Ukraine: How Should We Respond?

UPDATE FROM THURSDAY NIGHT, FEB. 24/DOUG LUCAS COMMENTED: Over 180 leaders of organizations and churches gathered via Zoom today to live out the vision of this article. You can join those leaders by praying along with them as you watch the recording of the event here:.

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By Doug Lucas

It was the summer of 1991. My family and I were serving in Ukraine; I was leader of Team Expansion’s first team there. The U.S.S.R. was disintegrating. Life was crazy. But strangely, out of those chaotic times came a new curiosity, interest, and freedom in Jesus and the Bible.

God raised up entire megachurches, right before our very eyes. Times were difficult, but dozens of new churches started. In a relatively short period, those churches began to function completely under local leaders. Team Expansion missionaries were gradually able to withdraw, leaving behind a stable church network in multiple cities. It was like a miracle.

Today, Ukraine needs another miracle.

FAST-FORWARD TO TODAY
As this article is being written, Russia has just invaded Ukraine.

In preparation for this article, I spoke with my longtime friend Natasha Reimer, who served side by side with Team Expansion workers in her role first with Crimean-American College and now as executive director of Mulberry International.

“Mulberry International has been helping and ministering to hundreds of displaced and at-risk families and children in the city of Mariupol and nearby villages, just 10-15 miles away from the front line,” Reimer said late last week. “According to Ukrainian news outlets, over 40 civilian targets have been hit by shelling in the last two days. One of them is a preschool. Our team on the ground reports explosions and shelling, especially during the night.

“They’ve seen windows shattering and rockets in the horizon. Water supply near Mariupol was destroyed by shelling last night, leaving the city and a dozen small towns and villages without potable water.”

Reimer worries most about the aftermath of any confrontation.

In the early 1990s, after we explained to Keith Keeran the unique opportunity in Ukraine, he took immediate action, forming Crimean-American College (which became Commonwealth International University). The university trained up scores of leaders, many of whom are leading churches in Ukraine today. Unfortunately, Keeran—the retired president of Kentucky Christian University—also witnessed firsthand what can happen following this kind of invasion.

“Following its takeover of Crimea, Russia wasted no time exercising its power over virtually every aspect of daily life in the region,” Keeran said. “Putin ordered all banks to be closed, blocking the access people had to their money. . . . There was widespread confusion. The campus of Commonwealth International University was confiscated by the Russian military.”

Keeran contends the church is perfectly positioned to help Ukraine at this time.

“One of the greatest ministries of the church is to keep hope alive. Our hope is in Christ alone, but that hope is to come through his church.”

TCM International assisted greatly in helping Ukrainian church leaders mature in the faith. Over the weekend, TCM president Tony Twist said, “War would bring refugees, tensions, and distress of many types throughout the European Union and Eastern Europe.”

Twist spoke of a TCM graduate who now serves as a civilian chaplain to Ukrainian troops. When asked by a TCM associate if he had any fear, the civilian chaplain responded, “Yes, I admit I am at times fearful. But I am reminded of Jesus and the frightened disciples as they crossed a stormy sea. The same Jesus who calmed and rebuked the wind and sea is with each of us. He calms the storm within. His perfect love does cast out my fear. Our trust is in him.”

Dave Stewart, who serves on Team Expansion’s Leadership Task Force, has visited and stayed in touch personally with multiple church leaders in Ukraine over the past few years.

“One pastor told me, ‘We pray for peace in our country but ultimately we know this is all temporary; our eternal home is in heaven.’” Stewart shared with me, “If the light truly shines brightest when the darkness is darkest, this is the time for the proclamation of the gospel in Ukraine and beyond.”

RECOMMENDED ACTION STEPS
You might be like me in wondering, “What can I do? I’m just one person.” I propose these key action steps.

• First, get informed. Pick a dependable news source and invest some time in learning the background of this conflict. By learning about the situation, dangers, and challenges, it’s like you’re saying to the people of Ukraine, “We see you.”
• Second, pray. If you really believe prayer changes things, would your church be willing to dedicate 5 minutes to pray for peace in Ukraine during your main worship service this weekend? Ask for peace. Pray for help for those who are without food, water, or power today because of this conflict.
• Third, give. Would you and your church consider giving to help innocent Ukrainians who might suffer greatly should a prolonged conflict produce a surge of refugees fleeing across the border into Europe?

Among the many giving options is Mulberry International, based in Louisville, Ky. Mulberry has been helping those in Eastern Ukraine troubled by the ongoing conflict during the past eight years.

On Tuesday, when I asked Mulberry’s executive director, Natasha Reimer, what she would do if a church sent a gift today, she replied without pause that she had been in touch with her partners in Ukraine that very morning, and Mulberry would immediately set aside $600 to buy a generator for a family in the region the Russian invasion force has targeted. It would be a clear indication that “We are with you” to people living in homes heated by electricity. She said Mulberry would be prepared to help many others, should the conflict endure.

Reimer is Ukrainian. She has “skin in the game.” When she arrived in the United States to serve as a liaison to Crimean-American College, her desk was immediately outside my office at Team Expansion International Services Center. I know her well. I trust her. If called upon, she will deliver. Would you and your congregation be ready to help Mulberry International if this develops into a full-scale war?

Thank you for reading, learning, praying, and, if prompted, giving. May God bless the people of Ukraine.

Doug Lucas is the founder and president of Team Expansion.