One of the very first ministries we began here in Svitlovodsk was visiting orphanages.  The Bible says that, "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans ... in their trouble." (Jas. 1:27)  Our vision for this ministry is below:

The Bible says that we have been adopted into the family of God (Eph. 1:5).  This is another way of saying that we were spiritual orphans without Christ.  But the Gospel says that on the Cross, Jesus became an “orphan”, losing His Father, so that we might become children of God and know Him as our Father.  This was an act of sheer grace on His part and nothing that we earned.  Therefore, we can sympathize with those who are orphans in the physical sense.  We ourselves grow in the enjoyment of Jesus and the truth of our adoption by grace as we share the message of adoption in Christ with these children who so badly need someone to, by an act of undeserved grace, receive them into a family.

We desire to reflect this love of the Father for them and in so doing, to show them that there is a Father and a Family, the Church, that will receive them gladly.  We desire to manifest this love in a number of ways: telling them directly of it through teaching them the Word of God, reflecting our own joy in that grace in singing songs of praise with them, and being a channel for that love in a tangible sense, by building relationships, caring, playing and providing even for their physical needs when possible.

Our desire is to reach these kids for Christ through these means, that they might find eternal salvation and a Father who will never cast them off.  (Isa. 49:15-16)  That they would in turn become witnesses of God’s love to their peers who are also so desperately in need, and live lives as beloved children of God that are fruitful to the glory of God.