One of the first pictures

The Ukrainian Church of Grace is part of the Christians of Evangelical Faith Association and was originated in 1992 in the city of Renton within the building of an American church, Renton Assembly whose pastor was Mr. Rick Ross. Mr. Ross turned out to be especially inclined towards the Ukrainian people and he welcomed the immigrants from the Ukraine by giving us an opportunity to use his building. At first this church was called the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church and Stepan Sergeyevitch Kasyanyuk was ordained as the pastor. In 1994 the church moved to the city of Kent and leased the building of an American Assembly of God, the Kent Christian Center. We remain thankful to pastor George Wilson, who gave us an opportunity to lead our services and ministry within his church building.

 

At the close of the 1994-year, Bishop R.I.Bilas moved from the Ukraine and put in a great deal of work to encourage the unity of Christian immigrants here in the States. In the autumn of 1995, thanks to the leadership and blessing of Bishop Bilas, brother Stepan Kasyanyuk was ordained to take the place of a Pastor, and later in 1997- brothers Oleg Pynda, Vitaliy Sad, Volodimir Drofiak, Sergey Kunitsya, Yaroslav Dzyb and Peter Kolobovda were all ordained to carry on the work of a deacon.

 

Old church building

In 1997 the church purchased a building in the city of Kent and remodeled it. Later in May of 1998 this building was officially opened and dedicated for the glory of God as The Church of Grace. Between 1998- 2003 the Church of Grace went through amazing growth in the body of Christ. The year of 1999 was especially a blessed year when the church grew by 153 believers. During this time many gifted ministers, choir conductors, singers, teachers, and preachers joined the church body. Also in 1999 our senior choir conductor Vitaliy Shchablevsky was ordained to the work of a deacon and brother Anatoliy Prokhor was ordained as the second pastor of the church. In the year of 2001 our deacon Oleg Pynda was ordained to be a third pastor, brother Stepan Kasyanyuk was confirmed as a Senior pastor and brother Vasil Prokhor was ordained to the ministry of a deacon under the blessing of Bishop M. Panochko, Bishop M. Sulima and Bishop Peter Sayenko. In the year of 2002 brother Anatoliy Prokhor moved back to Ukraine along with his family. Later that year brother Oleg Pynda became the second pastor and brother Peter Rybnikov was ordained to take the responsibility of the third pastor. During the same year our brother Andrey Hilchenko was ordained to the ministry of an Evangelist. Due to the growth of the Body of Christ, a need to purchase a bigger church building arose.

During the next few years our church leaders were seeking how to obtain a bigger building, analyzing all the options available but we couldn’t find the appropriate building. In the meantime God had His own plan for the church and it turned out to be the best option for the church.

Pastor and his wife, Galina

In the year of 2004 we gained the opportunity to purchase the same church building that we leased from brother Rick Ross back in 1992, and this was the building where the Church of Grace was originally established. This was both a blessing and a miracle from God unto His church! It took our brothers about a year and a half of persistent work in remodeling this church building because of the condition it was in from its previous owners. After much financial sacrifices, and energy and time investments, the Body of Christ restored the church building and it currently stands out as one of the best church buildings among churches of its Association, and may all glory go to God!

 

In the year of 2006 our brother Andrew Kritovich was ordained to the ministry of an Evangelist.
Currently the Church of Grace consists of 755 members that are divided into four groups that are led by pastors and each group consists of three cell groups that are led by the deacons. The Church of Grace has three active pastors, three spiritual guides, two Evangelists, 12 deacons, three choirs, several worship and musical groups. The church also has a Sunday school, a Missionary department and carries on other ministries.