ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The sound sent chills. The youthful sound of American and Ukrainian teenagers voicing a worship song together — it brought tears, too.
“It gave everybody chills because you felt real unity [of] Christians together,” said Mandy Allen, minister of youth and children at Madison Heights Baptist Church in Madison Heights. “It was a real worship experience, but [my youth] realized it was bigger than them.”
For more than 20 youth from the Madison Heights church, a weeklong trip in Asheville, N.C., helped build community across cultural lines. Their work with Slavic immigrants helped Fran and Mike Graham, two Cooperative Baptist Fellowship workers serving among Asheville's more than 8,000 Slavic immigrants.
Carla Wynne Davis
A teen from Madison Heights Baptist Church helps a Slavic girl during a Backyard Bible Club in Asheville, N.C.
The Grahams started Western North Carolina Slavic Ministries, through which they minister holistically to immigrants relocating from 15 republics of the former Soviet Union. Some come as refugees because of religious persecution and others come to reunite with family.
In this first summer accepting church teams, the Grahams have welcomed groups from five partner churches. Most minister through backyard Bible clubs in apartment complexes where large numbers of Slavic families live. Each church is paired with a local Slavic church so that cross cultural friendships and understanding can develop.
“You are having a great effect on these American young peoples' lives,” Fran told a group of Slavic pastors. “It's going to change lives of young people on both sides. It gives me chills to talk about it because it's going to be so wonderful.”
With awareness of their ministry growing, more and more churches are contributing resources, time and talents, said the Grahams. Local churches like Calvary Baptist Church have adopted new immigrant families like the seven-member Korolchuk family, who arrived last year from the Ukraine.
“They gave us everything that we need,” Lyubov Korolchuk said of the church.
From large local churches like First Baptist Church of Asheville to smaller churches like Enka Baptist Church, assistance comes in the form of food, furniture and other donations. But this summer's teams will hopefully take the ministry to the next level.
“Teams go in side by side with us,” Fran said. “It's community building and can [build] more lasting relationships.”
And so far it's working, according to Allen, whose youth group “got to sit at table and talk with [Ukranian teens] and get to know them and learn more about the [Ukrainian] culture,” she said. “They got to learn more about each other.”