Life from the Ashes: War Opens Doors for the Gospel
An artillery shell whistled overhead, followed by the roar of an explosion too close for comfort. An answering shell flew in the opposite direction. Calvary Chapel Pastor Vadym Kotelenets didn’t even glance up. The people following him in a single-file line didn’t flinch. The explosions were too frequent to give them much heed.
The group, members of his congregation, had been walking for hours. Seven long miles through forests, across fields, always on the alert. Vadym was in the lead, picking his way through the thick mud that swallowed a narrow track between two fields. Everyone who came behind was careful to set their feet precisely in the outline of his soggy footprints. The fields on either side looked tempting, but something kept Vadym on the swampy path.
When Pastor Vadym Kotolenets and members of his Calvary Chapel Nizhy, Ukraine, congregation evacuated from the village, a miraculous overnight frost provided an hour of firm ground to transport the small children in the one car available. As soon as the sun was high in the sky, the track turned back to mud. Photo courtesy of Tanya Kotolenets
Suddenly, he saw a soldier in the distance frantically waving his arms above his head. The man ran toward them, shouting, but Vadym couldn’t make out the words. Was he friend or foe? Vadym hesitated for a moment, then continued to lead his flock forward. Soon the other man’s shouts became clear.
“Stay on the path! DO NOT step on the grass!! There are mines!”
Burning Out in Ministry
As the family returned to Nizhyn after their war-induced, unexpected 8-month sabbatical, they were refreshed and ready for the next thing God had for them. Left to right: Tanya, Pastor Vadym, Nakiyka (14), and Abigail (10). Photo courtesy of Tanya Kotolenets
Pastor Vadym and his wife, Tanya, had led Calvary Chapel Nizhyn for 14 years before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The church, planted by CC missionaries Paul and Gretchen Fournier in 2002, was situated in a sleepy little town less than 100 miles from the Russian border. The fellowship comprised a small group of faithful people and a plot of land with a modest building. Tithes and offerings only covered the church’s operational costs, and Vadym worked two jobs to support his family. The couple loved the people of the church, but as the years passed, the physical demands of supporting a family and carrying a church became a crushing weight.
“We weren’t just burned out,” Vadym remembered. “There was nothing left of us but ashes. If we could have found someone to give the church to, we would have. But we couldn’t abandon the people.”
In August 2023, Vadym Kotelenets (left) and another fellow pastor relax together at a meeting at Calvary Chapel Ternopil in Ukraine. Photo by Tom Price
War Strikes
The start of the full-scale war took them completely by surprise. When they awoke on the morning of February 24, 2022, and realized their whole country was under attack, they thought at first they could carry on with life as usual. But when they heard reports of the ongoing rape, torture, and murder of civilians at the hands of Russian soldiers, they decided to take their two daughters and hide out in an abandoned house in a village outside Nizhyn. Several other families from the church joined them.
Twenty-four hours per day, the group could hear the rumble and feel the ground quake under the passage of columns of Russian tanks and heavy machinery headed toward Kyiv. They thanked God the village was not on the main highway. The men took turns standing guard at night.
After several days, the electricity was cut off, and with it, their access to news. Knowing the dire state of things was terrifying. Not knowing anything was infinitely worse. Everyone was asking Vadym what they should do. Tanya was so anxious that she tore out patches of her hair by the roots. That was a breaking point for Vadym. Clutching a clump of his wife’s hair, he spent the night in agonized prayer for direction. Towards morning, he received an unexpected text message from CC missionary and Pastor Nate Medlong.
“I want to help you get out.” The message was confirmation. Vadym needed to lead the people out. Avoiding the roads, they hiked back to Nizhyn, miraculously making it through the minefields set up to defend the town. But they were not out of danger yet. Though the Ukrainian forces had heroically repelled an enemy much better equipped, the city was still being bombed. Vadym knew they had to keep going, but they had no way to evacuate.
Pastor Vadym greets Army Chaplain Sasha in August 2023 following her presentation of a plaque from her military base, expressing gratitude for the support provided by many Calvary Chapels. Vadym, along with his wife Tanya, faithfully led Calvary Chapel Nizhyn for 14 years before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. After escaping to Ternopil and ministering at the Calvary Chapel there, Vadym and his family returned and continue to minister at CC Nizhyn. Sasha had also served as a translator for the father of Pastor George Markey, Jr., when the Markey family first arrived in Kyiv in 1992. Photo by Tom Price
Evacuation to Ternopil
After several days of fruitless search, CC missionary and Pastor George Markey, Jr., put Vadym in touch with Yurii Zahurskiy, a man from CC Kaharlyk, near Kyiv. Since the beginning of the war, Yurii had been evacuating people from areas others deemed too dangerous to enter. Despite narrowly surviving an attack on his van a few days earlier, Yurii didn’t hesitate to make the dangerous trip to Nizhyn. He evacuated Vadym, Tanya, their two daughters, and another family, transporting them 350 miles to the city of Ternopil in Western Ukraine. Ternopil had become a haven for many who were fleeing the war. CC Ternopil was at the center of the effort to care for these displaced people. Though they knew almost no one in the church, Vadym and Tanya immediately felt like they were among family. They decided to stay.
“It was supernatural, a revival!” Vadym gets excited talking about it. “Before the war, it was like the church was asleep. But now there was such love in action, such unity. It was a hard time, but a sweet time.”
The next eight months were a gift, a season of physical, emotional, and spiritual renewal for the burnt-out couple. The church provided a rent-free apartment and food. With their basic necessities taken care of, Vadym and Tanya were free to rest for the first time in years, and they were able to participate in the life of the church without the pressure of any ministry responsibilities. With time, the desire to serve returned, as did the desire to go home, despite the danger of living so close to Russia.
Vadym congratulates Ilya Yarmil after Ilya was ordained as one of the Calvary Chapels in Kyiv in August 2023. Photo by Tom Price
Returning Home to Minister
Once per quarter, the CC Nizhyn youth group makes crafts and sells them to each other. The proceeds go into a fund to buy treats for an orphanage-ministry field trip. Photo courtesy of Tanya Kotolenets
In November 2022, they moved back to Nizhyn. Due to frequent aerial attacks, most of the people of the church had fled the city. Eight months earlier, Vadym and Tanya might have rejoiced to be left without a church, but now they were eager to start afresh. They began distributing humanitarian aid to displaced people. Drawing on their own experience of fleeing home, Vadym and Tanya provided a safe place for them to process their grief and find home again.
Wanting to serve the children of these families, in the spring of 2023 they purchased a large trampoline. Word quickly spread, and children came from all over town for the free entertainment. Soon these youngsters felt at home at the church, letting themselves in whenever it was open. This was often, because Vadym now had financial support from outside Ukraine to minister full time. That summer, CC Nizhyn hosted its first youth camp, welcoming 30 youngsters and following up with a weekly youth group. “Our mission is to show them that the Bible is the story of God’s love for them,” explained Tanya. The camps have become an annual tradition. Over the summer of 2025, 50 kids attended, and some former campers returned as counselors. These are amazing numbers for a town of 66,000 in a country with a historic distrust of Protestant churches.
Vadym and Tanya’s vision to bless their community is shaping these kids’ perception of church. “Instead of a building where you go to light candles and pray before icons, they now understand that a church is a community of people who love God, love each other, and study the Bible,” Tanya shared. And CC Nizhyn is growing. Since relaunching the fellowship, they’ve had to construct a second building to accommodate all the new people who are coming. “The war has softened people’s hearts,” Vadym said. “It’s made them more open to the Gospel.” He dreams of the day when the new building, too, will be too small to contain all the people God is drawing to Himself.
Read more stories about God’s work among Ukrainians: SharonTMarkey.com
Tanya and her daughters shelter in their grandmother’s cellar during the early days of the war. Currently, Nizhyn experiences multiple air-raid alerts per day. Kamikaze drones are the most frequent threats; missiles are the most dangerous. Russia is so close that missiles can arrive before the air-raid sirens sound the alarm. Photo courtesy of Tanya Kotolenets
One of the ways CC Nizhyn ministers to displaced children is by providing opportunities for play, a critical part of trauma recovery. Photo courtesy of Tanya Kotolenets
CC Nizhyn held a series of mini kids’ camps throughout the summer of 2025. Photo courtesy of Tanya Kotolenets
CC Ternopil sent a team to CC Nizhyn to help with a large youth camp in summer 2025. It was a dangerous week with many kamikaze drone attacks, but none of the parents removed their children from the camp. They were grateful their kids were able to experience joy in the midst of war. Photo courtesy of Tanya Kotolenets
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