Speaker Turchinov speaking at a church in Ukraine.
Ukraine (MNN) — Ukraine’s Prime Minister added to the country’s uncertainty Friday when Arseny Yatseniuk abruptly resigned his post. Yatsenyuk, one of the leaders of the Maidan protests, was admired by Ukrainians as a safe, mild-mannered, intellectual leader with new vision.
However, that mild-mannered man became outraged as lawmakers refused to pass legislation that would allow Ukraine to finance its army and war efforts, and regulate the country’s energy situation. “History will not forgive us,” he told parliament. “Our government now has no answer to the questions: how are we to pay wages, how are we tomorrow morning going to send fuel for armored vehicles, how will we pay those families who have lost soldiers, to look after the army?” reported The Guardian.
The newly-elected president, Petro Poroshenko, welcomed the move which will lead to new elections, saying: “Society wants a full reset of state authorities.”
In the midst of a myriad of Ukrainian problems, the question for evangelical Christians is how with this “rest” affects the work of evangelical outreach in Ukraine.
President of Russian Ministries Sergey Rakhuba says, “As violence continues to plague eastern Ukraine, and when the country is in such deep crisis, politicians in Kiev still try to sort out issues.”
He added, “This raises quite a bit of concern in the country, especially who will be the new prime minister in such a critical time. National churches call on to their congregations to pray more earnestly for God to intervene because a lot is at stake with regard to who the new prime minister will be, and who takes the majority when new elections take place.”
Will this uncertainty affect evangelical outreach? Rakhuba says, “I don’t personally see it negatively impacting evangelicals. One thing though: [Oleksander] Turchinov, [speaker of the parliament], may lose his influence in the parliament since Yatsenuk is his strongest ally.” Turchinov is an evangelical Christian.
In the meantime, Russian Ministries continues helping Ukrainians displaced by the fighting through the local church-initiated I Care program. $50 purchases a week’s supply of relief aid and the Gospel of Luke.
