New Life Church - Kyiv

Last Sunday, I attended the 10:00 a.m. service at New Life Church in Kyiv, marking my final church visit before heading home.

​The experience felt like stepping into a Texas mega-church—complete with an outstanding worship band, professional cameras, a large screen, and a lively congregation filled with children and families. I captured a glimpse of it in the short video below.

What makes this service especially moving is that it can only happen in parts of Ukraine that remain free. In areas under Russian control, evangelical gatherings like these are prohibited, churches have been shuttered, and pastors imprisoned, tortured, even killed.

After the service, I had the privilege of interviewing Pastor Anton Kalyuzhny of New Life Church, a non-denominational congregation. His excellent English, shaped by a strong Ukrainian education, immediately stands out. As a multi-generational pastor, his ministry roots reach back to the Soviet era.

During the interview, I asked him the question I’ve posed to every clergy member I’ve met on this trip—whether they or their church have experienced any government persecution in Ukraine. Pastor Kalyuzhny responded that they had not and added that he feels churches in Ukraine may actually enjoy greater freedom than those in the U.S.; here, for instance, prayer is permitted in schools.

We also touched on the evolving schism within Ukraine’s Orthodox Church and government efforts to address "spy priests." Pastor Kalyuzhny shared valuable insights on the Moscow-linked Orthodox Church in Ukraine, seeing it as a remnant of the old Orthodox institution used by the Soviets for control, espionage, and propaganda. His full reflections will be featured in Beyond Bucha, which we aim to release by February 2025, on the anniversary of the full-scale invasion in 2022.

But on this Sunday, it simply felt like church. The worship band led with beautiful songs, and though I couldn’t understand the sermon’s words, the message was clear. The Spirit’s presence was unmistakable, and despite all this church has endured, its strength and resilience will undoubtedly carry it forward for generations, God willing.