Dennis Melnichuk April 10, 2025
A new world of ministry has opened up
Over seven years ago, I was living as a missionary in an Asian nation. Living there brought its challenges. There were a lot of obstacles that had to be navigated due to the high-security surveillance, which is used also to suppress Christianity. During that period, I began praying about how to reach those who may never step inside a church building. On outings throughout the city, I slowly began noticing how places of business could create an atmosphere attracting people to its sub-culture. A vision of a missional space began to dawn on me. I wanted to open something that would spark relationships with the people of our city and draw us closer to the community. This dream took years to form, and I am excited to say that we have opened such a place! Welcome to Kultura, a third-wave coffee house with a prayer room inside!
As we were getting the coffee house ready for opening, we realized we needed to establish a foundation for ministry. To do this, we made the opening of the prayer room our priority. Every morning on the weekdays became a gathering time for prayer. On Thursdays, youth from around the city began gathering inside for a weekly worship night and a message from the word of God.
While spending time in prayer, an idea came to our team to launch community events inside Kultura. We started training our team on how to minister outside a traditional church setting and dreamed together about how to make these events a reality.
On the evening of the official launch of these events, no one other than our team came. We made a clear decision that we would not give up so easily. We changed our communication approach and resolved to try again. The second time around, the coffee house was packed out. There was almost no standing room left. There has been an overwhelming show of people at almost every event now.
Some evenings have included an open mic event for people to sing their original songs and recite their authored spoken word (or freestyle rap). One night, a Q&A session with married couples was hosted where youth could openly ask about relationship tips. Each evening has a creative edge and offers youth from the city a place to express their creativity or learn something new. Most importantly, it is a place where people feel they belong.
Kultura is quickly becoming an innovative approach to ministry. The whole team feels like we are walking on uncharted ground. In the last few months, we have seen a new world of missions opening up. This is a place of business, a platform for social gatherings, and a refuge for prayer in the (undisclosed) back house prayer room, we see God's breath on this dream. Kultura is becoming a place where the culture of God's Kingdom is invading our little city in Ukraine.
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