MISSIONS
Missions are the outward expression of God’s love to our community and around the world. Aviator Church is committed to help our church family grow through outwardly focused mission opportunities on the local, national, and international level.
Currently, Aviator Church is working with teams in the country of Ukraine to partner in church planting efforts there.
Check out this video of our last Ukraine mission trip!
If you are interested in going with us on our next mission trip to Ukraine in the summer of 2010 please contact Michelle Boyd at Michelle@AviatorChurch.com.
UKRAINE
Below are some stats and facts about Poltava, Ukraine. (”oblast” means state. There is a Poltava City and State in Ukraine.)
POPULATION
Country of Ukraine- 47,732,079
Poltava Oblast – 1,630,000
The city of Poltava- 470,000
Poltava hosts at least 60,000 university students
GEOGRAPHY/CLIMATE
According to the World Fact Book, Ukraine is the second largest European country. It is not a member of the EU. As far as the layout of the land and the weather in the Poltava region, it is similar to Northern Indiana in the fact that there is a lot of open farm land, small villages and a few big cities. Their seasons and weather tends to be exact to that of Indiana or Kansas. The country of Ukraine is known as the bread basket of Europe.
LANGUAGE
National language is Ukrainian although most everyone understands and speaks Russian. All of Eastern Ukraine speaks mainly Russian.
ORPHANAGES
There is a total of 48 orphanages in the Poltava Oblast
In the city of Poltava there are 4 main orphanages with an average of 300-400 children in each orphanage as well as a smaller amount of children in temporary children’s homes
DRUG & ALCOHOL ABUSE (From official statistics of the Poltava region)
1 of every 3 men between the ages of 12-23 are addicted. At this point, there are few rehabilitation centers in Poltava but none are Faith based although some people are interested in beginning one. And there is one small Christian rehab an hour away in the town of Kremenchuk
ECONOMIC STANDARDS
Some pensioners receive as low a pension as 40 dollars per month although those who have served in the Army receive much much more. Average salary in Poltava is about 120 dollars a month. The national average is at $240 as of June 2006. Average rent for a three room apt (not three bedroom but three rooms) is between $200 and $300 depending on the area of the city you live in. To buy an apt is approximately 35,000-50,000 dollars. A car as well as clothes and other items are equivalent to American prices although vegetables that are freshly grown as well as native fruit tends to be cheaper. One may live comfortable on $500 a month but many must live on less.
CHURCH STATS (source Church leaders of Poltava)
Within the city of Poltava there are approximately 30 churches that are considered Evangelical.
PUTING IT ALL TOGETHER
In Poltava, there are about 30 Evangelical churches in a city of 500,000
In America, we have about 1 Protestant church for every 700 people
In Poltava there is approximately 1 church for every 33,000 people
