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Frontlines
Training in Wartime
Odessa Theological Seminary (OTS) in Ukraine has not lost its vision despite recent years of war. Their motto is “Educating those who are called”, and it is a work they continue today even in the face of great hardship. When hostilities first began, like many churches, their facilities became a place of refuge and practical support for many people, but their focus of providing quality Biblical education never changed.
How they fulfil that vision has obviously had to change. Students can no longer stay at the seminary for long periods of time for safety reasons and therefore they only come together four times a year for week-long sessions and then return home to pursue the rest of their studies. However, these times have become a real source of encouragement to both students and staff, as they pray together, share their experiences and seek to support one another.
Some students are unable to travel and so, to facilitate this, OTS is expanding its online teaching and students can view lectures and continue their studies in this way.
The seminary recognises that there is a leadership crisis. Many leaders left the country because of the war, and this created a void of leadership which OTS, alongside the churches of Ukraine, is seeking to address. It is reported that 900 ministers have been ordained during the last several years. However, many of these leaders are not as educated and are less experienced than their predecessors. Therefore, OTS has devised a short-term programme to equip this new generation of leaders who are fully committed and active in serving their people.
They have also developed a new programme called “Learning from Christ Together” where they bring together seasoned and new ministers 3-4 times a year for teaching. These gatherings have been times of real blessing as they read and pray together, sharing experiences of ministry.
Another change has been in teaching emphasis. While the core Biblical education has not changed, the need to address the issue of trauma has been incorporated into the programmes. It is estimated that 80% of the population have some traumatic experience and this will remain with Ukrainian society for at least a generation. Many young children have known nothing but war, with sirens and bombs.
OTS has introduced training seminars and counselling courses on how to detect signs of trauma and how to deal with its issues, including PTSD. The Old Testament lecturer, Slava, has focused particularly on sections of lament in the O.T. and used these texts to develop the course on how to deal with trauma from a Biblical perspective.
Anatolii (Chair of Pastoral Ministry, OTS) believes “the current leader is like a wounded healer. He is wounded himself, but he can use his wounds to help others, to understand others and obviously help them in their healing.”
SGA continues to support the ministry of OTS, as it remains committed to training and educating those who are called to Gospel ministry. Things have changed; there is a war! However, the task of equipping God’s people to lead the Church in Ukraine and to proclaim the Gospel message, continues today.
In the words of Vitalii (Academic Dean, OTS) – “We believe that there is a bright future for Ukraine and that we have a great generation of ministers.”