Christianity Today has a strong piece on the chaplains serving Ukraine’s soldiers. Mikhail Pavenko is a Ukrainian American who repairs power lines in Washington state. On Oct. 29 he flew out for his 10th two-week rotation as a frontline chaplain: evacuations, the wounded, supplies, and a lot of listening.
- FPV drones scare soldiers and chaplains the most. Pavenko survived a near miss in 2025: “God’s all-powerful mercy and our equipment saved not only our lives but also the lives of others that day.”
- Ukraine has 400+ commissioned chaplains and about 700 volunteers for roughly 800,000 troops. That’s still about 40% short.
- Evangelical chaplain Denis Gorenkov calls it a ministry of presence: “Spiritual conversations can only happen after I’ve listened for a long time.”
My take
Presence first, then words. That’s how Jesus did it with a lot of people. These guys go where it’s hardest to go and stay until somebody’s ready to pray. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). Pray for the chaplains, for protection from those drones, and for soldiers at the end of their rope to meet Jesus in the bunker.
God Bless, and Happy hacking!
