KYIV, Ukraine (BP) – “I’m alive, I’m alive,” Pastor Mark Sergeev’s oldest son Christopher, 13, called from debris that seconds ago was the third floor of the Sergeev family home in Kyiv.
Everyone was accounted for except Sergeev’s youngest and 8-year-old son Aaron.
“I think I’m going to take my kids down to the first floor,” Sergeev’s wife Jane had said moments earlier. Their three sons sleep on the third floor, and the first floor was the closest the family had to a bomb shelter.
“In the moment that she told me that,” Sergeev told Baptist Press days after the explosion, “in a second, the rocket came, fell down.”
It was a 550-pound Escondare Russian missile, one of 48 missiles Forbes reported Russia rained across Ukraine in a 12-hour span overnight Sept. 27-28, in addition to 593 drones. Ukraine neutralized as many as 611 of the weapons, Forbes reported, but the Escondare was evidently among five missiles and 30 drones Forbes said struck 16 locations across Ukraine.
“We’re OK,” Sergeev heard Christopher scream again. “I picked up my phone and started recording the video and going up. I found my youngest son Aaron.”
Sergeev dug Aaron from the rubble, alive. The family, including their 10-year-old son Nathan, made it to the street outside.
Pastor Mark Sergeev, left, and Colby Barrett in front of the remains of Sergeev’s home after a Russian missile attack Sept. 29 in Kyiv.
“When we got out on the street, I saw, it’s a miracle,” Sergeev told Baptist Press. “It’s only one wall that saved our lives. A couple of feet more, and I think the kids would have to be dead.
“I told Christopher, if God has not put His angel at that wall, you would be dead. But now, you’re standing here and smiling.”
At least four people died in Kyiv that night, Forbes reported. The 13 injured in the city were among 70 injuries nationwide in the barrage. Russia is intensifying air strikes and targeting utility plants as winter nears.
This is the second home Sergeev, pastor of Kyiv Ecclesia Church, has lost to the war. Russia confiscated his first home in Melitopol, he told Baptist Press, as well as his first church, Melitopol Christian Church, founded by his parents some 30 years ago in southeastern Ukraine. The family moved to Kyiv and planted Ecclesia in September 2024.
Colby Barrett, a U.S. engineer and documentary producer, spoke to Baptist Press along with Sergeev on Zoom as they family recovered. Barrett, who chronicles the struggles of Ukraine’s church community in the documentary series “Faith Under Siege,” traveled to Kyiv to hear Sergeev’s story.
“The drywall in his house, it’s all gone. All the windows are gone. The force of explosion was so strong, it blew all of the drywall off, and nobody should have survived that, especially the kids on the third floor,” Barrett said. “It’s not physically possible, so God’s hand was right there.”
It is because of God that Sergeev chooses to remain in Ukraine and minister to the nation as it defends itself against Russia.
“Everybody in this world has a calling. I understand that I have a calling for Ukraine. Somebody has to be here,” Sergeev said. “And I see how many miracles happen here, right now. How many people come into the church.”
Sergeev baptized more than 10 soldiers, all new believers, within the past two months at Ecclesia, he said, as the church continues to grow. Soldiers, reservists and their families often visit the church.
“Some of them never before believed in God, but now they’re giving their lives to Christ. That’s why I understand that this is a very important opportunity for us as the pastors to lead and help them,” Sergeev said. “It’s encouraging me to do another wave, to do something, to build a church. That’s why I’m still here with my family.”
Pastor Mark Sergeev, his wife Jane and their three sons, who were asleep in their home on the third floor — blown away (at right) — in a Russian missile attack, survived uninjured.
Ecclesia was just ending its monthly three-day fast Oct. 4 when Sergeev spoke with Baptist Press. His family is living in a home provided by an Ecclesia member, and he believes the church’s and family’s perseverance are a testimony of faith for his children and future leaders.
“I want America to know that Ukraine is still a conservative Christian country,” he said, referencing the people of the nation that upholds religious freedom. “We still have a stronghold of Christianity in Europe. We’re still fighting for our family values. We’re building churches.”
Sergeev asks Americans to pray for Ukraine, as he believes the war is a spiritual battle of Satan attacking the church.
“I want to ask, still pray, still stand with us, because this battle is not only about this piece of land,” he said. “This is a spiritual battle. The enemy came to destroy, to kill kids, people, cities, to destroy cities.”
Barrett continues to chronicle Ukraine’s Protestant and Evangelical churches as they suffer persecution in Russia’s war on Ukraine. He hopes to add additional installments to the four-part Faith Under Siege series currently streaming on Angel.com and the Angel app.
“We are incredibly grateful that the A Faith Under Siege series is available exclusively on Angel,” Barrett said in a press release. “Witnessing how Christians in Ukraine have held firm through torture, drone attacks, and even the abduction of their children by invading Russian forces has deepened my own faith. I’m thrilled that Angel will provide a platform where their testimony can inspire believers across the country and illuminate their extraordinary resilience, courage, and faith.”
Barrett, working on the documentary series with executive producers Steven Moore and Anna Shvetsova, appreciates the faith and faithfulness of Christians in Ukraine.
“Every time I come here, it is just so uplifting,” Barrett said. “In the US, if it snows a couple inches, church is canceled. Mark, right after his house was bombed, goes to two different services, led two different services.
“There’s video of him that day. He’s wearing black pants, and there are still drywall stains on his pants. He’s dirty, he’s sweaty, but just no fear,” Barrett said. “This is crazy with faith, with the love of God, and just surrender.”
Sergeev believes it is God’s will that he continues to spread the Gospel in Ukraine.
“God is preparing something. He has a plan, 100 percent,” Sergeev said. “Even if tomorrow my life will be ended, this is His plan. He understands. But I want to be in the center of God’s will, whatever He wants to do right now.
“That’s why I’ve not escaped from the country.”