Our team

Positioned in the heart of downtown Odessa, this is the church where MIA’s English Club ELEVATE is located. They have cooperated with and served MIA to great measures. This partnership helps one another plug people into a good church where they can grow in the Gospel.

Jacoby and Lera’s home church is situated on the northeastern part of the city of Odessa. Our pastor and other friends there are active participants in the ministry.

This is a small Christian University, with students of various denominational backgrounds and many who are unbelievers as well, where Jacoby teaches theology. This provides an excellent opportunity to establish new connections with young people in the city.

Bob is the regional director for Mission to the World in the Odessa region. He and his wife Andrea are actively involved in the English Club. They are currently heading up the ministry while we are away in the States. We have also worked together in other ministries such as discipling young men, a Film Festival Outreach, an apologetics Foundation Conference, and a Thursday night Bible Study.

Robin is also an MTW missionary who became a regular help at ELEVATE and helps Bob and Andrea oversee it in our absence. She teaches a Thursday night ladies Bible study which Lera helped host and translate along with Galya. She is a member of our church and a dear friend.

Abbie has her own English ministries in Odessa and Chernivtsi working largely with the Baptist church in Ukraine and other non-denominational churches. She has been a tremendous help to us at ELEVATE and played a key role in our week long EnglishUp! Outreach. Additionally she has provided MIA opportunities to connect with young people by inviting Jacoby to teach in her advanced English classes.

Galya serves the ministry in a variety of ways. She has a servant’s heart and has proven to be truly sacrificial by giving her own time, space, and money for the ministry. Her help makes a lot of needed things happen.

Olga is a good friend of Lera’s and Galya’s and serves with set up work, serving snacks, and clean up. She is also an amazing crochet artist!

Kostya helps whenever and however he can with translation or transportation of people or materials. He has shown himself to be a true friend over time.

Many other names could go here for guys that help set up and tear down, girls that help with organizing paper materials and cleaning up, and numerous guys and girls translating. The ministry would not be possible but for the many different people which take part each week.

Currently Jacoby and Lera, as it’s founders, are the first to serve on the official missions team of MIA. They are praying for a team of 12 full time missionaries to join them on the mission field to pray, worship, fellowship, plan, and work together in the Life Centers.

MIA Founder & Chairman

Missionary/Fundraiser/Mobilizer

Jacoby was a missionary in Odessa, Ukraine for over four years and a director of ministries for over two years. His passion is to be used of God and see the Gospel go forth forcefully in the city of Odessa.

His favorite Christian book by dead people is a toss up between Thomas Boston’s A Crook in the Lot and John Owen’s The Mortification of Sin. His favorite by an undead person might be Idols of the Heart by Elise Fitzpatrick. These are three books which have made a lasting impression on him more than any outside the Bible.

In his spare time he likes to watch movies and fantasize about script writing his own, ride a bike through town, or play with his Australian Shepherd, Rocket.

Missionary/Interpretor

Lera has been a missionary in Odessa, Ukraine for over four years and lived there all her life until recently coming to the States for the first time. She believes this ministry will bring more people into the Kingdom because of the fruit she’s seen it produce.

Lera has a degree in interpretation and is a conversational connection for American missionaries and Ukrainians. She also oversees and delegates interpreting volunteers for the ministry. Her passion is to see people praising God and loving Him forever.

Her favorite book is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers because it is about forgiveness and sacrifice. She is an animal lover who loves to spend time with her cat Mika or dog Rocket. She enjoys dipping cheese in hot tea and eating it right away.

MIA Treasurer/Secretary
Assistant to the Service Manager at CASCO USA

Having heard the vision of MIA to create a place where people can gather for recreation and spiritual growth, and having spent time in Ukraine, Julie understands the need for a place like that to give people hope.

Julie lives in Bethel Park, PA and has taken a few mission trips to Ukraine. She is on the missions committee at her church, develops budgets and communicates regularly with the missionaries they support.

Julie is the proud mother of beautiful Aliza age 11. Her main passion is rooted in counseling people through divorce, having been through one herself and grown through that. She recently discovered she has a talent for drawing, is a coffee lover, and her favorite book is Desiring God by John Piper.

Pastor of Covenant of Grace Evangelical Church/Youth Pastor of Odessa Evangelical Presbyterian Church/Church Planter

Pastor Gorik is originally from Yerevan, Armenia and has lived in Odessa for twenty-three years. He has been involved in five church plants, four of which survived. His passion is to find God’s lost sheep. His favorite book is Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, because it changed his life. He also loves Brothers Karamazov because of how Dostoyevsky opens up the characters there.

In his spare time he likes to go to the beach with his wife Snezhana, 12 year old son Richard, and 10 year old daughter Katerina.

Pastor of The Shelter Church in La Mesa CA

Originally from San Diego, Ricky was called to pastor in La Mesa, California. Ricky seeks to walk with God and be his man for the occasion. Whether it is being a husband, father or pastor, being God’s man means surrendering your selfish desires and allowing Christ to live through you. “I live to see what God’s effect will do through me, to open others to live in Christ’s power and obedience to His word.”

His favorite books are Mortification of Sin by John Owen because of it’s purifying effect on the mind and heart, and Moby Dick which he views as a masterpiece of symbolism and shows man’s drive to be God. Ricky loves to coach his kids in his spare time and he and his wife Michelle have a small tribe, Madison (22), Anais (11), August (10), Ignatius (6), Justus (1), and his mother Nana Emma (90).

Leader of the Discipleship Ministry at The Vine Church
Former Pastor of Vintage Life Church
Former Director of Junior High Ministry at Community Baptist Church in Rancho Cucamonga CA
Founder/Owner of spiritualgiftstest.com

Jeff is now furthering his ministry studies at Liberty University. He has an online ministry at SpiritualGiftsTest.com that gets close to 1 million visitors a year. He has written and filmed a DVD based Bible study on the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts.

Jeff has lived in Rancho Cucamonga most of his life where he attends The Vine Church. His passion is to make disciples and create discipleship resources that encourage believers to grow in their faith and godliness. He loves to teach and help lead shepherds and teachers into more effective ministry. His long list of favorite reads include The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer, Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Chambers, John Piper’s Desiring God, and Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. By way of biographies Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas is one of his favorites.

He loves to spend time with his wife watching movies, playing board games, or going on walks. He loves to preach, teach, and read. He also loves growing things in the garden and getting outside to enjoy God’s creation in peace.

Police Officer in Seattle WA

Originally from Snoqualmie, WA, Peter now lives in Renton, WA with his wife Sarah, son Silas (3) and daughter Metta Day (6 months). Peter’s passion in life is to know and follow Jesus, which translates into a variety of different channels. One of the biggest ones for him is being a loving husband and father, whose greatest desire is to see his family know and follow Jesus.

Peter’s favorite book is Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan because of the honesty with which he writes. The way Bunyan balances explaining his moments of despair with the truth of the Gospel, says Peter, is always encouraging. He also liked reading 12 Years a Slave.

His favorite thing to do in his spare time is spend it with his family in any way shape or form.

He once arrested a woman two hours after she got married. If you’d like to know the whole story he invites you to ask.

Calvary Chapel Medford OR

Calvary Chapel Woodland CA

Calvary Chapel Medford OR

Grace Bible Church of Bend OR

E Free Church of Yacolt WA

Roosevelt Community Church Phoenix AZ

Pilgrim City Church Denver CO

The Shelter Church San Diego CA

Legacy City Church Studio City CA

Southeast Christian Center Portland OR

Vintage Life Church Rancho Cucamonga CA