Fighting in Ukraine continues

Ukraine (MNN) – Even though the war in Ukraine often fails to make the nightly news, the conflict eating away at the country is far from over.

Conflict in Ukraine

Slavic Gospel Association’s Bret Laird was recently in Eastern Ukraine, where the fighting is heavy, and shares;

“Last week I was traveling with a team of five Ukrainian pastors and ministers to some of the frontline towns of Eastern Ukraine; these are really being hit hard by artillery strikes and a lot of fighting. We were there and we were visiting Evangelical churches that are in those towns and ministering the Gospel and to the daily needs of the people, despite great risk to themselves.”

One day, a bomb hit the street that Laird had been surveying just an hour after Laird had left. The bomb left at least one elderly woman injured. In fact, Laird was so close to the fighting during his time in Ukraine that he could regularly feel the shock waves from bombs and could even hear the machine guns in the distant. Now, fighting has become so bad that many frontline towns are planning for or are currently evacuating their areas.

Yet, despite the physical destruction taking place, there seems to be an almost spiritual revival happening in Ukraine.

“God is doing amazing work, as the scriptures say, what man intends for evil God uses for good,” Laird explains. “And so we’re highly encouraged by the incredible spiritual harvest that is coming as a result of our crisis evangelism efforts.”

Churches Offer Help

Churches in the area, with the help provided through SGA’s Crisis Evangelism fund, have been able to provide bread to quench the physical hunger Ukraine’s people are feeling, as well as providing copies of the New Testament to quench their spiritual thirst.

Laird was able to play a part in handing out these provisions at a small church on the frontline. Prior to the war, this particular church had barely a dozen members. Yet, at this outreach, over one-hundred people came and many gave their lives to Christ.

However, SGA’s Crisis Evangelism fund has been close to running dry. It has nearly hit zero and SGA has been concerned that it won’t be able to continue the ministry in Ukraine in the coming month.

“We have a really urgent need for the people of God to respond financially to enable this ministry to continue,” Laird explains. “To give a brief idea of what it entails, we, [SGA], work directly with local [Ukrainian] churches… who live in these villages, who know the needs of the people. They’re taking food packs, personally, to people on a regular basis.”

These churches are also taking the time to minister to and pray with the people they visit. As Laird says, the Crisis Evangelism fund is a really effective ministry from both the points of meeting humanitarian needs and the need to share the Gospel.

How to Help in Ukraine

Would you be willing to help?

For just $10 you can give a family in Ukraine a food pack which can sustain them for a good number of weeks. So even if $10 a month is all you can afford, it is enough and it is impactful. Plus, that $10 gift doesn’t just meet the need of feeding a family physically, it is also a ticket to sharing the Gospel and feeding a family spiritually, too.

However, if giving isn’t possible at the moment, will you pray?

First off, pray for the war in Ukraine to end. Pray for those who don’t yet know Christ to hear his Gospel and be transformed. Please also pray for Christians in the area to be strong, faithful, and ever gracious despite their circumstances. And finally, please pray for SGA to be able to continue coming alongside these churches in Russia.

To donate to SGA’s Crisis Evangelism Fund, click here!

Want to know more about the Crisis Evangelism Fund? Click here!

For more ways to pray, click here!