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‍“Before attending my first ‘Bible Study for the Non-Religious,’ I had read The Antichrist by Friedrich Nietzsche,” Vanya recalls. This fierce critique of Christianity bolstered his own worldview as an atheist, however, he was still intrigued by the idea of studying the Bible with the new friends he’d met at the Steiger Community Place in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine. “I thought to myself: Well, well, now we’re going to study the Bible...” So Vanya started coming to the Bible study in July 2024 with only one intention: to prove that it was all fake. But he was so moved by the sincerity and love of our Steiger team that he couldn’t resist coming back again and again.

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He grew more interested in Jesus, and then he started coming to church. In October, he prayed a prayer of repentance. From that moment on, everything changed.

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He joined the Steiger team, started preaching at our evangelistic services, and even left his job to dedicate himself fully to the Gospel. His passion only grew—and it started raising questions.

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“Give me advice,” he recently asked Angela, one of our Steiger Ukraine leaders, “how should I respond to Christians who don’t want to go out to the streets to talk about Jesus? I’m just so passionate about preaching Jesus on the streets. I really don’t understand why some Christians I talk to say they’re not ready or find excuses not to go,” he continued looking puzzled and concerned. Then he said something that really touched Angela:

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“Can you pray for me? I don’t ever want to become like that. I’m afraid that this fire I have might fade away… I look at you and others who have been on mission for years and still burn with passion—I want to be like that too.”

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So, they prayed. Now, every week, Vanya and the whole Khmelnytskyi team are out on the streets—even in snow and rain.

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And now, God is opening even more doors. Vanya has started traveling across Ukraine to organize “Raffa Parties”—creative outreach events for non-religious young people—where he shares the Gospel and boldly tells them that the purpose of life is a relationship with God. He’s already hosted three of these parties, where around 300 people heard the message of Jesus.

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Next year, Vanya will attend the Steiger Missions School, and after that, he plans to become a full-time Steiger missionary.

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“What God is doing is so inspiring, and he is using Vanya’s life to ignite passion in us, in churches, and even among secular people,” shared Steiger missionary Valerii.

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