George Markey moved to Ukraine in 1992 with his missionary parents. Over the last 30 years, he has been part of 5 different Calvary Chapel church plants in 4 cities spanning from Eastern to Western Ukraine, and he is fluent in both Ukrainian and Russian. For the past 15 years, he served as the country supervisor for the work of Calvary Chapel in Ukraine. He and his family were planting a church in Kyiv, Ukraine when the war started. They evacuated to Hungary, where they are currently living and working with a team of fellow refugees from Ukraine to help meet the physical and spiritual needs of Ukrainian refugees. George's extensive connections both within and outside of Ukraine have enabled him to quickly connect those outside Ukraine who have the desire and means to help with trustworthy people on the ground in Ukraine who are doing important and life-saving work.
Jon Markey moved to Ukraine with his missionary parents in 1992 when he was just 6 years old. He learned both Ukrainian and Russian as a child and grew up steeped in the Ukrainian culture. He has served within the Calvary Chapel movment in Ukraine as a worship leader, an assistant pastor, and most recently as head pastor of Calvary Chapel Ternopil, where he raised up a team of Ukrainian leaders and trained a Ukrainian pastor who is now leading that church. A gifted musician, Jon has been writing Ukrainian worship songs for years, and his powerful anthems of adoration for Jesus are now sung by Christians across all denominations and confessions all over the country of Ukraine. Jon and his family were living in Ternopil, Ukraine when the war started. They are now residing in the U.S. but remain very connected to what is happening in Ukraine, as Jon has made several trips back to Europe, both to minister through music to the refugee population outside Ukraine and also to visit churches in Ukraine.
Zhenia Chekushkin has been involved with Calvary Chapel for 15 years and is pastor of Calvary Chapel Ternopil. He and his church have been heavily involved in relief work since the very beginning of the war. Thousands of people have poured through Ternopil on their way further west, and the church has been housing and feeding many of them. They have also been managing a warehouse for humanitarian aid and filling orders all over the country for medication and medical supplies. Because of its location and smaller size, the city of Ternopil has so far been spared much of the violence of war, and it has become a hub for the work of Calvary Chapel in Ukraine at this crucial time.
Nate Medlong moved to Ukraine as a Calvary Chapel missionary in 2005. He served in Calvary Chapel Kharkiv in the orphanage ministry, as assistant pastor, and as head pastor. He met and married his Ukrainian-born wife Diana there, and together, they fostered and adopted 4 local teens, as well as having two biological children together. In addition to serving in the church, Nate and Diana also started a Christian school. They fled Kharkiv when the war started and are currently living in the U.S., where Nate is working to mobilize American churches to help the relief effort in Ukraine. Nate also remains in close contact with those from Calvary Chapel Kharkiv who are still in Ukraine and has made several trips back to Ukraine to meet with them. Nate has a vision for raising up Christian leaders and is helping to develop a nationwide school of ministry for all Calvary Chapels in Ukraine.
Michael Payne is a former U.S. Marine and served as a missionary with Calvary Chapel in Hungary for 21 years. He now serves as worship pastor at White Fields Community Church in Longmont, Colorado. Michael brings invaluable wisdom and perspective to this team because of his years of experience in a variety of contexts and cultures.