About UCM

Taking the gospel to every community, meeting their material needs and equipping Ukrainians for a brighter future.

UCM leadership

Ella Perseedoss
Director

The first time I visited Ukraine with UCM was when I was 16 and I went to serve in Zolotonosha on the Holiday Bible Clubs and Summer Camps. I enjoyed those two weeks enormously and met some incredible people, but at that point I had no idea of the heart transformation and life-long journey that God had planned for me. Throughout my teenage years and into my university career, I continued serving with UCM in Ukraine, and came to realise that God had placed Ukraine deep in my heart, for reasons that I cannot explain except to know that it is from Him.

In 2014 I left my teaching career here in the UK and went to live and serve in Cherkasy, central Ukraine. There I served in the local church with the youth, worship and women’s ministry, as well as teaching English and Science in local high schools. In this time I was able to learn the language so that I can continue to develop relationships with our pastors and partners in Ukraine, to understand the changing culture so that I can see new ways to serve the people, and to establish links into areas such as education and Camp Maximum for us to strengthen moving forward.

I returned to the UK in 2016 and in 2019, was offered the chance to lead UCM. I am so enormously humbled by the invitation to lead UCM, and as I look back and see the journey that God has taken me on to get me to this place, I cannot but rejoice in seeing how He has been preparing me for the role. My love for Ukraine and desire to see the Gospel have a tangible impact on the nation is almost too much to contain sometimes, and so I am delighted to be able to serve in this way. All glory be to our God and King, now and forever!

Nicola Smith
Chair of Trustees

I'm Nicola, the Chair of Trustees. I live in Oxford, wife to Tim and mum to two young daughters.  I'm a trained teacher and counsellor but spend most of my time supporting my family's home life! I have known Ella for almost 20 years and have learned so much about Ukraine through her journey. It is an honour to be part of the team that has a heart to support local churches, local people and the vision to encourage a brighter future for Ukrainians.

Nathan Bentliff
Finance Trustee

Hey I’m Nathan - Married with my wonderful wife Taylor and we live in Croydon with our lovely dog Mabel. I’m a Finance manager by profession and the Treasurer for UCM. I’ve got a church staff background so love to mix the world of finance with faith. I’m really excited about what UCM is doing to empower the local church in Ukraine to spread the gospel, and specifically in giving pastors the tools to build sustainable Churches which benefit their local communities.

Mike Roper
Trustee

Hi, I’m Mike, a local church elder in Farnham, Surrey and married to my very patient wife Alison who is a professional Counsellor. We have three sons, two amazing daughters-in-law and three grandsons. I’ve worked throughout my career in various roles in the agricultural sector which has meant travelling around the world, especially across Europe, the Far East and North America. It has always thrilled me to meet up with Christians from different cultures and backgrounds and yet immediately to share a common bond in faith and worship together. I’ve always had a passion for mission so it’s a real privilege to serve as a Trustee of UCM and to contribute where I can to the oversight of the Trust and especially in developing inter-church partnerships between churches in the UK and Ukraine. We can learn so much from each others’ experiences for mutual support and benefit.’

Jon Ward
Trustee

Hi, my name is Jon; I am married to Ira, we live in Reading with our three children, and I work as a civil engineer. I met Ira when I first went to Ukraine in 1998 when helping on UCM's youth camps; I've also spent a year with IFES in Kharkiv.

During my times on the UCM camps it has been amazing to see firsthand how God worked through the local churches in bringing people to Himself. It has been really encouraging to see the continued faithfulness of the local churches as they are so servant-hearted and committed in spreading the gospel as they reach out to those around them.

I am privileged to be a Trustee of UCM and look forward to seeing how God continues to work in the Cherkasy region and beyond.

Emily Wilson
Trustee

Hello, I’m Emily, a communications professional with a portfolio of writing for and creating content for multiple Christian charities. It’s my honour to be on this brilliant team of Trustees to support the work of UCM. I love hearing the stories of churches, pastors and communities making a difference for the Kingdom of God and the people of Ukraine.

I find it really humbling to see the vision of UCM come to life through the passion, incredible energy and persistence of the churches we serve in Ukraine. I encourage you to sign up to receive UCM’s newsletters, which are packed full of stories and amazing testimonies of transformation - so that you can get excited about the work of UCM.

Liam
Trustee

Hi, I’m Liam and I live in Staffordshire in the West Midlands with my family. I work in education within Telford and Wrekin. I am really excited to be a trustee with Ukraine Christian Ministries, having met and worked with many Ukrainian adults and young people here in the UK since 2008, and to have the honour and privilege to support the church in Ukraine and to encourage and empower people to be all that God has called them to be.

Katie Machell
Communications Officer

I’m Katie and I joined UCM in May 2022, after serving with two different mission agencies in East Africa for almost 20 years. The main focus of my role is gathering stories from our pastors and partners in Ukraine to share with our friends and supporters through newsletters and social media, which I love to do. I feel very privileged to be part of the team and to be able to learn about what God is doing through his people in Ukraine, who are living through some very challenging times

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Ukraine Christian Ministries Registered Charity No 1061221