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May 13, 2008 | |
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The UEC is staffed by a volunteer director, a manager and an administrator. Part-time workers also serve at the reception and with housekeep.
Chris Lovingood Chris Lovingood, UEC director. Originally
from Athens, Tennessee, Chris made his first trip to Kyiv in 1992 with
Let’s Start Talking followed by a campaign in Prague, Czech Republic.
The following two summers, Chris led teams back to Kyiv and moved there
after graduating with a BA in English in 1994. For three years, he worked
with local churches, studied Russian, and ministered to university students.
In 1997, Chris received a master’s degree in English from the University
of Tennessee, Knoxville. He returned to Kyiv in 1999. His wife Lena Lovingood
now also works in the ministry and assists at the UEC. She is responsible
for circulation, manages the reception desk, and calls patrons with overdue
items. Visit their web-site at Vitaly and Valeria both graduated from ICU-Kyiv with
a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Vitaly serves in ministry
with the Nivky Church of Christ. He also started working as the UEC's
part-time administrator in June 2006. Valeria was the UEC’s first library
acquisitions manager. Since May 2006, Lera serves as the UEC's manager.
Vitaly and Lera got married on May 27, 2006. They lead one of the church's
small groups and youth ministry. You can contact them at
BOARD OF DIRECTORS David Ralston,
Jerry Collins, Ph.D. Wayne Mac Craig, Ph.D. Greg Hardeman Gary Jerkins, M.D.
Paul Prill, Ph.D.
Mike Buckley
Directly across the street from the Kyiv Politechnic Institute, the UEC maintains a modern facility in the heart of the Kyiv university community. Two apartments were combined and renovated to create the 1,800 sq. ft. facility. The first floor features a spacious kitchen, a large meeting room with TV and VCR, one small room, and two bathrooms. The second floor currently houses the office, the library and computer center, one bathroom, a guest room with shower, and a study room. Click here to visit galleries depicting the renovation process. Visit our Renovation page to read the story of how the current facility was found, purchased, and renovated.
Slowly, under God's sovereign orchestration, a small base of energetic supporters emerged with David Ralston, the current UEC board president, leading the charge. Ideas crystallized. Prayers were prayed. In March 1999, about 20 gathered in Memphis to discuss possibilities. In January 2000, from a Nashville meeting the name “Ukrainian Education Center” was chosen and a board of directors formed. Chris Lovingood was asked to serve as the Kyiv director and Monica Moreland served as the assistant director. A more concrete vision statement written by the new director was endorsed by the board. A temporary center (on Dovzhenko Street near the Shulyavska
metro station) was soon rented in the heart of Kyiv's university center
to explore possibilities. Bogdan Andriychenko, who worked as the project
manager, became the work horse in those early days—managing real estate
agents and contractors, finding building mat With the apartments desperate for complete renovation, a quality contractor was prayed for and God provided through an old Lipscomb student and Kyivite. Renovation began—which included entirely gutting the two apartments--in December 2000 and was completed in fall 2001. The UEC opened its doors to the public on October 4. 2001. Bogdan Andriychenko, the UEC’s building project coordinator, completed his work with the UEC in May 2002, and Sergiy Lyakh was hired as the UEC’s first manager. Under Sergiy’s leadership, the Center’s library has become fully automated and we have become more professional in all we do. Currently, the UEC employees two full-time managers and one information assistant. The director and interns are volunteer positions. Katie Boyer, Joshua and Maurie Hanauer, and Jonathan Shaub have served as interns who worked with local churches and the UEC. In just a few years, the UEC has emerged as a vibrant
space used by hundreds of visitors every week. Our library of over 9,300
items (as of May 2006) grows constantly thanks to donations in Kyiv and
from abroad, and the more than 3,300 registered library patrons (as of
May 2006) keep our information assistants busy. The many church-sponsored
outreach and education opportunities fill the Center to almost maximum
capacity. |
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Vitaly
Samodin
involvement minister for the Laurel Church of Christ in Knoxville, Tennessee
The Ukrainian Education Center began as a dream in the mid-1990s among
Christian workers in Kyiv, Ukraine. Missionaries observed that university
students were very open to the Christian faith and at the same time had
many needs. Universities lacked modern textbooks, there were few computers,
and students needed a place to spend time together. Small Soviet apartments
hosted countless Bible studies, movie nights, and book discussions. The
opportunities for ministry cried out for a larger, permanent space. 
erials,
and developing our first website. As that temporary center took on a life
of its own, so did the US-based board. IRS non-profit status was filed
for and a fundraising campaign began. The search for the new center began
in earnest and after months of frustration and exhilaration, the Kyiv
staff and the UEC board agreed to the purchase of two apartments near
the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. The first and second floor apartments
were bought at a total cost of $85,000 and almost all the funds had been
raised by the September 2000 purchase. 
