By Isolde Doubell
24/10/2024
There have been more than 960 days of war in the country of Ukraine. Tens of thousands of lives have been lost on both sides, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians have been injured. The Ukrainian people are living under constant threat. When will it end? Christian Ukrainians are crying out to the Lord for His mercy and justice, but while the war is still raging, they have much to do. There are people to help, food to serve, gifts to prepare, children’s camps to be held… All of these are done with one purpose: to make our Saviour, Jesus Christ, known—the One who brings light into darkness.
Opportunities for the Church
A friend of INcontext in Ukraine reports that the city where they live, Kryvyi Rih, has been hit multiple times by ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as explosive drones. The Russians have attempted to take the city twice, but their efforts were thwarted. When air raid sirens go off, all shops close. He says, “You can be in the supermarket with a trolley at the till, and you have to leave everything and go out. Everyone is supposed to go to bomb shelters every time. It sometimes goes off several times during the day and night.”
There are many heartbreaking situations in Ukraine at this time, but some good has emerged from it. One such development is the Council of Churches in Kryvyi Rih. Church leaders from the city began gathering after the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014. They hold public prayer meetings, proclaiming Christ at a central point in the city centre of Kryvyi Rih. Leaders from all sectors of the Christian faith now come together regularly. There is a respect and love for one another that flows from the leaders to their church members, and this unity is not superficial.
Another friend of INcontext, who is a pastor in Kyiv, says, “Since the war, we have access to groups of people that we didn’t have access to before: refugees and internally displaced people, among others [according to Global Focus, this number is estimated to be 3.7 million people]. Our government cannot help everybody, so the Church is one of the answers to the needs of these people, and when we minister to their physical needs, we also have the opportunity to present Jesus to them. For example, half of the people in my church are newcomers who came to us through different humanitarian programmes. People are very open to receiving physical help, and then they also open their hearts. I am currently serving as a volunteer chaplain in the army. I would say 90% of Ukrainian soldiers are now open to God. Every time we go to the frontline, we have the opportunity to pray for the soldiers. Almost all of them are willing to listen to the Gospel presentation and respond to it. I cannot say that they repent as we used to see in our church, but I can see how faith grows in their hearts. Before the war, the Evangelical Church was viewed as a kind of sect, but now the Evangelical Church is very active in serving the people, and they are much more positive towards the Church.”
YWAM Ukraine’s Facebook page reports that their DTS (Discipleship Training School) has continued during the war. One week, they taught about lifestyle evangelism and mercy ministry. “We always have to practice what we have learned, so today we had an amazing experience outside the classroom. I have seen how students catch the fire and bring hope to many people in our city, even though most of them are refugees themselves. We fed people, listened to their stories, offered words of hope, laughed, and prayed. As Billy Graham said, ‘The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and helpless.’ Romans 10:15 states, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”
Challenges and heartache
Another pastor friend who also runs a Social Centre in Kyiv explains their church’s situation: “Our church lost most of its members at the start of the war when Kyiv was under the threat of occupation. Although we have always tried to serve the community, we received a lot of aid during the first two years of the war, which enabled us to open a Social Centre. Hundreds of families came to the Social Centre for food, medicine, clothes, kitchen equipment, and other essentials. We listened to their stories, shared the Gospel, built relationships with them, and invited them to events at the church. We have also run a number of Alpha Courses. About seventy percent of our small congregation consists of new believers. They witnessed kindness and good deeds and were touched by love. It is much more difficult to reach younger people in Kyiv. The city is very expensive. Prices for small apartments have more than doubled since before the war (when they were already expensive), and some people have to hold down two or three jobs to keep up with the costs. As a result, younger people work all the time and have hardly any spare time. The volunteers also need to be compensated so that they can make ends meet, and we do not receive as many donations anymore. Our Social Centre is now open only once a week, and we can no longer provide food.”
Our pastor friend from Kyiv says, “The war is obviously a huge tragedy for Ukraine. Every day, thousands of people are dying, being wounded, or crippled. Children are suffering. There is also a very high rate of divorce now, as the war affects all spheres of society. But at the same time, the Church has very good access to people, and we use that as best we can. One of the biggest challenges is that only 10-20% of our congregations are men because many of them are at war, have escaped to Europe as refugees, or are afraid to go outside on the streets because they could be caught and drafted into the army. When you come to our churches now, you would see many elderly people. Additionally, the Russian army is trying to destroy the Ukrainian infrastructure, including power plants, to cause blackouts as winter approaches. You can just pray that we, as a church, will continue to move with God’s Spirit, following Him and recognising the opportunities He is giving us in this war.”
“Many people are missing in action or have been killed, so I would say that all Ukrainian people suffer from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) to varying degrees. After the war, we will need guidance on how to help our people overcome it. There is a great need for workers and faithful partners, but please pray for us as we keep our eyes focused solely on Jesus, the One who is with us in all of this.”
Please pray with us for the following:
- That the Church in Ukraine will be strengthened by the Holy Spirit to continue day after day in difficult and emotional circumstances. We can pray Ephesians 3:14-21 over them.
- That God’s Kingdom will come, also among the Russian soldiers, and that God will move mightily for His glory.
- For a breakthrough in peace negotiations and that the war will soon come to an end.