The latest report from the European Baptist Federation (EBF) notes that needs continue to mount, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that more than 6.2 million people have fled Ukraine, most of those being women, children, and the elderly.
The tragedies caused by Russia’s invasion have been met head-on by Baptists throughout the region. In Romania, which borders Ukraine, Mănăștur Baptist Church has assisted hundreds of refugees with food, medical supplies, housing, transportation, jobs, and emotional support. A Ukrainian passing through there on the way to Italy said the congregation’s support was life-altering: “I never experienced so much love in all my life. We want to be part of such a church, so please help us find one like yours in Italy.”
A group of churches in neighboring Slovakia have started a ministry that sends truckloads of humanitarian aid into Ukraine, and back in Slovakia it helps with doctors’ visits, finding jobs, getting food, and school placement for refugees. The Slovak Baptist Union has also obtained 5,000 Ukrainian children’s Bibles to distribute.
Baptists within Ukraine also have developed and grown comprehensive wartime ministries to aid those trapped in the invasion, often while maintaining the services they provided before—like support for the blind and drug addiction recovery. Irpin Bible Church is housing a team of up to 70 volunteers. They spend each day repairing damaged homes, delivering hot food to the armed forces, and welcoming people into the church to wash clothes, charge phones, and collect basic necessities. Pastors and deacons are on hand to provide pastoral care.
Let us be inspired by all of the incredible work that is going on. Inspired to pray, help, and support.
More Good Missionary Work around Ukraine
Ralph Stocks is a retired missionary to Hungary and Romania. For nearly 25 years, Ralph and his wife Tammy were missionaries with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), so our tithes and offerings were able to support them in their work. But before he served in Eastern Europe, Ralph was also a part of our church!
Tammy & Ralph Stocks
Sensing a new call to serve after Russia invaded Ukraine, Ralph reached out to the folks at Project Ruth, a CBF missionary-run school in Romania, who were already helping refugees from the Ukraine-Romania border get to safety, medical care, and food. Knowing he could really make a difference in their work, Ralph flew to Romania to help. He sat down for an interview to talk about what he is seeing, hearing, and experiencing as he works with people on the Romania-Ukraine border. Listen to Ralph's interview here.
One of the special things that Project Ruth is doing to help Ukrainian families is assembling and distributing food care boxes. Each box contains enough food to feed a family of four for seven days. You can learn about what’s packed in them here, which even includes devotionals in Ukrainian for much-needed encouragement. The cost to pack and transport one of the Food Care Boxes is $44. Anyone can donate money online to help provide them for Ukrainian families by supporting Project Ruth’s food box program here.
Baptist Aid Work in Ukraine
It is inspiring to see how people and churches work together to help those who are suffering in Ukraine:
Small churches are involved in extraordinary efforts. Take the Philadelphia Church in Ternopil, a city in western Ukraine. Despite having only 40 members, every day it receives around 100 people, many with pets, who are evacuating. It gives them food, rest and shelter in its building. In total it has helped 7,000 people, with the help of friends and partners.
The Church of the Transfiguration in Severodonetsk continues to be active, evacuating families, hosting the homeless and distributing food kits to sick and elderly people in the city. The church was only established in 2016 and had previously focused its ministry on people struggling with addictions. Their activities in the war mean that former alcoholics and drug addicts have become true heroes of the faith, preaching the gospel and hope in the Lord.
In the Cherkasy region, more than a thousand displaced people are housed safely in church buildings every night. In Lviv, one local church held a baby shower for three mothers-to-be who had fled the fighting, bringing hope in the midst of suffering. To read more stories of churches in Ukraine helping in inspiring ways, read this article.
North Carolina Baptists have also been helping with disaster relief on the ground near Ukraine and working with local Baptist organizations tirelessly since the Russian began its invasion. They say:
We ask you to join us in prayer for families who have been separated, those who have lost loved ones, and those who are fleeing the violence in their country. Lift up those who are selflessly providing transportation, shelter, counseling, and needed supplies to the refugees—sometimes at great personal risk.
NC Baptists on Mission has committed to assist people in the region, with funds being used to purchase food, medicines, medical supplies, hygiene items, baby food, and other items to assist displaced Ukrainians. We have established ways of getting these items into Ukraine and to the local churches who are caring for refugees. One way is through ready-to-eat meals, as many have no easy way to prepare food themselves. Tons of flour, yeast, and salt are being purchased and sent to local bakeries in the Ukraine, where it is made into loaves of bread. Individuals then receive a loaf of bread, a jar of sausage spread (a local favorite), and part of a cake, which will feed them for a day. We can provide this meal for just $2.
The impact of Russia’s invasion will be felt for a long time. NC Baptists will be there to minister and serve. To make a contribution, make a check payable to Baptists On Mission, designated for Ukraine Crisis, and mailed to: Baptists on Mission, Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, P.O. Box 1107, Cary, NC 27512. You may also give online HERE. To read more updates on what North Carolina Baptists are doing there, click here.
Life and Death Ministry in Ukraine and Beyond
We continue to pray for the people of Ukraine, who have suffered overwhelming devastation after a month of Russia’s invasion. Here are updates from some of the Baptist ministry work going on in and around the area:
To read stories of relief work that local Baptist churches are doing for Ukrainian refugees in neighboring Romania and Moldova, click to here.
Click here to read the first-hand account of a Ukrainian Baptist who helped a group of families escape the bombing in the city of Mariupol.
There are Baptist missionaries we support who are working all around Eastern Europe. Click here for updates about what they are doing in multiple countries to serve Ukrainians.
Serving and Supporting the Kingdom of God in Ukraine
Fyodor Raychynets is a Ukrainian pastor and theology professor at the Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary in Kyiv. Some days he serves the Lord’s Supper to Ukraine’s military. Many days he serves bread to the elderly who are hiding in bomb shelters. He says, “I have to remind myself on a daily basis that we are humans. It is so crucial in the midst of this hell, not to lose our humanity, but to preserve it, and to show it, and to demonstrate it. Because that’s what the people need the most at this moment.” When the Russian invasion began, Raychynets formed a group of volunteers who would serve the people that suffered the most from the war: the elderly. “They are in the basements. They have no idea what’s going on outside the world. They’re just there. Blocked. They are scared to death. They are there hungry, without electricity, without water. So we provide for them.” To read more about Pastor Raychynets’s difficult but truly inspiring work, click here.
The Ukrainian city of Mariupol has been heavily bombed by Russian forces. A Baptist leader there said, “The city is simply wiped off the face of the earth. It is completely destroyed. There is no electricity, all the wires are on the ground. There is no gas, as the gas pipeline is blown up. We have a well in the church, but there is salty water in it, so we drink salty water. There are lots of people in the streets, and they are hungry.” For more reports from Baptist churches in Ukraine and the surrounding countries, read the European Baptist Federation’s Ukraine update by clicking here.
Two weeks ago, a missionary with the Assemblies of God World Mission (AGWM) who lives in Kyiv was asked, “What do you want to say to churches in America?” He said there are huge physical needs due to all the Russian bombing, and because of the despair there are deep spiritual needs too. To watch his 3 minute response, click here.
The Baptists missionaries in Ukraine that we have supported over the years, Mina and Gennady Podgaisky, pleaded for our church to “pray, pray and pray some more, especially during the night in Ukraine. They are 7 hours ahead. In the night is when the bombing, rockets, and plane attacks intensify.” The greatest needs right now are food and water. To give money directly to the Podgaiskys, who will immediately pass it on to their church leaders in Kyiv, click HERE.
God’s Work in Ukraine
One of the missionary projects that our offerings support is Project Ruth in Romania. For decades they have provided a school for hundreds of children from preschool to 8th grade who live in poverty and have been overlooked. They also provide food and support to families, counseling for women, and training for ministers. But recently they have also started to directly serve refugees from neighboring Ukraine who have fled the Russian invasion. So it now includes a shelter that provides three meals a day, a place to shower, and access to nearby embassies. “This is not our ministry in terms of vision or strategy planning. This is all very new to us,” explained Mihail Ciopasiu, executive director of Project Ruth. “This is just a situation where we thought that if we had a building to host refugees, then we should do that. We should do it to show them that we love them just as God loves us.” Sadly, Romania has the highest rate of sex trafficking in all of Europe. Given how vulnerable the refugee women and children are after the long journey into Romania, there is a pressing need for immediate help and protection to avoid the potential of being kidnapped. It is another huge crisis that is unfolding as a side effect from the invasion. Ciopasiu begs, “Pray for the protection of these mothers and children.” To read more about this story and Project Ruth’s work now, click here.
Tragically, the dean of the Slavic Evangelical Seminary in Kyiv was among those shot dead by invading Russian troops. His body was left in the street for days, after he was trying to reach a ministry center for shelter. Read more about the life and ministry of Vitaly Vinogradov here.
This story does not necessarily have a religious connection, but perhaps it does. In the Bible, the first instructions God gave to humans were to tend the garden and care for the animals. To read touching stories about what it's been like for animals in Ukraine’s zoos and the people who care for them, click here and also here.
Supporting Missionary & Recovery Work in Ukraine
Mina & Gennady Podgaisky are Cooperative Baptist missionaries in Ukraine that we support through our missions offerings. For 20 years, the Podgaiskys have served in Kyiv and beyond, running a ministry center for youth and foster families called Village of Hope. They provide counseling services, Bible studies, and family support.
Fortunately, the Podgaiskys had traveled to North Carolina to connect with local churches right before Russia invaded Ukraine, so they are safe. But sadly, the Village of Hope ministry center was bombed this week by the Russian military. Thankfully, everyone had been evacuated, so no one was there at the time of the attack. The families are sheltering in the basement of the local church, along with 50 other people.
We reached out to the Podgaiskys to ask how we can support them, their ministry, and the people of Ukraine during this terrible time. Here is their response:
1). Pray, pray and pray some more, especially during the night in Ukraine. They are 7 hours ahead. In the night is when the bombing, rockets, and plane attacks intensify.
2.) Pray for us and for the children at Village of Hope. We continue ministering every day for long hours via telephone and messages. We are giving encouragement, support, counseling, and coordinating all kinds of help for those staying and those fleeing. Pray for strength, wisdom, and rest.
3.) Share updates on social media, in your church, and with friends so that others can also pray. We need an army of prayer warriors to protect Ukraine, especially Kyiv, the president, and his family.
4.) Donate money. We are constantly sending funds to people in Kyiv. The greatest needs right now are food and water. When someone donates money to us, we can transfer it to our church leaders there and they can withdraw it from an ATM within 15 minutes. So people’s donations make an immediate difference on the ground.
To read more about the Podgaiskys and their ministry, click here. (And read an inspiring article about more ways Baptist churches in and around Ukraine are helping people in incredible ways here.)
To donate directly to the Podgaiskys, who will pass it on to the people of Kyiv, click HERE.
Flood Relief Help Still Needed
Words of Life Church in Arden is collecting used bicycles to repair and paint and give to children this Christmas who lost their bikes in the flood. If you have a used bike or a new bike that you would like to donate, please bring it to the church, and Rev. Scott Graham will pick them up, repair them, and deliver them to those children in the Crusoe area that lost everything. Thank you.
Western NC Disaster Response Work Day - Sat., Oct 23
Many families in Haywood County are still dealing with the aftermath of recent storm and flood damage to their homes and yards. Next Saturday, October 23, local church groups are partnering with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship college groups for some much-needed work in the Cruso community. A group from our church will be helping out. If you would like to come please be at the church by 8:45 am and we will take the van there. Or, if you prefer, you can meet us at 9:30 am in the Jukebox Junction Restaurant parking lot at 6306 Pigeon Road, Canton 28716. We will be doing yard debris clean up, so if you have extra gloves, pruning shears, rakes, shovels, etc. it would be greatly appreciated if you could bring those along. Trash bags will be provided at the site as well as a skid steer to help with bigger items. Biscuits will be provided for breakfast but you will need to bring your own bag lunch. Please let Regina know if you can help and if you need work gloves.
To give to WNC Disaster Relief, go to the church’s donation page HERE and select it from the list.
Helping with Disaster Relief
A group of FBCW folks were glad to work with groups from other local Cooperative Baptist churches and college groups last Saturday to pack cleaning buckets for disaster relief in Haywood County. Hundreds of filled buckets and empty storage totes were donated. Check out the story that WLOS ran on the event, with pictures and video (see which kids, students, and adults you recognize):
If you want to contribute to supplies for flood victims in Haywood County, you can go to the church’s donation page HERE and select it from the list. (100% of money in the fund will go to families and churches on the ground there.) And be listening in the weeks ahead for other ways to help.
Helping with Flood Disaster Relief
Many communities around Western North Carolina endured severe damage during the storms of Tue., Aug. 17. We have set up a WNC Disaster Relief Fund to collect money for whatever needs arise—helping families get water, supplies, and supporting the clean up process. 100% of money in this fund will go to relief organizations and churches on the ground in the hardest hit areas (a majority in Haywood Co). In the weeks ahead we'll work with churches and organizations to assist with cleaning supplies and volunteer work.
To give to WNC Disaster Relief, go to the church’s donation page HERE and select it from the list.
One immediate need: People in the Cruso community need storage totes to hold personal belongings--big enough to be useful but small enough to carry. (Maybe 15-30 gal sizes). The distribution place is Cruso United Methodist Church, but only emergency services are allowed in the area, so our drop-off location will be Hominy Baptist Church in Candler. You can donate storage bins here at FBC Weaverville and we'll take them, or give money to the Relief Fund