From Siberia to Global Ministry | Paul Minakov’s Testimony

Paul Minakov, a Siberian-born Christian whose pastor father Dimitri was arrested four times and spent 21 years in Soviet prisons, shares growing up under KGB persecution and later being jailed for 2.5 years after starting children’s camps and youth ministry in 1986. After his release during Gorbachev-era reforms, he continued ministry, immigrated to the Chicago area in 1993, then returned to serve in Estonia and Latvia, eventually founding Hope International Ministries to bring hope in Christ to young people through camps and leadership training. The ministry expanded to Ukraine, and after the February 2022 invasion, mobilized volunteers to help refugees, support churches with evacuation and shelter projects, and launch trauma-healing counseling conferences across Eastern Europe. He requests prayer, collaboration, and support for Ukraine, pastors, and trauma-care workers, and shares HIM4nations.org.