Ukraine Church Plant Transforms 12 Villages: 400 Children Reached Despite Ongoing War

The morning sun breaks over the village of Velyki Lazy, Ukraine, illuminating a story that only God could write. What began as a humble church planting effort has grown into a movement of hope sweeping through twelve villages, touching over 400 children and their families. This is how Jesus is using ordinary people—including you, our prayer warriors and financial partners—to accomplish something extraordinary in a nation still facing war.

When village elders approached with keys to a school office, it felt like holy ground. These local leaders were now blessing the ministry with counseling space and opening their school campus for special events. Local businessmen began offering their facilities for small group meetings. Each open door testified to the power of your prayers breaking down barriers no human effort could overcome. God was clearly preparing soil that had been hard for generations.

This summer brought remarkable growth when Sasha, our youth leader, organized day camps across twelve villages surrounding the new church plant. Over 400 children gathered to sing, play, and hear about Jesus—many for the first time. But Sasha understood that winning children meant winning families. During the brief moments of drop-offs and pick-ups, he intentionally engaged parents and older siblings. These fleeting encounters became divine appointments as parents who came simply to deliver or collect their children found themselves in meaningful conversations about life and faith. The Gospel began traveling from young hearts to entire households.

The fruit of this summer’s labor is already multiplying. This September, we’re launching a children’s club and youth ministry, with fifteen parents already committed to a support group where they’ll find community and discover wisdom for raising their families. Each of these initiatives represents seeds planted because of faithful partners like you whose gifts and prayers have made this expansion possible. What started as one church plant is becoming a network touching every age group across multiple villages.

God’s providence became even clearer when Dennis McMains and Bob Marsh from Converge arrived in Velyki Lazy. These seasoned leaders from one of the world’s leading church planting denominations came to train our local church planting team, sharing wisdom that will multiply the effectiveness of every prayer you’ve prayed and every dollar you’ve invested. The connection runs deep—having grown up in a Converge church (formerly the Baptist General Conference) and graduated from Bethel Seminary while serving as a youth pastor in the denomination, this reunion felt like God weaving together decades of preparation for this moment in Ukraine.

McMains and Marsh came as servants, listening to the unique challenges of ministering in Ukrainian society still embroiled in war, helping our team develop strategies rooted in biblical principles but contextualized for a nation where uncertainty has become a daily companion. Their investment represents the global body of Christ functioning as God intended—each part contributing its gifts for building up the whole.

What makes this story powerful is recognizing who the true author is. Every opened door, every child’s smile, every parent’s question flows from the throne room of heaven where Jesus Christ sits as Lord. You aren’t merely supporting a cause; you’re participating in God’s work of writing a new chapter in Ukraine’s spiritual history. When those 400 children sang praise under the summer sun, heaven heard a symphony that included your voice.

Now God is opening another crucial door. The church building in Velyki Lazy has reached a pivotal moment—it’s nearly ready to welcome these growing ministries home. It might not be pretty yet, but it can shelter and serve the families God is drawing to Himself. The final barrier stands between these eager families and their new spiritual home: completing the restrooms. This practical need represents the difference between a building site and a functioning house of worship where children can gather safely, youth can find belonging, and parents can discover community. We’re asking you to pray about making a special gift to help us cross this finish line. Your contribution will literally open the doors for these precious families to move into the church building being prepared just for them—a place where the Gospel seed planted this summer can grow deep roots and flourish for generations.

The transformation in Velyki Lazy shows what happens when God’s people unite across continents for Kingdom purposes. Village elders who once viewed church with suspicion now offer buildings. Parents who dropped off children for activities now hunger for spiritual community. Youth who felt forgotten in rural Ukraine now have a leader who believes in their potential. This is the careful orchestration of a God who delights in using your offerings to accomplish His purposes.

As autumn arrives and these new ministries launch, there’s a sense that this is only the beginning. The foundation you’ve helped lay is solid because it’s built on Christ Jesus. The seeds you’ve planted are sprouting because the Lord of the harvest is faithful. What started as a single church plant in Velyki Lazy is becoming a regional movement of hope—a beacon of light in a nation experiencing darkness, a testimony to the Gospel’s power to transform entire communities.

This is your partnership in the Gospel at work. You may never meet the children whose lives you’ve changed, but your prayers have moved mountains, and your giving is multiplying thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold in Ukrainian soil. Together, we’re watching God transform hearts, restore hope, and build His church in places where the enemy once claimed victory. The story of Velyki Lazy is still being written, and you hold a pen dipped in the ink of God’s faithfulness. To Him alone belongs all the glory.