Sulamita Slavic Evangelical Church

Описание

Sulamita Church is committed to the excellence of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to the fulfillment of every Christian On the outskirts of Portland stands Sulamita Church. It is one of the largest and prettiest churches in the area. On any given Sunday, there are up to 2000 people in attendance for the worship services. Adjacent to the sanctuary is a banquet hall, used for weddings and other occasions. Sunday school and Russian school are taught in the many classrooms available at the church. Our journey thus far has permitted us to reflect on the many wonderful and bountiful mercies of our God in bringing us here! This is a short testimony of our journey. In the late 1980's there was a large exodus of Slavic Christians leaving the former USSR. It was God's great miracle that lifted the iron curtain and permitted thousands of Christians to come to the land of the free, where we were received with the greatest hospitality. The miraculous immigration went through Vienna Austria, Rome Italy, and with the final stop in the green and rainy lands of Oregon. With so many immigrated Christians new churches opened up. One of these Churches opened on "Otty" street. The "Four Square Church" initiated the opening of this church. The services in "Otty" were famous for being blessed. Many inspired sermons of fine preachers, wonderful singing and testimony lifted the spirits of the people. Nikolay Michalchuk accepted the office of pastor in 1992. In 2 years time the church was too small to meet the needs of the growing congregation. A small piece of property close to the church was available for 47000, With the growth of the church, "Otty" with a maximum capacity of 160 people, had to make plans for a larger place to assemble. The small church on Otty was sold, and plans were made to gather at a church on Sandy Blvd that could assemble 800 people. The brethren were worried that with the larger church the place would look empty; they were surprised when from the very first service the services were packed. The services continued to be richly blessed with inspiring sermons, which led the congregation to greater devotion to God and each other. Around this time, the congregation took on the name "Sulamita" but we were still know as the "Otty" church. In 1996 we were respectively asked to leave the Sandy Church; we were blessed to find a Catholic church which would serve us for some time. In 1998 a new lot was purchased in Fairview and the construction of our very own church began. Overcoming many obstacles, with the Lord=s help we were able to complete the construction of the church in 1999 for 5 million. Through the many prayers, and hard work of the congregation, this church has become priceless to us. We are richly blessed by the ability to worship our Lord in our own sanctuary. With the Spirit of brotherly love and faithfulness to our Savior, we were able to stick together through very hard times. We understand that there are many trials that are ahead of us, but being faithful to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, no matter where Providence leads us we are committed to serving him from the gulag of Siberia to the rich lands of America.