Gerald Dollar

“There were nights when I thought I would wake up either behind Russian lines or a prisoner of Russia. There were a few desperate weeks early on, but God is faithful,” says Gerald Dollar, Assemblies of God World Missions missionary to Ukraine.

AGWM Executive Director John Easter recently told new AGWM missionary candidates, “There are times when there’s going to be risk. Sometimes the degree of risk is going to be small, but sometimes the risk might be great. You might be in an environment where things are beyond your control.” Gerald Dollar is in a place where the risk is great, and beyond his control.

Gerald and his wife, Jane, have served in Ukraine for 25 years. Before this, they served in the Canary Islands, then Israel. Gerald currently serves in finance and administration in Evangelical Theological University in Kyiv, and as team leader and church planting leader for Ukraine.

When war broke out in 2022, Jane and one of their children fled to Poland for safety. They now serve among Poland’s influx of Ukrainian refugees. Gerald, however, decided to stay in Kyiv. For him, this choice was easy.

“I’m here to work with the people, and if I leave them in their most desperate hour, how can they depend on me? I really had no intention of leaving. My heart was here,” Gerald explains. Having lived in Israel through the Second Gulf War and the Russian invasion of Georgia, Gerald has experience in the difficult conditions of war. He continues, “I’ve been through it before, and I understand the value that it brings, and the depth of relationships that it brings, and the trust that it brings if you stick with people, with organizations or countries, in their most difficult time.”

No one in Ukraine has been untouched by the war. There is a heavy sense of shared trauma throughout the country. Yet, overwhelmingly, the people’s attitude is one of endurance and perseverance. “The resilience of people is incredible,” Gerald confirms. “Even though we have daily drone attacks and anti-aircraft fire in many areas of the country, and there’s a lot of danger … life just goes on.”

Ukraine’s dominant religion is the Orthodox Church. In the past, people have viewed Pentecostals as a separate sect with dangerous beliefs. Converting from Orthodoxy to Pentecostalism is seen as a betrayal of the Ukrainian nationality. However, the war changed everything.

The Ukrainian Pentecostal Church has been providing aid since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2014. When 2022’s invasion came, the church scaled up what they were already doing successfully across the country.

“We didn’t even know where it was safe to drive in the first days and weeks. There were saboteurs and infiltrations all over the country, so it was difficult to get anything. We ran out of gas. We thought we were running out of food,” Gerald remembers.

As resources dwindled, believers in West Ukraine — many of whom were farmers — emptied their cellars and began sending food and supplies by van to Kyiv. Churches in Kyiv became central hubs, distributing aid to those in need. As the Russians advanced in the east, churches sent busses to the border, evacuating people from imminent danger. Many slept in church basements in Kyiv for weeks.

Gerald comments, “The government was not mobilized to do this. The Orthodox Church did not have a network to do this. The Pentecostal Church, the evangelical churches, are the ones that mobilized and really fed the country.” The stigma and skepticism surrounding Pentecostals quickly dissipated as the Pentecostal Church met Ukraine’s desperate need.

“The Pentecostals and evangelicals now have a reputation: That’s where you go for help,” Gerald states. “The war has brought people, by the tens of thousands, onto the campuses of churches that would never have stepped onto the property of a church.”

Pastors continually reported that their congregations were full, even though the church members had been evacuated. One pastor told Gerald, “I can look out at the people in the auditorium, and one year ago, none of these people would have been here. The people I see now are all a result of the aid and the ministry of the church during the war, and those believers who were in the church are now all over Europe starting churches.”

“It’s been quite a phenomenon that God has taken this devastating, horrible event, and He’s bringing revival,” Gerald says.

This life of serving the people of Ukraine, delivering aid to the front lines, and partnering with church work across the country was not always in Gerald’s plan. His service began with a simple “yes” to God, surrendering his own plans in favor of the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Gerald’s advice to young people is this: “There are always a thousand reasons not to go when the Holy Spirit says something. I challenge you to say ‘yes’ to the Holy Spirit, and to trust Him. … If God is our Source, if He is our path, He will not let you down. He’ll take you through the crisis.”

This trust in the Holy Spirit and deep love for the Ukrainian people has led Gerald and Jane down their path of service. Through the tragedy of war, doors are miraculously opening to the gospel across Ukraine. Gerald, Jane, and other AGWM missionaries continue to respond faithfully to the need, bringing God’s hope to a desperate people.

— AGWM Communications