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.

Pastor Israel Pochtar of Beit Hallel Congregation in Ashdod says, “Israel has the biggest military mobilization of people ever in its entire history. So 350,000 Israelis — young fathers and mostly young ones — who were mobilized in the military. It’s affecting every part of our society.”

War relief action teams deliver much-needed essentials to soldiers at the Israeli army bases in the south of Israel. (Photo courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

Pochtar’s own two sons are in Israel’s military – one is already serving and one was recently deployed. His youngest son’s best friend (also in the army) was killed by the Hamas attack on October 7th, as was his daughter’s best friend who was at the music festival.

At least 30 young men from Pochtar’s church have deployed since the start of the conflict. Civilians are feeling the impact of war.

“Church services, we have to limit them to 50 people,” Pochtar says. “We do have a bomb shelter in my church that helps, praise the Lord. We still can do services. But even just to drive to the church is dangerous because we can come under fire at any time. So when we have sirens, people need to run to the bomb shelter. That’s our reality now for the last 16 days.”

During this time, Christians in Israel are showing compassion in Yeshua’s name to their communities.

“It’s tragedy. It’s painful. It’s caught us by surprise, so it is a difficult situation. But as a church, we have no time to slow down. We are working hard because crisis and war and tragedy, that’s the best time for the Church to be light, and that’s our focus. We’re collecting ourselves and going through the pain of losses.”

(Photo courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

With so many Israeli soldiers suddenly deployed, their troops need day-to-day essentials. Beit Hallel Congregation’s war relief action teams are getting food, water, hygiene products, and other aid items to Israeli army bases in the south.

Ashdod where the church is located has been hit by continued bombing from Gaza. It’s also very close to Ashkelon, another major target of rocket fire.

“I live on a high floor, so I can see from my windows Ashkelon and Gaza,” Pochtar says. “When rockets fly, I personally see it with my eyes. So we’re close.”

Beit Hallel Congregation is providing emergency food baskets and care hampers to Israeli families affected by war in the south.

Pochtar says, “For us in the beginning when it started, we said, ‘We need to go ahead and buy groceries, buy food to be ready because soon people will cry for help.’

“As time goes on, people stay home. With the rocket fire, they cannot go into the shop. There is no house delivery. You cannot order Uber or other ways people order food. Women, young moms with little kids…stay home. They cannot even go out and buy groceries. Disabled people, old people, they are stuck home… We know from experience as time goes by, the needs will grow.”

Please pray for a resolution to the conflict and for Gospel opportunities among devastated Israeli and Palestinian communities.

You can give to Beit Hallel Congregation’s war relief efforts here.

Header photo of war relief action teams delivering much-needed essentials to soldiers at the Israeli army bases in the south of Israel. (Photo courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

But the fighting isn’t the whole story.

Russian churches have been sending help to one Ukrainian pastor in the Kherson region. The area he lives in is currently under Russian occupation.

Eric Mock with the Slavic Gospel Association says, “Working with the churches that we know, we’re able to get funding and aid to him through Russia. We call it the back side of the battle. So he can continue to minister to the needs of his people. I can’t give you his name for safety reasons.”

Occupied territory

Living in occupied territory, this pastor navigates extra barriers while serving his people. Mock says, “He tells us of literally taking hours to get through the numerous checkpoints just to get a couple of bags of groceries and bring them back to his people.”

“In fact, one checkpoint told him if he did not return within two hours, they would kill him and everybody else. He lives under that kind of threat.”

As the pastor goes out, people see the love of Jesus. Mock says churches throughout Ukraine that were empty have filled up with new believers.

You can support these churches through SGA. Mock says, “We’re also helping a vast number of refugees and not only in Poland. Refugees are flooding into Russia and Belarus.”

The header photo shows an SGA-supported church in Ukraine damaged during the Russian invasion. (Photo courtesy of SGA on Facebook)

Eric Mock with the Slavic Gospel Association recently traveled to Russia. “The infection rate and the death rate in Russia is, as I understand it, the highest for Europe, and it is currently very high in regards to the whole world. Part of the reason is a low vaccination rate. The government references it as being between 30 and 35 percent. But some of the locals think it’s a little less.”

Russia created its own vaccine, named Sputnik V. The vaccine has been used widely in Russia and in over 70 other countries as well. The World Health Organization, however, has not yet approved it officially.

Many Russians seem no more eager to use Sputnik V than more effective Western versions. Some Russians even believe the vaccine will give them defects or drastically shorten their lifespans, despite mounting evidence that the vaccine is safe to use.

Ministry from local churches

As the pandemic continues, Mock says more people are reaching out to local churches than ever before. “They would have never reached out to a church before. They would have never asked for help before. And people are coming to faith. We’re working with about 800 churches right now, helping them perform this compassion ministry. It’s just amazing what they’re doing in these churches to reach out to people in need with the Gospel and groceries.”

Ask God to bless these churches. Mock says, “In the middle of this pandemic, which is definitely just having a brutal effect on society as we know it, God is at work doing amazing things.”

Consider supporting this ministry through SGA. You can donate here.

The header photo shows a Russian SGA partner visiting a family. (Photo courtesy of the Slavic Gospel Association)

Most questions concern Lebanon’s new leadership and its political implications, but Pierre Houssney of Horizons International says there’s something else to consider; how is Lebanon’s economic situation affecting regular citizens?

Lebanon has access to economic prosperity, but Houssney says it’s mostly concentrated in a mega-rich upper class. That means “working class people are living on a really, really tight margin because…the living expenses in the country are very high, on par with [or] even above some places in the US.”

Photo courtesy of Horizons International

The working or middle class faces tight budgets in the face of increasing costs of living. That means they don’t have the same access to education for themselves or their children, basic living expenses, or streams of income they once held.

Houssney says some people are even receiving only 50% of their salaries on a monthly basis. What’s more, some local banks won’t let them withdraw any cash. Some banks have even been accused of selling dollars to money changers on the street to make a profit, giving their customers Lebanese currency as a major decrease.

Couple that with 30-40% prince increases on essentials such as groceries and you have a recipe for intense economic stress.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Syrian refugee crisis is ever-present. “A lot of people around the world have kind of gotten just fatigued of hearing about the refugee crisis, while at the same time, it’s getting worse and worse here,” Houssney says.

Normally, Horizons International would provide those refugees with financial support and backing. However, at the same time as Lebanon’s economic crisis, donations to Horizons International have not grown fast enough to keep up with the vast needs and opportunities in front of the organization.

That’s led Houssney and Horizons International to make some difficult decisions. For example, “We actually had to cut off… all 39 churches that we had been supporting with food portions. We had to cut them off last month, not just because there’s not enough donations to cover the food supplies, but also, even the food distributors that we’re getting food from, a lot of them have stopped being able to even get the materials.”

Inflation has also forced Horizons International to cut back on missions trips, refugee aid, and other local programs.

Photo courtesy of Horizons International

And yet where finances fail, God’s love is still at work.

“We’re still seeing so many just hundreds of believers from a Muslim background that are remaining in the faith, that are remaining committed to Jesus, committed to the Church,” Houssney says. “That’s been really, really encouraging.”

Pray for encouragement and courage for the Lebanese Church. Consider how you might contribute to their efforts via Horizons International.

Right now, “things feel a little bit dark. And that’s when we need to remember and… regain our vision that this is about the Gospel,” Houssney says. “This is about salvation, that Jesus is the light of the world.”

“Let the church be leading in this time of need.”

Header photo courtesy of Unsplash.