Dear Friends,

Here in America I have been blessed to receive training for ministry from some of the top leaders in the world. It started at home when I was young, transitioned to Bible College in my late teens, fine-tuned at Dallas Seminary in my early twenties, and still continues as I read the volumes of information available in this country and attend various workshops and training conferences. The effectiveness of my ministry is greatly impacted by the wisdom and insights gleaned from those who have devoted their lives to equipping the saints for service to the Lord. This summer I have the opportunity to return the blessing to others.

From June 28 to July 7 of this year I will be in a small village of northern Ukraine using my training to train the ministers and lay-staff of a growing church in that area called God’s Mercy Rozhny Baptist Church. What’s been entrusted to me I now have the opportunity to entrust to others.

My church, Redeemer Covenant Church, has an on-going relationship with this church in the village of Rozhny. We visit them every two years for the sake of encouragement, training, and to meet many special needs. This year we will provide for many of their growing needs, such as chairs, DVD player, theological and training materials, help in orphanages, but most importantly we bring love and support.

My specific duties pertain mostly to training their youth workers on issues relevant to teenagers in any society and cultural context. For example, I will help them identify core values, innate human needs, and connect these areas to effective student ministry. We’ll also talk about building relationships, ministry development, and leadership training. Furthermore, my pastor and I will provide some theological training as well as instruct them about men’s ministry and women’s ministry. We see this as an invaluable time to not just go and do ministry that we later leave behind, but to train and equip those who are already ministering to be more effective in their calling, like the old saying, “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.”

Such a trip obviously comes with a price. In our case, it’s $1,700 per person, due by April 18. This cost mostly covers transportation. Our church is conducting several fundraisers, but these proceeds go toward purchasing books and materials for the church, training resources to leave with them, and to meet special needs they have voiced. The five of us from Redeemer Covenant Church are relying on people like you to support us individually to make this trip a success.

Please prayerfully consider sending a one-time gift to the following address:

Redeemer Covenant Church
Ukraine Missions Trip
1518 E. Frankford Rd.
Carrollton, TX 75007

Checks are payable to Redeemer Covenant Church. Please write “Tim Schmoyer” in the memo line.

I am committed to sharing an update with you when I return and will make all my pictures available online at www.studentministry.org. Thank you for your prayers concerning this trip and for your financial support. God bless!

Posted on February 13, 2006