Five Questions: Rev. Sergey Nakul, Broadcaster, FEBC-Ukraine

Q: You grew up in the very atheistic Soviet Union. What sparked your interest in Christianity?

I had always felt the divine. I was never convinced by the Soviet propaganda in school. On Mondays we had “political information” classes, and I would often miss those lessons.

I would hide in the library reading atheistic literature. It was the only place I could find the gospel. I found myself captivated by Jesus and the Good News.

Q: And now you are a pastor and a Bible teacher with two theological degrees. That gives you a pretty unique perspective in Ukraine. What do you see keeping Ukrainians from coming to know Jesus today?

Many people here are biblically illiterate. My dream is to educate people about the Bible so that they will know who God truly is.

In my program, after teaching on a Bible passage, I take a subject the passage touched on and relate it to our Ukrainian listeners. Then we go into more depth.

Q: Do you remember how you thought about God before becoming a Christian?

As a high school student, I was lucky to get into a special program with deep emphasis on art. I was always taken by traditional Ukrainian and Russian religious artwork. I remember seeing a picture of Jesus as a judge.

That was the image I had of him from an early age. I would comfort myself by telling myself that I would make up for the bad things I had done one day with good deeds, and they would balance my scales.

It was a relief when I read the Bible and learned that salvation wasn’t earned by doing good deeds, but that God’s salvation came by grace.

Q: What excites you most about FEBC’s ministry in Ukraine right now?

The number of people who are hearing the gospel for the first time because of our broadcasts. With 7 FM stations, we are reaching millions of potential non-Christian listeners.

And that doesn’t take into account our vibrant online broadcasts. Hundreds of thousands of non-Christians are listening to the program. People’s lives are being changed!

Q: Could you share a recent encouraging response with our supporters?

Svetlana contacted us from western Ukraine. She was very depressed. Her sister had just died of cancer. We were discussing the resurrection of Jesus and our hope of resurrection on the program when she tuned in. She was comforted by our discussion and said that her faith was strengthened.

In fact, she was so appreciative that she nearly filled our station with flowers—she owns a flower shop.