The first meeting of Christian students with Intervarsity USA mission tean, Nizhin, 1991 рік.
Short history of CCX in Ukraine
1989. First cross-cultural programs in Kyiv. The programs were visited by Christian students from the American IFES (InterVarsity). They witness about Jesus to the Ukrainian students and share their experience of student Christian groups in universities.
1990. Cross-cultural programs go on. Some American students and staff workers from InterVarsity stay in Ukraine for a year or two with the mission – to set up permanent Bible study groups.
1991. Cross-cultural programs in Kyiv, Nizhyn, Gorlivka, Mykolaiv. In all these cities and in Ivano-Frankivsk as well, there are established Bible study groups.
1992. Ukrainian CCX conference in Nizhyn. It welcomed about 40 Ukrainian students from Kyiv, Nizhyn, Mykolaiv and Ivano-Frankivsk as well as a couple of foreign workers and Berett Horn, IFES’s coordinator of Ukraine. The conference was about creating all-Ukrainian CCX movement but eventually it was decided that the claims about all-Ukrainian CCX are immature and for the time settle upon strengthening on-site Bible study groups. Still this conference was practically the beginning of CCX Ukraine because the movement is actually made up of small Christian student groups in various places in Ukraine, they are the core and the life of CCX. And in 1992 such groups existed, were active, and the students-leaders were able to share their vision with the next generation.
1993. Bible study groups grow in number and power. Students who are actively involved in their groups’ lives start to attend international conferences and camp for personal spiritual empowerment and Christian leadership training. The Ukrainians went to the conferences in Netherlands, Hungary, USA. There are newly appeared groups in Kherson, Mykolaiv, Simferopol, Odesa.
1994. First Ukrainian staff workers. There are 8 trainees in Kyiv, 2 – in Ivano-Frankivsk, 2 – in Mykolaiv. There is a CCX group in Lviv. First “Bible and Life. 1 Level” conferences in Kyiv and Odesa. European IFES conference in Warsaw with a delegation from Ukraine.
1995. All-Ukrainian CCX conference in Odesa hosting 500 people. There were no more doubts that CCX in Ukraine was fully functioning. CCX started the state registration process. It was meant to last for 4 years. “Bible and Life. 1 and 2 Levels” took place in the south and north of Ukraine. Conference for students-leaders.
1996. “Bible and Life” conferences were held, as well as leaders’ conference. Groups were started in Sevastopol and Khmelnitskiy. 3rd Level of “Bible and life” for the students who graduated from first two levels. National CCX office set in Kyiv.
1997. CCX graduates conference. European conference in Marburg with 110 delegates from Kyiv. Ukraine was divided into 5 strategic regions: centre, east, west, south and the Crimea. Every region had CCX groups but eastern region was the weakest because Kharkiv group faded and Gorlivka group almost stopped functioning. CCX set up a group of Christian students in Donetsk. Traditional “Bible and Life” and leaders’ conferences. Active developing of CCX groups in the West especially in Lviv, Lutsk and Uzhgorod. “Sources (Dzherela)”, the CCX newspaper, released regularly throughout the year.
1998. Ministry went on. Relationships with CCX volunteers were building up. Creation of national financial and resource base for facilitating the CCX ministry. Students and staff workers arranged and took part in missionary projects in Azerbaijan, India and Moldova.
1999. Ministry of Justice in Ukraine finally registered CCX as an all-Ukrainian NGO. At the IFES World Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, CCX is officially made member of the IFES family. CCX sent a group of workers to Kharkiv to renew its movement there. 4 new workers had newly developed training to get them ready for a long-time ministry in CCX.
2000. Internal CCX working structure was developed and approved. Volodymyr Kosternyi was the first Ukrainian executive director. National administrator, training coordinator and accountant start working in the office.
CCX ministry unfolds in all five regions with their centers in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Kherson and Simferopol. Team leaders became region coordinators and are heads of the ministry.
Presently CCX Ukraine is a part of International Fellowship of Evangelical Students and fulfils common IFES’ mission. Acting respectful of cultural and social Ukrainian context CCX here embodies IFES’ dream “Bring life of Christ in every student’s life”.