Ongoing Need – Ongoing Ministry
Ongoing Need – Ongoing Ministry
The turmoil and tragedy of the Ukrainian conflict only dominates the headline news occasionally now, pushed aside by more recent events of varying degrees of importance in the minds of readers and viewers. However, the needs in that troubled land are critical and life-threatening, even far from the frontline fighting.
SGA is committed to ministering to God’s people and through them to ordinary people and families caught up in the suffering and unrelenting pain of war.
Ministry to Widows and Orphans
Daily the numbers of these grow. Tragically there is no let-up for suffering families. Pastor Igor Bandura, Vice-President of the Ukrainian Baptist Union, shared the following.
Among the most painful consequences of the Russian war in Ukraine is the growing number of widows and orphans. Since official statistics on the number of soldiers who died at war in Ukraine is not made public, we can only speculate how many young women have lost their loved ones at war. How many families, parents, children, relatives have suddenly lost someone they loved and cherished?
The news about perished soldiers reaches every village and town. More blue and yellow flags are flying in graveyards each day, a sign that the person buried died in action defending Ukraine. Behind every flag there are tears, unhealed wounds, deadly sorrow and despair. Oftentimes these families lost their sole breadwinner, but all have lost a dear, beloved person. The wounds of these people are deep. The church in Ukraine is faced with a challenge – to see people who have lost their loved ones, warm them with love, and respond to their social, physical, and spiritual needs.
Evangelical churches are unsparing in their efforts to respond to these families. In their extreme sorrow and disorientation they need help just to manage day-to-day responsibilities. Many churches have established a ministry to these families of fallen soldiers. They hold regular meetings, workshops, organize events, and talk about the importance of self-care and taking care of the family. Camps and outings are organized and are helpful in recovery and finding joy in life again. Families are enthusiastic about these initiatives; they open their hearts and build relationships with each other during the time spent together. They are deeply grateful too for the financial support which is offered. SGA supporters play a crucial role in this.
Igor tells the story of one young widow:
Recently one of our chaplains met Kateryna, a young widow not even 30 years of age, who lost her husband earlier this year. Her heart wound was still very fresh. When the young woman learned of her husband’s death, she was pregnant with their third child. Now the woman lives together with her mother-in-law and young children in a rented flat in Kyiv. She had to start looking for a new flat as the rent increased. The church supports her by providing humanitarian aid and groceries… Sadly, the number of widows and orphans will only grow as the war continues. The ministry to these families will continue to be a priority for the work of local churches. We ask everyone whose heart is open to the pain of widows and orphans to support this ministry in their prayers and to join in the practical effort to help.
God worked graciously in the life of another widow and her family, Tatyana Liferova. She had fled Mariupol with her two children, a boy of nine, and a girl just four years old. It was a great struggle to escape the besieged city, and some months of difficult travel lay ahead. Her husband, on the front line, had been killed soon after the invasion.
Tatyana arrived in Izmail, south of Odessa and came into contact with the believers in the local church. She was with her children in a new city having no friends or relatives. During church meetings the children were quiet and frightened, never leaving her side. As the church got to know them better after a few meetings, they relaxed and became less withdrawn. Tatyana was delighted and was deeply affected by the day camp organized by the church. Her heart was touched and changed and spoke of the inspiration and encouragement she felt after the meetings. Her eldest son too, was moved, and asked for a Bible.
He registered to take part in a camp for children from the families of the fallen.
Emergency Support for Pastors
The work being carried out and the ministry offered by believers to suffering people is profoundly gratifying. Small churches give themselves sacrificially to the care of the most needy, and they are led by pastors and church leaders many of whom themselves have suffered greatly. The situation in some regions is critical.
Of the 320 Baptist churches in the occupied regions, 120 have closed. Furthermore, 200 pastors have left Ukraine altogether with many now serving in the military. As a result, there are now only 93 pastors remaining in what is daily becoming an increasingly difficult area in which to minister. Many have had to relocate from occupied territories but are already establishing new ministries. Without support their work will not be able to continue.
The churches there cannot afford to lose any more pastors. It is essential to retain those who remain and there is the need for them to be provided for with adequate financial support. They are then free to minister knowing that their families are well provided for. SGA is committed to providing significant funding for fifty of these pastors but there remains a substantial shortfall. The story of one of these pastors is heartwarming and inspiring.
Oleksandr Kovalenko serves in Bilopilla, a Ukrainian city close to the Russian border. He has six children. The youngest two, including a son with Down’s Syndrome, still live at home, but the other four have grown up and, with families of their own, are now serving the Lord in churches elsewhere.
Every morning since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the church in Bilopilla has met for prayer and every day the Gospel is preached. At first some of those attending did so only for the aid which the church distributed at these gatherings, but today people come primarily to hear the Word of God. Even though they are often within earshot of continuing missile attacks, Sunday services are attended by up to one hundred non-believers.
Praise God that many others have come to faith. Across five locations in Bilopilla groups totalling 350 people are currently gathering to prepare new believers for baptism.
Ongoing Leadership Support
Emergency support for pastors is additional to the regular leadership support given to 35 missionary families, many of whom are sponsored by faithful SGA supporters across the UK and in Ireland. Through this ongoing ministry God is adding to His church. With increased Gospel opportunities comes the need for more missionary pastors. Recently the Mission received requests for another 15 faithful Gospel servants, and the Mission plans to respond positively to this request.
Pastor Igor Bandura writes:
The focus of SGA’s leadership on spreading the Gospel is admirable and inspiring! Their approach to ministry is always practical and specific. They use perhaps the most effective missionary strategy of our time – supporting the local efforts of existing churches in the country to reach people and establish new churches… We are excited about the new initiative to expand the circle of missionaries and provide them with support. For Ukraine, this means 15 more evangelists and 15 more new churches!
Odessa - Grace Shelter
SGA supporters have a special place in their hearts for the children of the Grace Shelter in Odessa. They have prayed for them through the difficult days of relocation to Poland and then to Germany, and gave God praise for safety in all their dangerous travels. To hear of their return to the Shelter brought great joy, but at the same time an awareness that the children were still at risk in their beleaguered city.
The Mission had the privilege and opportunity to bring some relief and enjoyment to the children by enabling them to ‘escape’ for holiday camps in the Carpathian mountains.
Igor Bandura reports:
Thanks to the financial support of SGA, we were able to realize the dream of the children of our orphanage. Summer vacation is a time for rest. Odessa has been under constant attack by drones and ballistic missiles. Every time, children and adults are forced to hide to save their lives. Several times a week, sirens interrupted studies and children hide in bomb shelters. All this traumatizes and leaves a heavy mark on the psyche and health of children. Odessa is located on the shores of the Black Sea, but swimming in the sea is prohibited. From time to time random sea mines explode there. Therefore, the children’s dream was to rest in the mountains, in the Carpathians.
We chose two Christian camps: one for youth, and the other for children. The older children were satisfied with the wonderful atmosphere and high-quality Christian programme, and, of course, with the incredible Carpathian landscapes. The combination of a spiritual programme, delicious food and active recreation is exactly what our children needed for rest and recovery!
Praise God that a number of young people came to know Christ through the camps.
Printing Bibles
At the height of the conflict, the printing press at Lutsk was working non-stop to produce Bibles for distribution to displaced and desperate people. Knowing that material needs were real, the Director Slavik Tovsteniuk, encouraged his team to minister to both body and spirit by preparing food boxes into which they placed copies of the Word of God. It was a unique and precious means of ministry.
The situation has changed somewhat. Food boxes are no longer required since now there is a good network of food supplies. However, a huge need for Bibles remains and Slavik sent this report and request.
The great need still remains the Word of God, the Gospel. Everyone who goes to the east of Ukraine and brings some help, also wants to leave the message of salvation for people… The New Testaments for adults are running out very quickly. There is a need for both A5 and A4 New Testaments with large print, because there are older people in the villages who have poor vision but do not have glasses.
If you could help to print New Testaments for adults it would really be a great help in the ministry, and a direct investment in spreading the Kingdom of God!
With our friends at the Christian Life Missionary Book Factory in Lutsk, Ukraine, SGA continues to help with printing God’s Word. We are pleased to be able to answer this call for help so that God’s Word will be available. The A5 Bible costs £1.60 while the A4 costs £3.00.
Odessa Theological Seminary
In the context of military conflict and war, students continue to train for spiritual warfare in needy Ukraine. The Theological Seminary in Odessa is in the vanguard of preparing men and women for Gospel witness and ministry. The leaders there have responded to a call from the Baptist Union of Ukraine to plant hundreds of new churches by the year 2036, by initiating a new church-planting programme designed to prepare the leaders who will be needed. This is faith-filled planning and OTS is looking to God to answer their prayers and their planning in a powerful way. A recent report includes the following:
Odessa Theological Seminary has developed a new training programme – “Evangelism and Urban Church Planting.” This is a part-time programme with four sessions a year and simultaneous involvement in church planting under supervision. This approach will strike a balance between academic learning and practical hands-on experience.
In faith believers are preparing for blessing and the Seminary is one part of the training ground for new pastors and ministers of the Gospel. There is no thought of retreat in this unseen but tragically real spiritual war which is infinitely more deadly in its eternal consequences than the military conflict. In faith the churches are looking to God to answer their prayers and supply an army of spiritual soldiers will continue to minister to hopeless, lost souls, to lead them to Christ, and to plant churches of believers which will continue to shine the Gospel light into war-darkened communities.
