Guest Pastor and Missionary from Kiev, Ukraine

God calls a family back into a battered city, and the church answers that call with life. Kyiv looks darker and harsher than the one they left, yet the body of Christ keeps gathering, singing, growing, baptizing, and planting. The text of their days reads like this: sirens in the night, mattresses under the stairs, and then coffee, school, and worship in the morning. The Aardvark room becomes a parable of discipleship under fire, a place to name fear and Scripture together while trusting that air defense and providence both work while people sleep. The war tries to scatter, but Christ keeps knitting. Small groups fill a living room with prayer and food while kids kick a ball in the yard. A couple spends the first night of their baby’s life in a bomb shelter, and the church surrounds them until joy and normal rhythms are possible again.

The Spirit turns ruins into outposts. A former nightclub hums not with bass, but with praise, as a church plant takes root. A displaced man named Sasha finds a pastor from his region, finds the Scriptures, finds Christ, and then finds a call to plant. Chaplains carry the gospel into basements and trenches where loss hangs thick, and there the motto always faithful becomes a quiet confession: God holds, so his people stay. Sometimes the ministry is a hug with no words. Sometimes it is diesel for a van, flour for a widow, or a laminated Easter card taped to a trench wall. Every time it is presence.

Leadership training keeps pace with grief. Seminaries train pastors and volunteer chaplains because every town now knows names etched on crosses, and widows need a place to pray and cry. The church learns to live with drones that sound like lawnmowers, calculates which nights will be sleepy aardvark, and then keeps opening Bibles, setting tables, and stacking chairs. The call is simple and blunt: come and see what God is doing. Soldiers understand soldiers. Medics understand medics. Teachers, counselors, and students have a part to play. The war is not over, but the work is not on pause. God keeps writing stories of new birth, steady endurance, and unlikely joy, and the church keeps saying yes.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Faithful presence in a warzone [48:57] Faithfulness here looks like showing up again tomorrow after another night on the floor. The call lands less as adrenaline and more as steady feet planted in a battered place. Christ meets people not after the danger passes, but in the middle of it, and presence becomes a testimony stronger than talk. The motto always faithful is not bravado, but a daily prayer that God answers with endurance. [48:57]
• 2. The church becomes shelter and outpost [36:59] Living rooms turn into small sanctuaries, and basements become cathedrals of intercession. The church shelters bodies and souls, and then sends those same people back out with courage and bread in hand. That rhythm forms a people who can grieve honestly and hope stubbornly. It is how light keeps finding cracks in a dark city. [36:59]
• 3. Suffering opens doors for mission [41:57] Displacement becomes an on-ramp to discipleship, and loss turns into a call to plant. In ashes, the Spirit cultivates new congregations, leaders, and songs that weren’t there before. The story of a nightclub becoming a worship space says something about resurrection that arguments cannot. Pain does not waste anything when it is offered to Christ. [41:57]
• 4. Ministry of presence over words [50:29] Sometimes the most faithful sermon is a long hug in a trench. When answers run out, the shared quiet becomes a sanctuary where God is not absent but near. Prayer in those places does not fix timelines, but it marks people with peace and courage to keep going. That is how hope takes root deep enough to outlast the shelling. [50:29]
• 5. Come and see, then stay [52:27] Invitation is not to watch from a distance, but to enter the story with gifts that meet real needs. Short-term looks, long-term roots, and partnerships on the ground let calling ripen into commitment. Soldiers hear best from soldiers, the wounded from healers, the young from teachers. Obedience becomes concrete when feet touch Kyiv’s streets and names replace headlines. [52:27]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [05:00] - Longstanding ties and Ukraine call
• [06:05] - Zhenya’s first week in America
• [19:05] - Why return to Kyiv now
• [19:44] - From youth group to co-pastors
• [33:50] - Family, years in Ukraine, slideshow
• [35:16] - Logistics of life in wartime
• [36:21] - Coming back to a dark city
• [36:59] - Small group life and new babies
• [37:41] - The Aardvark room explained
• [39:09] - Drones, interceptions, and risk
• [40:19] - Crisis Fund and mercy outreach
• [41:22] - Basements, high-rises, and sheltering
• [41:57] - Sasha’s journey and church plant
• [43:16] - Training leaders and chaplains
• [43:53] - Grief, widows, and community care
• [47:04] - Families from Kherson find community
• [48:45] - Front line visits and prayer
• [50:08] - A hug, a hard week, and presence
• [51:32] - New planters endure the winter
• [52:16] - Open door: come and serve
• [53:17] - Travel plans and closing video

1. In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Paul lists four hardships and four responses. What do the phrases “not crushed,” “not driven to despair,” “not forsaken,” and “not destroyed” reveal about God’s role in suffering?
2. The sermon describes a former nightclub becoming a worship space and basements turning into places of prayer. How does this reflect the imagery of “light” in Matthew 5:14-16?
3. What practical rhythms (e.g., gathering, baptizing, sharing food) did the church in Kyiv maintain despite constant danger? [36:59]
4. How did the “Aardvark room” serve both as a physical shelter and a spiritual tool? [38:12]

1. The sermon emphasizes “faithful presence” over grand gestures. How does 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 redefine what “success” looks like in ministry during crises?
2. Matthew 5:14-16 calls believers to be visible light. In a warzone where darkness feels overwhelming, what might it look like for the church to “shine” without ignoring grief or fear?
3. Why might simple acts like sharing diesel, flour, or a laminated Easter card ([49:50]) carry more gospel weight than elaborate programs in contexts of suffering?
4. The phrase “suffering opens doors for mission” suggests pain has purpose. How does this align with—or challenge—common views of hardship in Christian life?

1. The church in Kyiv turned ordinary spaces (living rooms, basements) into sanctuaries. Where could you create intentional spaces for community, prayer, or service in your own context?
2. “Sometimes the most faithful sermon is a long hug in a trench.” [50:29] When have you experienced or offered “presence over words” in a hard situation? How can you cultivate readiness to do this again?
3. The “Aardvark room” blended practical safety (mattresses) with spiritual grounding (Scriptures on walls). What small, tangible steps could help you prepare spiritually and practically for crises you or others might face?
4. Soldiers, medics, and teachers were urged to “come and see” using their unique skills. [52:27] What specific gifts or experiences do you have that could meet a real need in your community?
5. The church distributed flour, diesel, and Easter cards. What “ordinary” resources (time, skills, items) do you undervalue that could become tools of hope for someone this week?
6. Leadership training continued amid grief. [43:16] How can you intentionally grow in your ability to serve others while navigating your own challenges?