One Year and Counting: Church Shines While Ukraine Conflict Rages On

Feb 14, 2023

CONTACT: Clem Boyd
Infinity Concepts
(O) 724.930.4003
(E) clem@infinityconcepts.com

KYIV, UKRAINE – It’s been almost one year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. What many thought would be a three-day campaign has turned into almost 365 days with no end in sight. Devastating does not seem an adequate description.

Mission Eurasia, one of the organizations focused on meeting the needs of refugees, the displaced, the traumatized, cold, and the hungry, had been working directly with national leaders in Ukraine for 30 years before the invasion. Mission Eurasia plants churches and trains new Christians in biblical truth and how to live out their faith with practical ministry.

When the war began on February 24, Mission Eurasia pivoted all of their efforts toward responding to this devastating spiritual and humanitarian crisis. Thousands of Christian servants trained through Mission Eurasia and from Mission Eurasia’s network of partnering churches responded.

Mission Eurasia President Sergey Rakhuba, a Ukraine-born American, has been in Ukraine a number of times since the war began. He goes to lift the spirits of those who are on the ground every day meeting needs, serving, sharing and showing the Good News of Jesus, even while bombshells blast overhead and buildings are rocked by explosions.

“Our national leaders are heroes on the frontlines of the war,” noted Sergey Rakhuba, and president of Mission Eurasia. “They have responded through a variety of initiatives, turning our 12 ministry training centers in Ukraine into distribution hubs.”

Mission Eurasia has now delivered more than 200,000 iCare family food packages. Each box of food contains enough to feed a family of four or five for a week or more.

“For a small organization like ours, that’s a lot,” Rakhuba said. “They have printed and shared 1.7 million copies of Scripture or Scripture-based literature. Shelter, food, and medical assistance have been provided, along with trauma counseling. And we have been able to do this because of the faithfulness and generosity of our partners.”

Mission Eurasia has also cared for more than 300,000 moms, children, and elderly at their refugee assistance centers in Poland and Moldova. The numbers are staggering, but the outcome is inspiring.

They have also built and installed nearly 2,000 wood-burning stoves at homes and churches for those without electricity because of Russia’s relentless bombing of Ukraine’s infrastructure. The goal is 4,000.

More than 22,000 displaced and refugee children were cared for in summer camps, which were much more than a time of fun, but a place where they and their moms received trauma counseling.

“The church is shining in the midst of the ashes,” Rakhuba said. “It is a beacon and united voice providing spiritual leadership to the nation.”

The Ukrainian church is the most trusted entity in society right now, Rakhuba said. Many international government-based organizations and NGOs have recognized that and are working with the churches to distribute food and other resources.

More remarkable, this has all happened as Russia has made a concentrated effort to destroy places of worship, spiritual educational institutions, such as Mission Eurasia’s main training center in Irpin outside Kyiv, and sacred sites such as cemeteries and memorials.

About 500 church or ministry-related buildings have been destroyed or severely damaged since the beginning of the war, and in many cases, these facilities were confiscated by the Russian forces on the occupied territories of Ukraine.

On Thursday, February 23, Mission Eurasia will livestream a time of prayer and updates on Ukraine from 10 a.m.–11:30 a.m. Central Time from their website, missioneurasia.org. All are welcome to visit, learn, and pray for Ukraine.

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To schedule an interview with Sergey Rakhuba, president of Mission Eurasia, please email Clem Boyd, Director of Public Relations, at clem@infinityconcepts.com or call or text him at 724.930.4003.

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