Review of Serving God Under Siege: How War Transformed a Ukrainian Community

By Laura McKillop Wood

Valentyn Syniy is the president of Tavriski Christian Institute, an evangelical seminary in Ukraine. He and his wife Luba, and their two children lived a fairly typical existence in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. They had pets and a house in the suburbs. They served at their church, enjoyed time with their extended family, and worked at the institute. On the morning of February 24, 2022, they were sleeping when they heard the explosions that marked the beginning of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Those initial explosions initiated the plan TCI had made much earlier: a plan to evacuate the institute to the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk in the event of a war. Valentyn and the other administrators packed their families and students and drove in vans across the country in the midst of Russian attack. As Valentyn says, “War does not take you into consideration; it just intrudes and changes your plans. It cuts to the quick.” With the help and hospitality of Christians in Ivano-Frankivsk, they settled into their lodgings and tried to adjust to their new normal as refugees.

Thus began the process of acknowledging and accepting the tragedy and trauma of war and re-establishing their lives and ministries in a place they had never lived. The institute maintained its focus on Christian higher education while beginning a new initiative to provide humanitarian aid to those left in areas of higher conflict in the eastern portion of Ukraine and to refugees flooding into western Ukraine. Valentyn describes his work of coordinating those efforts while struggling to accept the changes the war brought. He describes the effect war has had on his understanding of God and the brotherhood of believers in Ukraine and beyond. He goes on to discuss the differences between Ukrainian and Russian believers and the effect of culture and politics on expressions of spirituality and connection. He also describes how, in the middle of the turmoil, chaos, and loss, his family and the leaders with whom they work created meaning and maintained bonds.

In Serving God Under Siege, Valentyn effectively communicates the emotions related to living under attack from an outside force and the challenges of maintaining a ministry while also processing trauma. He explores the effect war has had on fellow Ukrainians’ beliefs about God, saying, “On the one hand, the war produced atheistic tendencies among believers. The main argument was that God could not have allowed such evil in Ukraine.” However, he goes on to say they have seen an increased interest in spirituality and Christianity in some people who have never seen the need for God in their lives. “Theology was now in demand. It was especially true for young people.” He and his coworkers mobilized to meet that need as best they could.

For anyone hearing about the war in Ukraine and wanting a firsthand account, this book provides that. However, it goes beyond simply describing the events of the war and the experiences of one family; it highlights ways Christian leaders are working to show the love of Christ in the midst of terrible human suffering while still clinging to their own faith. It describes ways Christians around the world have worked together with Ukrainian believers to support those in need. This book is appropriate for anyone seeking to understand and for anyone in leadership who has felt the chaos and turmoil that comes not just from war but from unexpected events that require abrupt changes in plans. Valentyn exemplifies a leader who seeks the will of God while also maintaining flexibility, resiliency, and spiritual strength.

Laura McKillip Wood, former missionary to Ukraine, now lives in Papillion, Nebraska. She serves as an on-call chaplain at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha. She and her husband, Andrew, have three teenagers.