Life’s struggles fade in the light of the Gospel. This is what Belarusian pastors believe as they persevere through obstacles in their ministry!

Eric Mock from Slavic Gospel Association says, “Through compassion ministry over the last eleven years, thousands of people have heard the Gospel, and hundreds have come to faith through this ministry.” Click here to learn more about the compassion ministry.

The obstacles are many — government restrictions, monitoring of sermons and social media, and even arrests of clergy who speak against limits on language or freedoms. Church leaders pray for wisdom as they carefully navigate registration and policy requirements, working hard to maintain peace with their government when possible.

Photo courtesy of Tima Miroshnichenko via Pexels

They persevere by remaining faithful to the Great Commission.

Mock says, “Look behind the curtain and see the faithful believers who, regardless of world events, continue to fulfill the task at hand and declare the Gospel to all people.”

Eric recalls meeting a few pastors from Belarus. He asked them how they respond to these challenges, and one pastor replied,

“That’s between them and God. As for us, we will continue the task before us of declaring the Gospel and making disciples of all people!”

These pastors are less concerned with government policies than with how to carry out the Great Commission in these times. And there are challenges, as many of them serve in two or three churches due to a lack of newly trained pastors.

Slavic Gospel Association supports Belarusian churches and leaders in their growth and humanitarian outreaches. Visit their website to learn more!

Mock adds, “We attempt to provide financial or supplemental support for these men who are out in the villages, because sometimes it’s almost impossible to take care of your family and continue doing ministry.”

Pray for a new generation of pastors to embrace the call and for wisdom as they navigate these sensitive days.

“Let us, in the middle of these chaotic times, preach Christ and Him crucified, so that people would know Christ and make Him known,” Mock encourages.

 

Header photo: Minsk, Belarus (courtesy of Egor Kunovsky via Unsplash)

However, Eric Mock with SGA says, “What they hadn’t counted on is there are a lot of people that didn’t know where their next meal was going to come from, and they would happily open the door to a pastor that wanted to tell them a message of hope and bring them a bag of groceries.”

In the countries of Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, SGA-sponsored missionary pastors are visiting needy families in their regions with much-needed parcels of staple food items. (Photo, caption courtesy of SGA)

Now, 11 years later, the SGA-supported Compassion Ministry is flourishing.

SGA supports 55 missionary pastors in Belarus, 35 of whom are actively involved in the Compassion Ministry.

“The figure the pastors last week gave me is that 7% of all people coming to faith, out of all the ministry of the churches in Belarus, are through this Compassion Ministry!” says Mock.

“Ten percent of all the pastors in Belarus are engaged in this Compassion Ministry through support from SGA.”

The pastors themselves often have very little. Yet, Mock says, “They faithfully declare the Gospel in their community, and here they give of the abundance of their heart more than an abundance of resources. So we help them in that, and that’s opened up doors and people have been coming to faith.”

Praise God for open doors and hearts to the Gospel in Belarus!

You can support SGA’s Compassion Ministry here.

Header photo courtesy of SGA.

Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association describes the plight of these churchs as a trifecta of difficulties – and living in a war zone is only the start.

“The first part — this is dating all the way back to 2014 and the Orange Revolution — [is that] Protestant churches are seen as Western agents, Western connections,” he says. “Protestant churches are seen as those churches that undermine Russian Orthodoxy, Russian tradition. They are not to be trusted due to their relationship with the West.” 

These believers are often viewed within occupied territories as staunch Ukrainians.

“When these particular churches, or evangelicals continue to hold to their Protestant evangelical identity, and may hold to their Ukrainian identity, their lives are very complicated,” Mock says. “They don’t have access to the same resources, and a lot of these churches are shut down.”

All these factors notwithstanding, these believers still step forward with a sense of God’s calling. Mock says many believers have fled occupied regions, going to Russia, Belarus, or sometimes to other parts of Ukraine. But others stay. 

“That’s the key part that we need to remember when we’re thinking of the believers that are struggling in these occupied territories: if they leave, who will advance the gospel? If people struggle and seek comfort, rather than to be a light in the middle of darkness, who will step up?” Mock says. 

“Even in these occupied areas, the faithful believers recognize that God has raised them up for such a time as this.”

Find your place in the story! 

“It’s very difficult to serve these churches, so the primary thing we do for them right now is we pray. We passionately believe that there’s much power in much prayer,” Mock says. “The greatest tool we have to see a situation transformed is to appeal to our sovereign God, who is the one true God who even allows these difficulties for the purposes of declaring His greatness among the nations.

“I think secondly, we need to appreciate the churches around the exterior of these regions that are also praying, also helping with refugees. We do our best to help them as people flood into their regions looking for answers.”

Learn more about SGA’s Ukrainian relief fund here. 

Header photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association. 

You might be following the conflict from only one side, so what is the perspective of believers in Russia?

“They are the story behind the story,” says Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association, “because the headlines are ‘What [are] Putin and Trump doing?’ The war [and] everything that’s going on, that saturates the headlines, and we miss these faithful believers … who through brutal winters are visiting orphanages, who are visiting communities, who now are preparing for summer camps.”

SGA supports the quiet ministries of hundreds of churches seeking to share Christ, not only in Russia but across Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and elsewhere. 

“I wish that people would understand there’s a difference between the overall picture of a country and the people that are actually in these cities and villages,” Mock says. 

Of believers in Russia, Mock says, “It’s amazing to serve churches that do so much, to meet pastors that study through the night to be sure that they can minister in three or four churches, to [meet people willing to] be in communities where they don’t want them there.” 

For example, some areas of Russia have a strong presence of shamanism or of Islam, which are resistant to the gospel. Please pray for believers in Russia serving the Lord in these remote, unseen places.

“Regardless of your political views, regardless of your views on leadership of other countries, we labor under the kingdom of heaven,” says Mock.

Read inspiring stories of these men and women by visiting www.sga.org and scrolling to the bottom of their homepage. The stories you’ll find can stir you to press harder after God’s Kingdom wherever He’s placed you.

“Wherever you are, be the ambassador of Christ that God has raised you up to be.”

Header photo is a stock image courtesy of Aliaksei Lepik via Pexels.

“In the countries we serve, Easter has greater prominence among the churches even than Christmas,” says Erick Mock with Slavic Gospel Association. “Easter becomes a profound time of worship.”

The victory concept carries a particular poignancy in countries like Ukraine, Israel, Russia and many others where SGA partners with local churches. Destruction and discord have loud voices. Yet Mock tells the story of one woman who discovered God’s voice even in mayhem.

While in Ukraine, he met an older woman who had lost her family and home. She often didn’t know where her next meal would come from. But she wore a beautiful smile.

“Please tell me why you’re smiling,” he said after hearing her story.

In a time of great uncertainty, God is bringing help, healing, and hope to the people of Ukraine through SGA-supported pastors, churches, a seminary and SGA-supported Compassion Ministry.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association)

“Because everything tragic that happened in my life led me to this place where I found the grace of God,” she replied. “God has filled my heart with peace and joy, independent of my circumstances, and I know heaven is before me. Whatever happens to me, heaven is there.” 

That same hope in Jesus’ resurrection is yours today, if you know Christ. 

”Even as you watch the chaos in this world, or even some of the chaos in our own country, [I encourage you] to see Easter as a point of victory, a point of celebration that our lives are not determined by our circumstances — both positive and negative — but it’s the hope we have in Jesus Christ, by His grace, through faith,” says Mock. 

This Easter, SGA is boosting support to missionary pastors so they can deliver more aid to their neighbors in the name of Christ. It opens the way to invite people to church and hear the gospel — like it did for Sergei in Belarus. Pray for many people to be drawn to Jesus this Holy Week.

Learn more about SGA here. 

Header photo: In a time of great uncertainty, God is bringing help, healing, and hope to the people of Ukraine through SGA-supported pastors, churches, a seminary and SGA-supported Compassion Ministry. (Photo, caption courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association)

In early January, Belarus’s President Alexander Lukashenko signed into effect a new law that the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) swiftly called out as “a setback to religious freedom in Belarus.” 

The law essentially requires all churches to reregister with the government to be an approved religious organization. Read more of USCIRF’s reported concerns here.

SGA works with churches in Belarus, equipping them to proclaim Christ as King. (Photo courtesy of SGA)

“As we have seen in various places across the former Soviet countries, this can be used to shut churches down, if for whatever reason they apply for reregistration and they don’t get it,” Joel Griffith with Slavic Gospel Association says.

“When the Soviet Union first broke apart and the Communist rule came to an end, it was such a unique time in history. You had an awful lot of freedom that broke out, not just across Russia, but Belarus, Kazakhstan, (and) the other Central Asian countries.”

After a number of years went by, Griffiths says they began to see “retrenching” happening in various countries. Church restrictions slowly began to crop up again. 

“I would say even in the last five to 10 years in various places that pressure on the churches (has) really ratcheted up,” he says.

Thus far, SGA’s church partners in Belarus have been able to minister without too much interference, although Griffith says they have to be careful. 

Even so, these pastors are not fazed by this latest piece of legislation — they have gone through much worse challenges before. But they are prayerful, and you can join them in this.

“The prayer (of) the churches in Belarus is that they will be able to go through this re-registration process and be able to continue to function,” Griffith says.

“We certainly need to continue to lift them up in prayer as they navigate this and seek God’s wisdom.”

Learn more about SGA’s ministry in Belarus to help inform your prayers. 

Header photo of church in Belarus is a representative stock photo courtesy of Daniil Yakochovik/Unsplash.

Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) reached out to their connected churches in Belarus to get their reaction. SGA’s Eric Mock says Belarusian pastors have a unique perspective to share.

“They reminded me very quickly that the churches there were born of the difficulties of ministering during the days of the Soviet Union, during the days of Communism when the churches were greatly persecuted. So in the middle of those persecutions, they were aware of the laws and they did what they could to honor the government to the extent that they could while they were faithful to preach and teach the Gospel.”

Essentially, they have seen these types of challenges before — and even worse. With that in mind, these pastors and Christian leaders are familiar with advancing the name of Jesus Christ amidst roadblocks.

Mock says, according to the pastors in Belarus, “The work of advancing the Gospel and advancing the Church and planting the churches remains unchanged.

SGA works with churches in Belarus, equipping them to proclaim Christ as King. (Photo courtesy of SGA)

“They respect the government, they want to be salt and light before the government, they want to honor the government. That doesn’t mean that they agree with the government, but they want to be people who are beyond reproach.”

These faithful believers’ perspective serves as an encouragement to other Christians facing opposition and challenges. And you can encourage them with your prayers.

“The greatest prayer request that we have for the Church in Belarus is that they would remain faithful.”

Learn more about SGA’s ministry in Belarus.

Header photo of students receiving training in Minsk, Belarus. (Photo courtesy of SGA)

Though claiming neutrality and issuing a so-called peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China has consistently supported Russia with trade and “non-lethal” aid. Last week, CIA Director Bill Burns confirmed that China might send lethal support to Russia in the coming days.

Meanwhile, 18 million people – nearly half of Ukraine’s population – need humanitarian aid and protection. “Infrastructure is very broken in Ukraine, and it is winter. Right now, conditions are tough,” says Arne*, a believer overseeing unfoldingWord’s work in the region.

Soldier examines an unexploded rocket in Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine.
(Wikimedia Commons)

unfoldingWord partners with church-centric Bible translation teams on both sides of the conflict. In January 2022, “we had a team working to produce [Bible translation] resources in the Russian language that would be usable across all of the former USSR republics,” Arne says.

Through its Eurasian Gateway Language project, unfoldingWord equips partnering church networks to translate Biblical content and training materials into an open-licensed format. Bilingual believers can then use these resources to produce the same support materials in minority languages, thus accelerating the overall Bible translation process. Find ways to come alongside this project here.

Team members moved out of Kharkiv and eastern Ukraine when Russia invaded last February. More about that here.

Believers faced challenges of every kind but never gave up on their mission – translating God’s Word into minority languages. The project leader “initiated a second project during this past year, and that project is proceeding nicely,” Arne says.

Today, team members “have problems getting clean water, hot water, and food. It’s not uncommon for them to spend time in various places of shelter, like subways, between the bombings. And yet, they manage to get work done,” Arne says.

“They’re [completing] between three and five books of Scripture, which, under the circumstances, is pretty remarkable.”

Praise God for these believers’ dedication, and ask the Lord to provide for their daily needs. “They need the basic necessities of life,” Arne says.

“Pray that the team would be protected, sustained, and supplied so God’s work could continue.”

*Pseudonym

Header image courtesy of unfoldingWord.

Ukraine’s top military leader says Russia could make a new push to take the capital in January. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rare visit to ally Belarus heightens suspicions of a pending offensive. Moscow has hosted every presidential meeting since 2019.

The United States promises to send another aid package to Ukraine; this one will include “smart bomb” kits and Patriot missiles. The defense support could arrive as early as this week.

“This is about sending a message to Putin and sending a message to the world that America will be there for Ukraine for as long as it takes,” a senior administration official said.

Meanwhile, the power’s still out in half of the Kyiv region following relentless bombings earlier this week. “I just got a video from one of our team members, and it showed a lot of shelling in the Kyiv area; it was quite intense,” Trans World Radio’s Dirk Mueller says.

Between attacks, TWR Ukraine broadcasts the hope of Christ on radio and social media.

“It’s not an ‘eight-to-five’ job. They record and produce whenever they can because of the power outages,” Mueller explains.

“It’s very difficult to plan the production because sometimes there’s no light, no electricity. I receive pictures of our staff working by candlelight.”

The TWR Ukraine team recently partnered with another Christian ministry to purchase a backup power supply.

TWR Ukraine team members prepare to record programs in their makeshift studio space amid rolling power outages and continued missile attacks.
(Photo, caption courtesy of TWR)

“We are providing the diesel, and they provide the generator. That keeps them a bit more independent from outages,” Mueller says.

You can support believers in the war zone through TWR’s Crisis Fund. Most importantly, pray. Ask the Lord to protect believers as they put together a new program called “How Are You?”

“Our teams go out to the war zones where the conflict is happening, and they are interviewing people, taking footage, and pointing to Jesus Christ. They need protection and for God to put angels around them,” Mueller says.

Header image depicts damages in Dovhenke. This village was one of the key points on the way of Russian army to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. It changed hands several times and was under Russian occupation. Most of the houses and World War II memorial were destroyed; explosive objects are found in yards, gardens and on the streets. Just 8 people (of about 1,000 pre-war population) plan to spend the winter in the village. (Wikimedia Commons)

Roughly 200,000 men have been mobilized or drafted into Russia’s war effort so far, President Vladimir Putin says. Many new soldiers wind up on the front without training or equipment.

TransWorld Radio contacts in Belarus and Russia face an uncertain future. The men could be drafted into the armed forces any day.

“They are living under many fears, questions, [and] worries,” Dirk Müller of TWR Europe says.

“They pray, ‘God, what is Your will? Where should we go? Georgia, Turkey, Armenia; or, should we stay?’ It’s a daily challenge to not [make decisions] by fear, but by faith.”

To protect its contacts, TWR does not publish much information about the Gospel workers in Belarus and Russia. However, these workers – like believers across the border in Ukraine – face trials and heartbreak as a result of the war.

(Photo courtesy of TWR)

For example, one TWR “contact” is a married couple living in Russia. These believers have a son we’ll call Igor. “He turns 18 [years old] in a couple of months, and this son will be called into military training, basic training,” Müller says.

“[Igor’s] parents are terrified by the thought that he might be serving in the war against the Ukraine.”

Whenever you pray for Ukraine, please remember to pray for people in Russia and Belarus, too. TWR and its contacts work ardently to broadcast the hope of Christ to all three countries. More about that here.

“[Pray] that this terrible situation would lead Christians to be strengthened. Pray those who don’t know Christ will become followers of Christ,” Müller requests.

See all of TWR’s situation updates from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine.

Header image depicts Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko meeting with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in Sochi, Russia. (Wikimedia Commons)