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Odesa - Evangelical Reformed Presbyterian Church of Odesa
Pastor Valerii and his family

About

As early as the mid-19th century, a Reformed congregation stood in Odesa. However, with WWI and the Russian revolution, many pastors and priests were executed and the congregation fled; and their building became a Soviet Puppet Theater before falling into disrepair.

 

In 1996, American MTW missionaries organized a Presbyterian congregation and succeeded in having the ownership of the building returned to the church. I moved with my family from Western Ukraine to Odesa in 2001 and I served the church as an associate pastor until 2014 when I became the senior pastor. We have three children, Lyudmila, Valeria, a son Ostap, son-in-law Valentine, and a grandson Luka. Valentine serves in the Armed Forces. With the start of the full-scale invasion, many church members fled. Currently, our church has many elderly members and internally displaced persons from Kherson and other regions who have joined the church. There are also local people who have come to God during the war.

Updated for April 2026

Pray for

  • Many of the elderly in our congregation suffer from illness, which is made worse by the war, and is further complicated by having little money and by the rising prices. Pray for their health, and for their faith that they would rejoice in the Lord and see his faithfulness in their trials. Two dear sisters, Lidia and Natalia, are in special need of your prayers.
  • Lyudmila, the daughter of Paster Valerii, as she expects her second child. Pray for the continued healthy development of the baby and a safe delivery.
  • safety of some of our members in Kramarosk- they are under fire multiple times a day
  • The military personnel from our congregation: Oleh, Valentyn, Serhiy, Oleksandr, Vitaliy, Mykhailo.
  • Andriy Hryhorovych, who is missing the action and for his mother as she seeks news. Pray that the Lord would provide information and if he is in captivity, that he would be freed
  • Vladyslav, who is held prisoner – pray that he might know the true and comforting presence of Christ and be encouraged until his release.
  • Viktor, who is wounded, that he would recover physically and emotionally from battle.
  • The people who receive food packages and medicine  from us. Pray that we can continue this assistance and that Maria, woul leads the ministry, would have strength for the task and be able to reach many with the Gospel.
  • Protection from drones and missiles, for the preservation of our lives, but also for our power stations.  We are currently (again) without electricity for the 3rd day in a row.
  • The evacuation of a Christian family from the frontline to Odesa in April that the church is helping with
  • Workers. The church is always short of workers, but with the war every area of the civil sector is short on skilled laborers – and we too need men who will become leaders of our youth and deacons and elders in the church.  Pray for God to be preparing the hearts of the leaders he will one day supply us with.  

Praise for

  • The continued gift of our lives in these troubled times.
  • Three people who have begun coming regularly to church and expressed interest in membership.
  • The warmer weather and the recovery of many in our congregation from chest infections.
Pieces of a Shahed drone that fell near our church sit now in front of our altar. Praise God for his protection.
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