Eugene and Dasha Ivanov

Evgeni was born in Russia into a secular Jewish family. They did not believe in God nor did they live a Jewish lifestyle. They did not celebrate any holy days except Passover. As Evgeni was preparing for college, he participated in a foreign exchange program. He was chosen from among many to go to the U.S. In 1993, he began a month orientation in Chester, Pennsylvania and then was sent to his host family in Kalispell, Montana. One Sunday morning they asked him if he wanted to attend a church service with them. He agreed and gradually started to learn about God during Sunday school. Sometime later, after attending a different congregation, he was challenged by the Youth Pastor to live for Jesus. It was then that Evgeni decided to become His follower. Later He was baptized and continued to grow in his new found faith in Messiah Jesus. Meanwhile, Evgeni’s entire family had moved to Israel. He flew to Israel in 1995 and began sharing with them his newfound love and passion. Eventually all of his family surrendered their lives to Jesus. Upon his arrival in Israel, Evgeni returned to school and received a B.A in Foreign Literatures and Linguistics from Ben-Gurion University. After that he was drafted into IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) where he served for 5 years. Later Evgeni was working in a Bible shop in Beer-Sheva and ministering as a worship leader in the local congregation when he met and became friends with Maxim Katz, who works with Chosen People Ministries.

Through Maxim, God began to stir in Evgeni’s heart a desire to bring the Good News to the Jewish people. In May 2005, he became a full-time missionary with Chosen People Ministries and lived in Jerusalem serving the Lord and His people in the land of Israel. In 2010 Evgeni met and was married to a beautiful girl named Dasha. Soon after, they moved to Germany where Dasha is finishing her Master’s degree. Since 2012, he has been working with Beit Sar Shalom Germany under Vladimir Pikman. Besides ministry in a Messianic congregation where he leads worship, he is also involved in various programs including STEP seminar (Summer Training and Evangelism Program), presenting the Jewish roots of our faith to the churches in Germany and the U.S. and was part of the Muchan worship team for 2 conferences. Evgeni’s heart has always been to reach people with the message of salvation in the Lord Jesus. He also has a passion for the younger generation, ministering to young adults through discipleship,sharing with them the deeper truths through our common Jewish heritage and life in Yeshua. He thanks God every day for the privilege to serve Him and His people.