2010 Trip Dates

Radooga

Radooga is a unique ministry in Ukraine driven by the vision to strengthen the church through camps. The Radooga staff work toward this goal by presenting youth summer camps and equipping other people for the same task.

The cherished dream of many Ukrainian people – an independent Ukraine – came to pass in 1991, right after the collapse of the Soviet Union. But as it turned out, independence itself did not guarantee a future many had hoped for. People now faced the problems associated with a transitional economy and a corrupted government. They learned it takes so much more than an abrupt change in the regime to bring about positive and long-lasting changes in the lives of people.

Christians of Ukraine, whose numbers have tremendously grown in the past 10 years, know that the One who has a future for the nation is Jesus Christ. As an active part of the community of believers, Radooga strives to bring Ukraine to Christ and invest in her future by reaching the young generation.

Radooga was founded by Oleg Vasilevsky, who together with a group of IVCF (InterVarsity Christian Fellowship) students did his first camp in 1994. His aim was to do high-quality Christian camps for Ukrainian children.

As the camps grew in quantity and popularity, it became obvious what a powerful evangelistic and discipleship tool the camping ministry was. God let the ministry grow from one-time summer projects to a year-round operating organization that came to existence in 1998 under the name "All-Ukrainian Charitable Camp Resource Fund RADOOGA".

Besides camps, Radooga also started conducting training programs for future camp directors. Radooga felt called to share their resources and expertise in running camps with potential camp directors and in that way reach more people for Christ.

At the same time, more summer camp programs were being developed to meet the needs of youth from different backgrounds. One of these programs was an English-language camp designed to use English and cross-cultural experiences as a means to bring the Good News to Ukrainian non-Christian students. These camps proved to be very effective and became the focus of Radooga camp activities.

The partnership of Radooga and Servant Life in doing camps, training and internships started in 1999. It stimulated Radooga’s rapid growth and brought the ministry to a higher level of performance.

Feeling the burden on their hearts for their country and knowing a way to make a difference there, Radooga is determined to continue creating such a camp environment where people can meet God or experience His presence more intimately. They are currently expanding their program and worship departments that help to engage creativity in communicating the Gospel to students and lead them in a quality time of worship. One of Radooga’s long-term goals is to identify strong regional networks of churches and to establish Radooga regional offices in those areas, providing churches with consistent help in recreational activities and strengthening their youth groups through camps.

Learn more about the ministry of Radooga at www.radooga.com.