The First National Conference of Slavic Church Planting Network of North America

The First National Conference of Slavic Church Planting Network of North America--By Mark Hobafcovich

PHILADELPHIA, Penn--It has never happened before in the history of the United States or Canada. The first national conference of Slavic church planting network is the first step of implementing Vision 500-2025. This vision is to work toward the planting of churches to 500 by the year 2025. There are more than 5 million Slavic (Russian and Ukrainian) people who live in the United States and Canada with only 1 percent of them in Evangelical churches. The Slavic Church Planting Network was formed by a network of Russian and Ukrainian Baptist leaders in the United States and Canada that gathered at a roundtable discussion that took place on December 1-2, 2009 at the North American Mission Board in Alpharetta, Ga with representatives from conventions, churches and associations focusing on planting new churches throughout North America.

The First National Conference was held at the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church in Crum Lynne, a suburb of Philadelphia, Penn and was sponsored by the North American Mission Board-Urban Church Planting, coordinated by Mark Hobafcovich, national church planting consultant. The purpose of the Conference was to share the church planting vision and enlist partnerships for Slavic Church Planting Network from around the United States and Canada. Conference leaders were Anatoly Moshkovsky from the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania/South Jersey; Mark Hobafcovich from the North American Mission Board; Andrew Ryzhkov, Atlanta pastor and network coordinator; Allan Taylor from Woodstock First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga; Pastor Konstantin Goncharov of Charlotte North Carolina; Alexander Kapriyan, pastor in Spokane, Wash; Stan Smith of Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania/South Jersey; Vasiliy Kravchuk pastor in Philadelphia, Penn; Ben Mishin pastor in Philadelphia, Penn; Anatoly Odnoralov pastor in Denver Colo; Serge Taran and Ludmila Kachkar from Dallas, Tx (absentia); Terry Sparks of Bible Training Center for Pastors in Atlanta, Ga; Tony Ahaev of California Southern Baptist Convention. Over 100 pastors and leaders participated at this two days conference. The next year conference was scheduled for September 16-17, 2011 to be held in Minneapolis, Min. For additional information on the Slavic Church Planting Network, visit their blog at: http://slavicchurchplantingnetwork.blogspot.com

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Mark Hobafcovich - Church Planting Consultant, North American Mission Board, SBC.