UKRAINE: Christian Church Ministries Respond to Russian Invasion

By Laura McKillip Wood

Before sunrise on Thursday, Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Missiles are continuing to hit Kyiv, Kherson, Kharkiv, Odessa, and other strategic Ukrainian cities. The fighting mainly has focused on eastern and central cities, but no regions of the country have been untouched. The Ukrainian military has provided fierce resistance. Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes, hurrying toward the western regions and the border with Eastern European countries.

Russian forces want water access between Crimea and the rest of Ukraine. Fighting over the Tsyurupinsk Bridge—a key span over the Dnipro River in Kherson—continues, with scrappy Ukrainian soldiers holding back Russian forces. Russian tanks roam the streets, and jets fly low overhead. Citizens hide in cellars and makeshift bomb shelters.

Many American Christians know of Kherson because of missionary efforts that began there in the 1990s. The churches that survived communism worked together with American Christians to start new churches in Kherson, resulting in a network of congregations across the city and a Christian college, Tavriski Christian Institute. TCI has been a force for higher Christian education in all of Ukraine and the former Soviet Union. It is the only Christian college accredited by the state.

Valentin Siniy, president of TCI, his wife, Luba, and their children fled to western Ukraine with the college staff. A seminary in Ivano-Frankivsk opened their doors to them. They have no idea how long they will remain or what will happen to their homes or the TCI campus. No damage to the campus has yet been reported, but Russian troops landed nearby in 20 helicopters and burned cattails along the banks of the Dnipro River near the college, likely in an effort to eliminate hiding places.

Valentin’s elderly parents and Luba’s sister remain in Kherson, hiding and waiting out the war. Valentin’s parents have pastored Christ the Savior Church there for decades. This church now shelters 300 refugees, many of them nonbelievers from high-rise apartment buildings surrounding the church. They gather for protection and prayer. (Here is a link to a video showing some of the ministry the church in Kherson is doing.) This is not the only church doing such ministry.

Ability Ministry, an American organization working to equip and empower churches, families, and individuals affected by disabilities, partners with a ministry in Kherson that started a home for people with disabilities.

“Our friends are alive and still sheltering in Kherson,” said Ryan Wolfe, president and executive director of Ability Ministry. Their residents stay together, caring for one another, he said, but one had returned to his former orphanage across the river and has been unable to rejoin the group. Many families are similarly separated.

American Christians can feel helpless as they watch the conflict unfold, but there are ways to help. Pray for families sheltering in place, for those fleeing to the border, and for those separated by war. It can be difficult to send direct support during such a chaotic situation. The following organizations are collecting funds for those affected by war:

• Mulberry International, based in Louisville, provides relief to refugees: http://mulberryinternational.org/

• Pantano Christian Church, Tucson, Ariz., has created a fund to support Ukrainians affected by the war. (PCC’s former lead pastor Glen Elliott, who still serves on staff, is a former missionary to Ukraine.)  Click this link and select the Ukraine fund: https://pantano.church/give/

Check back with christianstandard.com for updates over the coming weeks.

Laura McKillip Wood, former missionary to Ukraine, lives in Papillion, Nebraska, and writes about missions for Christian Standard.