Yan Pidoima is a pastor and Regional Coordinator of Operation Christmas Child in Ukraine.
When did you trust Christ?
I grew up in a Christian family, and my father was a pastor. One Sunday morning, when I was 16 years old, while attending Sunday school, I felt God's presence moving on my heart. Together with my brother and another friend, we surrendered our hearts to Jesus. We were baptised a year later.
What have been the defining moments of your Christian walk?
One defining moment was my father’s testimony. He was a small church pastor with no salary, but he was always very involved and interested in every person in the church. Another defining moment was when I was accepted as a student at Emanuel Baptist University. This helped me with the foundational things in pastoral ministry, and the mentoring relationships I developed while there helped me grow in faith. Another pivotal point has been the war experience. When the war started several years ago, I was in Romania but decided to return to Ukraine.
What do you hope to gain from participating?
The information I heard at ELF helped me understand the importance of moving forward in my ministry and edifying others who are weaker in the life of faith. The Forum has helped me grow in knowledge and broaden my vision of the work, and it is a platform where you can make many acquaintances with different Christians from everywhere.
What is your ministry?
At the moment, I am a pastor in the Baptist church in Costiceni. I am involved as a volunteer for Operation Christmas Child with Samaritan's Purse. From the first day of the war in Ukraine, I have been part of the aid committee that distributes humanitarian aid for refugees and people from the eastern part of the country. With God's help, I organised a discipleship group in January 2024, which continues to this day.
What is your leadership role or what were your past leadership roles?
I have pastored the church in Costiceni since 2015. Also, I have been a member of the Baptist Association in Cernivtsy since the war started, focusing mainly on coordinating all the humanitarian, medical, financial, and spiritual aid for the war-affected areas through our international hub. I have also been the Regional Coordinator for Operation Christmas Child since 2016. Lastly, I have been a coordinating team member in the ProUkraine project since 2018.
Why should someone invest in your ministry?
I am a pastor and a minister in a unique context, a war zone country in which people who didn't consider faith before are now coming to Christ. Churches that were almost empty before the war are now filled with non-Christians, locals, and refugees. Here is an excellent opportunity for the Gospel. Even though I have dual citizenship and could have left Ukraine, I stayed to serve Christ and the people with my wife and two children. However, I need all the help I can get to be effective in this ministry.
