addition to these highlights, there have also been very challenging, even stressful, times and events. I say this tolet you know that even with all of the highlights I often share, there are always stressors, pressures, and con

ﬂ

icts that are constantlypresent. . . I mention this to ask for your ongoing prayers against the natural struggles that come with our jobs and lives. Couched in theexcitement of seeing God work in East Asia are always stressors, strains, even tears and sleepless nights. Please pray for wisdom andprotection from the daily grind of life in helping to lead this ministry in this historically spiritually and politically suppressed region.”

)

THE CONNECTOR -

CHRISTCHURCH PRESBYTERIAN - WINTER 2010