Zakhar

My name is Zakhar. I was born in eastern Kazakhstan. When I was four, my large family with six children, moved to Portland, Oregon. After that, we moved to Kazakhstan where my parents started a church and my father is the pastor. One of the hard things for me growing up was a lack of good Christian friends. Thankfully, during a gap year post high school, I found community in a leadership training experience where I learned more about friendship and community. I started recognizing the challenges and fruit that comes from investing in a godly community.

I was fortunate that my parents brought me up in the knowledge of the Lord, and for that, I'm eternally grateful. I always knew that I was a sinner and needed God, but as I grew older, I understood my need for Him more. I learned that I'm in constant need of His grace and mercy. After watching my family’s involvement in Young Life throughout my childhood, when I finally was old enough, my sisters invited me to Young Life. Young Life's motto "We believe every young person deserves the right to hear the good news of God’s love" stood out to me, and I knew this was something I wanted to be a part of.

As a Developing Global Leader, my goal is to grow personally as a leader and learn to serve the Lord better with my time. I want to specialize in how sports and ministry work together for to connect people. God has miraculously opened this door for me to study theology and ministry in Cambridge at Ridley Hall, and I'm excited to see what He wants to teach me.