Amika Illyna, one of the leaders of the Day Centre ministry, unexpectedly found herself in charge of the church camps at Blagodatne and Korobivka this summer, as a combination of illness, work commitments and military call-ups left others unable to take on the responsibility.

Despite initially feeling a little overwhelmed, Amika trusted God to show her what to do, and was able to say at the end that all the camps had been a great blessing.

Yura Fedoryuk, a co-founder of Camp MAXIMUM and now a pastor in Zolotonosha, was born into a non-Christian family. But after a dramatic change in his parents’ lives after they came to faith, God also turned Yura’s life around. Here he shares the significance of times at camp in his life as a disciple of Jesus.

“I have two special moments in my life when I had a personal meeting with God. The first was one summer, during our church adventure camp. I noticed that the team of leaders were different from people I saw at school and in my normal life. They were not only talking about God's love, but they really showed us that love. And especially to me, because I was that boy who was very active, running everywhere and never sitting still; but they never shouted at me, they just showed me God’s love, and I really felt it.

UCM first started running summer camps for children and teenagers back in 1997, and these quickly became a significant area of ministry for us. They continue to be an annual highlight for our churches, and many have expanded their programmes to include similar activities in the Easter and Christmas holidays as well. 

Since first opening its doors in a rented room in Cherkasy in October 2022, Hope Church has been a growing family of believers. Sergiy and Vika Kravets, along with other leaders and a very motivated youth group, have not stopped looking for ways to reach out to the local community, to provide food, warmth and fellowship to anyone who needs it.

The Wise Carpenter ministry, started by Vitaly Andriiets in 2017 to provide Christian discipleship and practical skills training for young boys, now supports over 30 workshops running in churches and schools across Ukraine. Five of these happen every week at the House of the Gospel Church in Cherkasy, and it was a pleasure to attend one in February and see the boys and their mentors in action.

Pastor Sasha Bauer, faithfully supported by his wife Shura, has served the church in Borguslavets for over 30 years and is now ready for his well-deserved retirement. During our recent visit to Ukraine we were pleased to meet Pastor Vitaly and his wife Alina, who are going take over the leadership of this small but dedicated church and the outreach to the nearby villages of Zorivka and Lukashivka. Vitaly told us a bit about himself, and shared some thoughts and ideas about his new role.

Our friends in Ukraine have now lived through 3 years of the current conflict and many soldiers have been lost on the front lines. There are also many who have been injured and are no longer able to serve – these veterans are back with their families and looking for meaning in lives they had not anticipated or planned for. Our partners at Camp Maximum have been getting involved in caring for veterans by offering family camps, but in early February they hosted a different retreat, for the men only, providing space for them to relax, to talk, and to be heard.

At a meeting with the pastors during our visit to Ukraine, we heard how they are choosing to focus on the positive changes happening in their communities due to the war, in spite of the challenges they face.

Sergiy and his wife Vika live in Blagodatne with their two sons, and lead Hope Church in Cherkasy. A godly and passionate man, Sergiy was not always a follower of Jesus and faced many challenges when he was younger. Here is his story.

Every year we run an appeal from November to February, so that we can provide extra financial support for our pastors as they care for the most needy in their communities. This year is no different, and our special focus for winter 2024 is on providing connection wherever we can – to fight loneliness and social isolation by helping people not to lose meaningful human contact.

At the end of October, Hope Church in Cherkasy celebrates 2 years since the members started gathering together in a building. But the real beginnings of this faith community go back quite a bit further, as leaders Sergiy and Vika Kravets explain.

A builder by trade, over the past couple of years Artem Fabryi has been combining his skills with his heart for mentoring by leading the Wise Carpenter workshop at the church in Denghi. Occupying a converted shipping container on the edge of the grounds, the workshop opens weekly during school term-time to host a group of boys interested in learning carpentry skills.

Misha Vakhtomin, Managing Director and Pastor at Camp Maximum, holds a degree in theology with youth specialization from Kiev Theological Seminary, and for several years led youth groups and taught others how to do youth ministry.  Then he returned to his hometown of Uman in central Ukraine with plans to plant a church, but through unfolding global events, God unexpectedly led him in a very different direction.  

Sergiy and Vika Kravets, members of the church at Denghi, felt challenged to pursue new areas of service and so in 2022 they began making a weekly trip to the city of Cherkasy, taking hot food and drinks to share with homeless people and refugees (mostly from other parts of Ukraine). Over time, the ministry grew and developed in Hope Church, which started officially meeting in November that year. Sergiy shares the story of one man from Kharkiv who briefly attended the church.

“This is how the New Testament churches supported each other across the Mediterranean. The Apostle Paul and others travelled from church to church in different countries and knew each other personally; this is so important when ‘partnering in the gospel’ across the miles.” Mike, a leader at Bethel Baptist Church shares how church partnerships supports provides relationship and connection.

Run by Inna Illinya, her sister-in-law Mika, and a wonderful team of helpers, Blagodatne Day Centre is a vital ministry serving children and families in the village. Inna explains how the work began and what God is doing through it.

Every day since the war broke out in February 2022, a group of faithful believers has gathered at Blagodatne Church to pray. When we joined them on November 6th 2023, it was day 621 of the conflict and 17 people were sitting on benches in an upstairs room, ready to start the day, start the week as they always do: with a time of listening to God, and calling out to him for peace in Ukraine.

Over the summer many of our partner churches have held baptism services. Two of the new believers shared how they came to the decision to make this public declaration of their faith.

In November, an anonymous donation to UCM funded the installation of a heating system in a building next to Blagodatne church that was being used to house IDPs from other parts of Ukraine. Two women who are staying there have shared their stories with us.

I was born in the city of Cherkassy and lived there until God stepped into my life. As a young man I became addicted to alcohol and reached a very dark place in my life. At that time I was invited by a friend to attend a rehabilitation centre in Chapaivka (now Blagodatne). In 2005 I heard what Jesus had done for me and when I accepted Him as saviour, He set me free from addiction.