Former Greece pastor on mission to rebuild Ukrainian churches amid war

GREECE, N.Y. As the war in Ukraine rages on, a former pastor from the Rochester area is doing his part to help rebuild many of the churches that have been leveled by Russian rockets over the past 14 months.

Seeing the death and destruction of so many church buildings across Ukraine, former Greece Assembly of God pastor Carley Touchstone has made it his mission to help the nation rebuild its places of worship.

Rebuilding amid a war zone is not something that phases former Greece Assembly of God Pastor Carley Touchstone.

“The fundraising strategy was simply a dinner meeting held on Tuesday night here in Rochester and in 28 other locations around the United States at the same time,” Touchstone said.

Currently serving as Ukraine’s champion at the Construction Missionary Organization Builders International, Touchstone has made it his mission to raise as much money as possible to build 43 churches across Ukraine.

“We raised that night throughout the United States $429,000 to build the first seven churches,” Touchstone said.

This is an accomplishment that Greece Assembly of God Children’s Pastor Vickey Fleck says she couldn’t be more proud of.

“You may not be able to fly to Ukraine,” Fleck said. “Comfort them physically through it but be able to provide in a way that we can supply in a way to rebuild these churches.”

Pastor Touchstone says that the mission won’t stop until every church is rebuilt.

According to data provided by Builders International, its network consists of over 2,700 missionary personnel in 256 countries, partnering with churches across the globe like nearby Greece Assembly of God and Slavic Pentecostal Church, a network of 68 million+ people.