The Church of Good Changes
The Church of Good Changes, founded in the early 1990’s by Gennady Mokhnenko in Mariupol, Ukraine, has been a cornerstone of its post-Soviet, blue collar, industrial port city. A beacon of hope and transformation, the organization has never shied away from facing its communities' most difficult challenges, focusing on their well known orphan and street children ministry, women’s shelters and establishing nearly 20 drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers across eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. Perhaps one of Gennadiy’s greatest strengths has been he and his church’s long term, global advocacy for child adoption and their dream of a ‘world without orphans.’ In 2015, Terrence Malick (Tree of Life, A Hidden Life), produced an award winning documentary, Almost Holy, about his journey. Gennadiy has climbed some of the Earth’s tallest mountains (Kilimanjaro, Mont Blanc, Elbrus, Sinai), and completed an around the world bike tour in 2018 all with many of his adopted sons and former drug addicted orphans, defying the odds and expectations of many.
THE CHURCH AT WAR
Since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014, Mariupol has been on the frontline of the conflict. Responding to the needs of their community, Gennadiy established the Chaplain’s Battalion of Mariupol to help support the needs and serve those living in the dangerous ‘gray zones’ on the border of peace and war. When the war escalated in February of 2022, their city was Russia’s key target of the first days and months of the invasion. In short, Gennadiy and his entire community became refugees, barely escaping with their lives. The entire city, with a population of 500,000 at the time, was raised to the ground and it’s been unofficially estimated that fifty to one hundred thousand civilians were killed. Between 1 in 5 and 1 in 10 people from Mariupol may have been murdered in their city alone and everyone from the Church of Good Changes community has lost family members, friends, their homes, businesses and community. They have been forced to spread around the world, Gennadiy’s own sons and daughters now living as refugees across Europe and the United States. Life will never be the same.
CHAPLAIN'S BATTALION OF MARIUPOL
Despite the hardships their community has faced, many of their leaders decided to stay and serve their people together as the Chaplain’s Battalion of Mariupol. They are composed of over 75 ordinary individuals who previously were church volunteers, business people and include former orphans, recovered alcoholics, and drug addicts. Despite their diverse backgrounds, they have emerged as frontline heroes in eastern Ukraine, risking their lives daily to provide essential spiritual and emotional support to civilians and military personnel. They conduct missions to evacuate civilians, deliver vital supplies, and boost morale, all while enduring separation from their families for over two years due to the ongoing conflict following the destruction of their city.
