For more than 4 years, Ukrainian pastors and their families have been serving the Lord in hard places.  They have proven their allegiance and faithfulness to God’s calling on their lives. 

We recently visited with many of these faithful servants.  They are depleted – physically, mentally, and emotionally.  The stress of living and serving during war has taken its toll.  They are not complaining, they are continuing to serve God and love their neighbor as best they can. 

We are asking you to help us serve them. We plan to hold a 4-day retreat in a location outside of Ukraine for pastors and their wives to rest and restore – physically, mentally, and emotionally.  There will be time for corporate worship and reflection but mostly it will be a time for these men and their wives to rest and be cared for.  They have been working hard to care for their congregations, refugees, soldiers, and the spiritually wounded.  Their pleas for help have been for others, not for themselves.

We hope the testimonies of Volodymyr and Vyacheslav will be a tremendous encouragement of those who you will help as you contemplate what role you might be able to play in this needed ministry. 

Volodymyr Prodan

Volodymyr Prodan, born in a believing home, came to faith in Jesus Christ at an early age and felt God’s calling on his life to full-time Christian service.  He played a huge role in discipling Oleh as a new believer.  He and his family pastor a church and serve faithfully in a small village in western Ukraine.  They hold summer camps for at-risk youth, displaced Ukrainians, and community children.  Their ministry is reaching many during these hard times of war.  They distribute humanitarian aid, help the displaced find housing, and counsel the spiritually wounded.  They are serving while weary and needy themselves.  Pictured here with a solar generator used to power their house due to daily power outages because of Russian aggression and ministering to war orphans at camp.

Volodymyr and his wife Irina opened their home to many internally displaced refugees.  One of whom took up residence in their basement with her son.  Svitlana fled from occupied Zaporozhia and had to leave her husband behind because the Russian soldiers would not let him through the security posts.  Volodymyr and his family led her to Christ.  She attended their church for some time before moving to Germany to try to rebuild her life. 

Vyacheslav Lesik

Vyacheslav Lesik came to Christ as a young adult from a non-believing family.  The Lord quickly called him into full-time Christian ministry and after seminary, he became an assistant pastor at the church where he repented and was baptized in Kyiv.  After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he became the head pastor of his church as most of the congregation and pastoral staff evacuated to Germany.  He now leads a congregation of mostly displaced Ukrainians from frontline cities and is an active volunteer chaplain who regularly ministers to wounded soldiers and active servicemen.  He and his wife evacuated their teenage children to the United States to be able to serve in Kyiv freely.  Pictured here serving soldiers in basement bomb shelters and with other chaplains we support! 

Help us care for them!

The cost will be $1,500 per couple.  This includes transportation from Ukraine to the retreat, 4 days of room and board, and renting a conference room for corporate worship once a day.  We hope to provide rest and restoration for 20 couples.

Thank you for prayerfully considering this worthy project – to give rest and restoration to faithful servants of God in Ukraine.