Partner Details
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Sending Agency/Ministry Name
Islands Christian Church
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Location Serving
Kherson, Ukraine
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Serving in Ministry Since
2004
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Partnering with CCC since
2020
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Favorite Book
Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
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Favorite Food
Borscht and dumplings
Ministry Description
As the Youth Pastor at Islands Christian Church Leniod is focused on three aspects:
1. Evangelism and ministry to unbelieving youth in our city.
2. Raising Christian youth who are in our ministry.
3. Training of young leaders for the entire Kherson region.
Ministry Calling
In 2009, when my contract with Island Christian Church expired, I was invited to join another new church organization team. We moved as a family from Kherson to a small village (about 3 thousand people) in order to start a church there and for the first time in my life I saw the need for youth ministry. This was the third church I organized, but for the first time God gave me the passion to serve youth. It was there, surrounded by dozens of unbelieving teenagers, that I decided to devote myself to youth. In 2014, I was again invited to Island Christian Church as a youth pastor, where I serve now.
Family Life
I was born and raised in a small village with a population of less than 500 people. I grew up in a family of school teachers, 3 generations before me, everyone in my family was teachers, I also dreamed of continuing the family tradition, but God changed my dreams. In high school, I believed in God and then decided to devote my life to serving Him. That is why, after graduating from high school, I went to study at Christian University, where I got a good bag of knowledge for ministry and met my wife.
My wife is from Uzbekistan (a Muslim country), she believed in high school and came to Ukriana to study at a Christian university. In my final year at university in 2004, I was invited to join the new church organization team where I now serve as a youth pastor. In 2007, I married her, with whom we studied together at the university, and since then we have shared not only life, but also service to God. Today, God has given us 3 awesome sons.
Now I am a youth pastor in the Island Christian Church, founder and leader of the youth movement “South Point” and the regional leader of the youth ministry in the Kherson region.
Prayer Points for Leonid & Minzilya Matseyka
- Personal: Obtaining Ukrainian citizenship for my wife. This is a very time consuming and complicated procedure as many errors were found in my wife's Uzbek documents. Also the possibility of repairing or buying a newer car.
- Ministry: Vision and wisdom in developing youth ministry. Strengthening and developing a team of youth ministers. Luke 10:2 - we pray for new leaders for our youth ministry (needs 2 small group leaders and a sports ministry leader). Launch of a training program for youth leaders for Kherson region in partnership with Christian University.
- Community: End of the war with Russia and the readiness of the church to preach the gospel and the people to hear the gospel.
