Theodore Kaplun
Our History.
The Ukrainian Ministry is the continuation of the great mission work started by Missionary Theodore Kaplun in 1921. Theodore trusted Jesus and went to Bible school and Seminary in the United States during World War I. The Lord then called him to go to the freshly established country of Poland in the region now known as Volyn, Ukraine. He started sharing the message of Jesus Christ with the aggrieved people of Volyn.
In 1923 the first Missionary Church was established and registered with the Polish Authorities. A church building was built in the village of Chovnytsia and it became the center of mission work in Volyn. Theodore devoted his life to spreading the message of Jesus Christ and God richly blessed his work as 38 churches were planted by 1939.
When World War II began, the Kaplun family resettled to Western Poland, which was occupied by Germany. Life was filled with trials and challenges, but God's blessing was upon the family. After the war, Theodore Kaplun was called to minister in Winnipeg, Canada.
Felix and Galina Kaplun
Effects of Communism.
The long years of Communism went by in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Atheism took control leading to a political system that shattered people's faith. Christians were persecuted and put in prisons. Churches were closed.
After the fall of communism in 1991, Felix Kaplun (son of Theodore Kaplun) and his wife Galina, came from the U.S. to visit the Volyn region where he had grown up. After seeing the Ukrainian people and witnessing their thirst to hear the message of Jesus, their problems, and their poverty, Felix and his wife Galina decided to continue the mission work of his father.