We will rest when the war is over.
Joyful Pastor In A War Zone
That’s what our friend, Pastor Sergei, has been saying for almost three and a half years. I met Sergei in December 2023 during my first trip to Ukraine. My first impression was of a crazy guy who drove his vehicle every day to rescue people during the Russian invasion. He is lovable, loud, and joyful. It’s hard to catch him in a rare moment when he is not smiling.
Sergei is a pastor, but not like most pastors I know. We sat together in a sauna one night in Poltava, Ukraine sharing some fresh fruit and kvass. Early the next morning we drove towards the front lines of a war zone to deliver humanitarian aid, a weekly ministry he has undertaken since the Russian full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Is It Safe?
Pastor Sergei with a photo of bullet-riddled cars on the way out of Kharkiv in 2022.
I asked if the Red Cross symbol on the back window of our van, would identify us as humanitarian workers. “To our friends it might,” brought little reassurance of safety. As we sped along the highway towards the extreme eastern part of Ukraine, Sergei showed me pictures on his phone from the first days of the war. Images of burned-out military vehicles, bullet-riddled civilian cars, and bodies along the side of the road. Many of the cars were hand painted with the words in Russian, “Child inside.” The signage had no effect on the gunmen.
One picture showed people crammed into his vehicle. He talked about rescuing his friend’s family in the first week of the war. On the drive back to Poltava, people stopped the car, begging for a ride out. He said, “The car is full,” but they didn’t care. So, he opened the trunk, and they climbed in without complaining.
“Do you know how many people you were able to recuse?”
His friend, Pastor Vadim spoke for him. “About 5,000.”
By one man. In one vehicle. Day after day after day, sometimes twice in one day.
Rescue
We drove to a bombed-out building. Sergei explained that he had rescued over 500 people from the single shelter over the course of days. The day after his last rescue, the building was hit by Russian rockets, killing people who remained inside. Sergei took this picture of Ed Dickson of Loads of Love and me by the building. I wasn’t sure what to do. Do I smile? Do I look sad? You can decide how I look.
Jocelyn, Pastor Sergei, Ed Dickson clearly a store out of fresh bread
Pastor Sergei, Ed Dickson – from our trip this summer
And now, three and a half years after the invasion started, he drives weekly to areas close to the frontlines to deliver non-perishables, fresh bread, clothing and medication. Sometimes with Vadim and sometimes with other volunteers. I’ve been with him on three such trips. Jocelyn came with us in July 2025, the furthest east a Canadian woman has travelled since the war started. We heard distant explosions. Watched plumes of smoke rise on the near horizon. On my first trip we could feel the vibrations of artillery shelling as we passed out bags of food.
Trust
Many of the people we meet made the choice to trust their lives to God and stay in their homes. Some fled the advancing Russia troops and then returned when the Ukrainian army liberated their community. But the sounds of war and the threat of death are never too far away. When Sergei shares how God loves them and has not forgotten them, they readily pray for covering, protection, and salvation.
Sergei’s wife and daughter and parents are safe in Poland. He sent them across the border on the 2nd day of the invasion. Now he cares for families of others. In June 2025, he invited me to preach at his church on a Saturday. You can tell he loves his people. They laugh together and worship together. We shared communion that afternoon and prayed with people afterwards. Request after request was for a son or sons or a relative who was on the front line, fighting for their country. Those moments were the most sobering of any prayer time we’ve had in our ministry.
Hardworking Pastors
Unlike Canada where bi-vocational pastors are a rarity, in Ukraine every pastor has a job or operates a business to support themselves and the church. They don’t take a salary from the church; they give from their profits or income to support their church. And some serve in more than one church. Just $250US/month would allow a pastor to fully commit to daily pastoral ministry and still provide for their family.
The pictures Sergei sends me on Sundays show seniors around long rectangular tables, eating hot soup and sandwiches provided by Christians in Sergei’s congregation. In every village, elderly women hold a loaf of fresh bread close to their heart like it’s their lifeline. In most cases it is. 
Great Need
Sergei told Jocelyn and I in June, “The needs are just as great now as the day the war started. People have tears in their eyes every time I hand something out.”
We wondered how he does it.
“We will rest when the war is over.”
Jocelyn and I committed to share stories like Sergei’s. To ask people to pray for Ukraine’s peace and freedom; for God’s protection on Sergei, Vadim, and so many other pastors and workers who risk their lives every day to serve God by serving others.
Ukraine did not want this war.
The war will end if Russia would stop fighting and return the land and people.
This is another in s series of stories of war time Ukrainians. Read about Vika here and Roma here.
Please share this post. Pray for peace and freedom in Ukraine. Join the conversation and post a comment below. Thank you.
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