Pastor Oleg is a faithful servant in Ukraine who ministers to many whom the world might just pass by. “There is one family of a mother and daughter who is 12 years old. The mother’s name is Iryna. She works as a teacher in a municipal kindergarten. She is divorced and raising her daughter alone. Her daughter Yaryna has the status of a disabled child. Unfortunately, she has a serious illness—rheumatoid arthritis complicated by gluten and lactose intolerance. She needs a set of expensive medicines and a special diet every month. Iryna earns a minimum monthly salary and works additional part-time jobs wherever she can to provide her daughter with the necessary treatment.
For one young pastor’s family in Ukraine, war is not just a distant reality—it is woven into the fabric of their daily lives. Although they live further south, air raid sirens, drone strikes, bombings, and the looming threat of conscription are ever-present. At any moment, the husband could be called to the front lines, leaving his wife and their small daughter behind. The uncertainty is overwhelming. Yet, in the face of it all, they have made a choice: to trust Christ completely. This is their story—one of surrendering fear for faith and finding true security not in the absence of danger, but in the presence of Christ.
Our Easter greeting goes like this, “Christ is Risen”, to which we respond, “He is Risen indeed!” The present day offers many heroes, preachers and interesting people, but Christ has always been and remains the One and Only. All His acts, words and deeds indicated that He was not like us and this unlikeness attracted people and continues attracting many!
Easter is a special time when people are more open to hear about Jesus Christ. Moreover, going through illnesses and ordeals and experiencing difficult time, urge people turn to God and pray …
Evgeniy was born in Kyrgyzstan. He started down the slippery path of crime early. He was convicted for the first time at the age of 14, and after that he had five more convictions. As a teenager, he started smoking marijuana, then hard drugs, and then began drinking alcohol. He tried alcohol coding (therapy) many times, but nothing helped. He visited various rehabilitation centers many times, but even that did not help him. When he moved to Israel in 2011, he began using drugs even more …
In 2013, Dmytro and Anna got married, and a year later her husband was taken away to the war in Donbas (ATO). It was when their first son Michael was born. And since then, for 8 years, Dmytro had been a defender of our country.
Dmytro was killed in February 2022. His younger son Andrew was still under the age of 6. Dmytro was only 38 years old. Six months before the full-scale Russian invasion, Anna’s mother died. She was only 60 years old…
We met Ivan when he was 13 years old. He learned about our Christian camps and came to one of them. After that, he began attending the ministry for teenagers in our church. He loved God so sincerely and fervently prayed for his alcoholic parents, so that they would also meet God and their lives would change. Sometimes his prayers were so desperate and in tears his heart sank with pain and compassion. God heard his prayers. His parents began inviting our family to visit …
My name is Vadim. I am 31. I’d like to share how I met Jesus, and how my life has changed since then. I was born to an unbelieving home in Siberia, Russia. Our family was of average income. As I was a firstborn, my parents and my grandmother indulged me since childhood. They would buy me anything I wanted: toys, bicycles, computers, and later a motorcycle and a car. I had everything that my peers didn’t. I got away with my pranks and mischief, while my parents always disregarded my misdeeds. I grew arrogant and spoiled, and the whole world should have been spinning around me …
I was brought up in an average family. At the age of 11, I lost my mother and father and was placed in an orphanage. By the age of 18, I was in trouble with the law enforcement. While serving a prison sentence, I was thinking a lot about the meaning of life. I realized that there was another life out there. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t change anything on my own strength! Our souls seek something bright, something better, something new. I needed a guideline in my life, a foundation on which I could stand …
“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me” (Psalm 139:7-10).
Natalia was at the end of herself, out of options and alone in this world. It was then that God brought Pastor Alexander into her life.
“My name is Natalia. I am 46 years old, and I am dying!
Forgive me for beginning this letter this way, but this is my reality today …
In this time of war in Ukraine, many are walking through the doors of churches seeking answers to questions that have remained unanswered. The obvious initial questions are simply, “Where will the next meal come from?” or “Where will I lay my head tonight?” But then, deeper questions begin to surface. As these Internally Displaced People deal with the loss of homes, food and loved ones, many are finding answers in our one true God. Many SGA supported churches have become a refuge and safe place.
Sasha was born in Russia. He never knew his father. His mother was an alcoholic, and he was often left on the street, forgotten by his mother.
Sasha lived in Siberia, and when his mother left home drunk in the winter, he would go looking for her. Often, he wore only shorts, a jacket and thin slippers. He often got frostbite on his extremities and now he still has problems with his legs because of this …
Greetings from the Bible Church of Hostomel!
We would like to share with you the blessing of organising a day camp for children. This is already the third summer camp since the Biblical Church of Hostomel began its activities in 2022 after the de-occupation of Hostomel. The camp lasted for 5 days, from July 2nd to July 6th …
Olga has three children. She was married for 13 years and was in an abusive relationship for 12 of those years. A year after their wedding, she found out that her husband was a drug addict. He kept her at bay all these years. During this time, three children were born. It was hell on earth. He never gave her money. Even for personal hygiene items. She often asked neighbours for food to feed her children …
We have received many wonderful reports and testimonies from our missionary pastors through the years—some reporting on summer camp fruit, others with the fruit of Christmas ministry with children, Sunday schools, sports activities sponsored by the church, and a host of others. One exciting component that we often see in these reports is how the love shown to their children has drawn many parents and caregivers to hear the Gospel as well …
Pastor and church-planter Igor from Myrnohrad shares insight about life in one of the most difficult and darkest areas in Ukraine: the Donetsk region. Igor’s journey of faith began at the age of 15, when a friend invited him to church.
There, he read a brochure and understood that he was a sinner in need of a Saviour. Yet, it took him some years to come to the truth and knowledge of who God was. In fact, having been brought up in a very traditional church, he became ‘the strictest legalist in church’, and taught others of the ‘dangers’ of the colour red, dyed hair, and high heels.
Pastor Sergei is an SGA-supported missionary in Belarus who works with orphan children through support from Orphans Reborn. These children have suffered much, and their view of this world is confused and heartbreaking. One young girl stood out to him. “I saw a girl named Angelina, who was older than the other children. She had unusual things that were attached to her right ear. When I looked closer, I saw that they were rings and there were three crosses hanging from them. This was a little symbolic and led me to the idea that in the Gospels, we read about three crosses on Mount Golgotha.
Ruslan Murataiev is our SGA Regional Ministry Centre Director in Irpin, Ukraine. He is daily challenged with keeping the SGA supported ministries strong and fruitful, equipping and encouraging the missionary pastors throughout the regions and also attending to the business of running the ministry office. The war continues to be challenging for him – and his family …
“What do you think? Is all of Ukraine currently in a type of depression?” asked a lady from the Western country after hearing a lecture on trauma and its consequences. I took a breath before answering; because pictures of smoke, missiles, holes in buildings and the look in the eyes of my brothers and sisters in front-line cities popped up in my mind.
I was never interested in God because I was taught that God does not exist. My name is Alexandra. I am from the suburbs of Kharkiv. It so happened that after school I had to go to military service. My parents were also in the military, and where we lived at the time, there were few options: to go far away from home to study or to go to the army. So I spent my whole life in the army.
“These days there are many books and methods presented on sharing the Gospel with others. Yet, most often, our best approach to tell of Christ is simply being available as God leads.
Pastor Sergei [name changed] is a bold witness for Christ in Belarus. He strives to tell of Christ at all times, and through all means …
