The situation in Ukraine is not getting any easier. 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.
However, ministry is still very much needed – more so than ever, to both share the Gospel and deliver humanitarian aid. The number of pastors is already seriously depleted, and Igor Bandura, SGA’s partner in ministry, has spoken of how the Church in Ukraine cannot afford to lose any more.
It is essential to retain the pastors who remain and accordingly there comes the great need for them to be provided with the financial support they require. They are then free to minister knowing that their families are well provided for. Many have had to relocate from occupied territories and are already establishing new ministries, but without support their work will not be able to continue.
SGA is committed to providing significant funding for fifty of these pastors but there is still a substantial shortfall remaining.
Oleksandr Kovalenko, one of the supported pastors, 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.
Oleksandr with his family
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 that 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 yet more 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 these individuals for baptism.
Acts 6:7a remains true – even in a time of war.
‘And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly’.
Oleksandr serving food and sharing God’s Word
