Life in Ukraine has not gotten easier. Missile attacks continue, and for believers at one SGA-supported church, daily life is a real test of faith.

“These are not easy days,” wrote Slava, a leader at the church. “Kyiv has been under frequent missile attacks, and we have very limited protection. But thank God, our church continues to grow.”

“Our church continues to grow” captures the spirit of this SGA-supported congregation: exhausted by years of war, yet still moving forward in ministry. The church’s own worship leader has been mobilized into military service. Its senior pastor now serves as a frontline chaplain. And still, the church presses on—training new leaders, building a growing sports ministry, and preparing three older adults and three young women for baptism.

Nowhere is that perseverance more visible than in what happened this past summer, when more than 180 children and young people gathered for four days of camp.

A Camp Born Out of Crisis

The church has run a summer day camp every year since 2022—the same turbulent year the war began. What started as a response to crisis has become a cornerstone of the congregation’s outreach to children, youth, and families.

“In a country at war, a children’s camp is a chance for kids to rest from constant emotional strain,” the church shared, “a breath of genuine joy for those whose childhood the war is trying to steal. But most importantly, it’s a unique opportunity to show children, youth, and their parents the love of Christ.”

This year’s theme, Recognition: From Seeking My Recognition to Recognition in Him, invited campers into the stories of biblical heroes—learning, together, to find their worth and calling not in grades or others’ opinions, but in God’s love.

Fruit That Inspires

Two things stood out to the church’s leaders this year. The first is a new generation of servant leaders. Nearly 70 percent of this year’s leadership team—young people between the ages of 13 and 20—are former campers themselves. Children who once sat in the circle are now the ones leading it. It is, as the church put it, visible fruit from years of faithful investment.

The second is a bridge into parents’ hearts. About 40 mothers of preschoolers gathered for workshops while their children were in the program, and at a closing family fair on the camp’s final day, roughly 40 more parents joined in.For a church committed to reaching whole families—not just children—these connections matter.

Three Lives Touched

The church first met 19-year-old Artem a year ago, when he came to pick up his younger brother from a day center once based in the church building. He was invited to youth gatherings and sports training, but contact faded—until camp. In small group conversations, Artem admitted he had never prayed and rarely thought about faith. Yet something in the warmth of the community drew him in. The Sunday after camp ended, Artem showed up at church for the first time in his life. By his own words, he simply liked the atmosphere—so much that he stayed two hours after the service just to keep talking with the other young people.

Maksym has attended the children’s program for years; his family lives close to the church. This summer, now a teenager, he joined the teen program for the first time—playing soccer, taking part in small-group discussions, and listening to testimonies. He liked it enough to sign up for an overnight camp planned later on. His mother, though, is anxious. Early in the war, the family was forced to flee their home in southern Ukraine, and the experience left deep scars. Sending her son away to camp for the first time is not easy for her. The church is grateful for the chance to be a source of stability and blessing to this family in a season still marked by fear.

Two years ago, Tetiana began bringing her six-year-old son, Matvii, to the church’s preschool classes. This year, she attended every women’s workshop offered during camp, listening as the leaders shared their own stories. The church later learned that Tetiana once attended an evangelical church back in Kyiv, but after moving to be near [the church’s village], she had never found a new church home—until now. This year, she and Matvii have started coming to services together. Her husband currently serves in Ukraine’s armed forces, and the church has been glad to walk alongside her family during a difficult season.