Ben & Victoria Polgui

Eva, Esther

Ben and Victoria are from the small town of Dunaivtsi, in northwestern Ukraine. They grew up together in the same church, have been married for 7 years, and have two daughters.

Ben came to know Christ in his local church as a teenager, but made a conscious decision to follow Jesus during his time at university. After completing his studies at the university, he decided to return to his city and join the youth ministry team. He saw the challenges and needs there and wanted to serve.

When Ben was a youth ministry leader at his church, he was introduced to Josiah Venture in 2020 through a discipleship leadership training program. This was an important milestone for him and his team. The principles of discipleship, evangelism, and serving according to the example of Jesus began to deeply influence the youth and shape the DNA of their ministry. In the following years, Ben had the opportunity to serve with the JV Ukraine team, sharing their vision and values ​​in equipping young leaders.

When the full-scale war broke out in 2022, Ben and Victoria made the decision to stay in Ukraine and serve there no matter what. Since the beginning of the war, they have helped displaced people who lost their homes, participated in humanitarian trips to frontline areas, and served civilians and military personnel. At the same time, they saw how much the war was affecting teenagers, youth, and churches themselves. This only strengthened their desire to help youth leaders be ready to serve people in difficult times.

Ben continued to serve youth in his church and beyond, and in 2026 joined the JV Ukraine team. Today, he helps train and support youth leaders and teams from different parts of Ukraine who seek to build a ministry based on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Since the spring of 2026, Ben has also become one of the pastors of his local church in Dunaivtsi. His wife Victoria serves in the children’s and women’s ministries in the church, and disciples girls one-on-one. Ben and Victoria believe that God continues to work in Ukraine even during the war. It is a great honor for them to be a part of how God is raising up a new generation of young leaders who love Christ, serve people, and help others become his disciples.