“Even with Russia declaring some level of victory, I think it’s paramount that we remember those that are actually in the center of the fighting,” he says. 

Perspective on the ground

Mock was in Ukraine just days ago, where he found fellow believers to be exhausted and nearing a state of indifference. 

“They told me that they were concerned that their prayers for an end to this war and peace to come are falling on deaf ears, and that maybe it just doesn’t matter anymore in the midst of all the suffering,” he says. 

Acknowledging the fatigue of these believers is not to undermine their faith. The realities of war are unrelenting even for those with eternal hope. Hundreds of thousands are dead across Ukraine and Russia; and for a soldier’s family, just one loss of life can change everything. 

SGA has been helping to fill gaps left by providers who are fighting in the war or have been lost in its service. The ministry has provided over 29 million meals through local churches along with more than 300 generators. 

Gospel impact

The impact of Gospel advancement in Ukraine dwarfs that of military advancement. 

“The Gospel is being shared in schools. People are flooding into churches. In fact, SGA is working hard with faithful believers. They want to raise up another thousand missionary pastors to reach their own people,” Mock shares.

The situation hearkens back to Genesis, when Joseph consoled his brothers, “As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good.”

“From the destruction, believers are being sent all across Europe into dark places where the Gospel has long disappeared, and now God is bringing the light of the Gospel,” Mock says. 

Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Hope beyond the stain of sin

Sin is ubiquitous and its consequences inescapable. While Christians must live in and wrestle with this reality, we’re promised something beyond it. 

“The best is yet to come: the days in which we walk his kingdom with glory, where there is no more suffering, children don’t die, there are no more tears,” Mock says. “But here on this earth, just as Jesus in Mark 5 told the demoniac, ‘You go and tell what God has done for you.’”

He says it’s not a question of what men and women are doing in the world: It’s a question of what God is doing.

“How at every moment can we see what God is doing even in the worst of humanity to turn a people to him, and how can we be a part of that?”

Mock says we must not be fooled into thinking an end to the war will bring lasting peace. 

“We need to be careful when we see each of the political advancements or retreats that we see in the world, not to get caught up in that, but to remain focused on the Gospel.” 

Hebrews 12: 1 – 2 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The weights referenced here don’t necessarily represent sin, Mock points out. 

“Maybe they’re just perspectives or worldviews or even just soldiering along for the sake of Christ rather than being found in Christ,” he says.

Ways to pray

Please pray that we would put off old ways of thinking in exchange for a Kingdom perspective on worldly events. 

Pray also that we will not forget those suffering as a result of the war, and pray for ministries like SGA that are providing daily assistance on the ground. 

Pray too for the churches in Ukraine and Russia as well as the surrounding areas: that God would continue to do His work, and that many would take part in it.

Header photo courtesy of Unsplash

The United States and other Western countries have provided Ukraine with longer-range missiles, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is asking for the green light to use these weapons to hit strategic Russian targets.

Eric Mock from Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) explains, “He (Putin) would consider that a red line where weaponry that was used to hit deeper inside Russia that came from these developed Western nations would in fact signal that, de facto, these nations were, in a sense, in a war with Russia, and He would respond as though the Western nations were directly assaulting Russia.”

Additionally, Putin hinted in his statement that he would look at a nuclear response if Western long-range missiles were used to strike Russia.

(Photo courtesy of SGA)

As tensions rise, the situation grows more precarious for both nations. Despite the escalating rhetoric, SGA continues to support Christians both in Russia and Ukraine. “That’s why SGA, in hearing some of these threats and from some of these military concerns, has stayed consistent because our vision of serving God’s Church and helping them reach their own really remains untarnished,” says Mock.

The pressure on churches in both countries is immense as they navigate the challenges of war.

Mock says, “For the churches, both on the Ukrainian and the Russian side, it increasingly puts pressure on them to respond, not in national issues, but in a Gospel-centric way.”

Pray for Russian and Ukrainian believers to keep their eyes fixed on Jesus and seek unity within the Body of Christ.

You can partner with them to advance the heart of the Gospel in this war-torn region. Get started at SGA’s website.

Header photo of President of Russia Vladimir Putin meeting with government members via video conference on March 10, 2022.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Gunmen turned the Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow into a slaughterhouse on Friday evening, killing at least 137 people and wounding 182.

As news of the attack spread through the country, church leaders’ “response was to pray for the families, to reach them with the comfort that only God can provide, and to be resolute in advancing the Gospel,” Slavic Gospel Association’s Eric Mock says.

“Most of the people I’ve talked to were reminded of the fragility of life and the need to be walking ever faithful one moment at a time before the Lord.”

Crocus City Hall attack memorial in Kazan.
(Wikimedia Commons)

The Islamic State branch in Afghanistan, or ISIS-K, claimed the attack. Both American and French intelligence agencies confirm that the statement is true. France increased its national security level to the highest level on Sunday.

“We live in a changing world, where it seems that the value of a single life has fallen dramatically, and there’s no greater need than now for the Gospel; no greater need for the churches to rise up and extend the message of hope in the middle of the chaos,” Mock says.

SGA serves evangelical churches in Russia through missionary pastor sponsorship, biblical, church-based training, and children’s ministry. More about that here.

Pray believers will seize every opportunity to make Christ known.

“Pray for the churches in Russia [to] be bold and faithful and that they will continue to hold forth the Gospel. Pray for peace in people’s hearts in the middle of an increasingly warring world,” Mock requests.

Header image depicts Russian Crocus City Hall amphitheater interiors, a day after the terrorist attack on 22 March 2024. (Wikimedia Commons)

“They’re running out of munitions, they’re running out of men on the front line, and I think it’s very difficult,” Slavic Gospel Association’s Eric Mock says.

“The military is fatigued; the environment that they’re fighting in is absolutely terrible. This is mimicking things we read about in history during World War One.”

When you give toward SGA-supported Compassion Ministry, you can help churches reach out with food, hygiene supplies, and the hope of the Gospel.
(Photo courtesy of SGA)

The fog of war clouds casualty statistics. Last week, the U.K. Ministry of Defense claimed over 355,000 Russian personnel had been killed and wounded in the Ukraine war, but it’s unclear how the MoD came up with that figure.

Two weeks ago, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed during Russia’s full-scale invasion, but for security purposes, he would not give the number of wounded. In August 2023, U.S. officials said around 500,000 were killed or wounded on both sides, with 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed and up to 120,000 wounded.

Believers are not immune from the despair and loss of war. For example, “a young woman and her little son were hit [by] a drone in Odessa,” Mock says.

“She was just a wonderful, godly woman who sang in the choir; she’s the daughter of an SGA-supported missionary, and the funeral was this week.”

Yet, hope remains. “Even in the middle of the despair, we’ve seen a revival; churches are overflowing with people looking for answers,” Mock says.

“Pastors had told me how difficult it was to reach people even with outreach events. Now, people are flooding into churches asking questions, hearing the Gospel, and coming to faith.”

You can help suffering Ukrainians through SGA here.

“SGA provided, since the war began, over 24 million meals, and we know that the Gospel has gone out to over a million people,” Mock says.

“In the middle of what is becoming one of the most tragic times in history for Ukraine is an amazing Gospel opportunity where people are coming to faith. Even the ones (Ukrainians) spread throughout Europe are planting churches!”

Header image depicts a shelled church in Selidovo, Ukraine, where civilians are increasingly being targeted in the war. By God’s grace, the pastor had already evacuated. This faithful servant ministers to broken lives and even opened up his home to provide shelter. Now, everything has been lost. (Photo, caption 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)

Months of horrific violence have followed, with thousands of soldiers and civilians losing their lives. The invasion has proved a strategic disaster for Russia, but conditions in Ukraine remain difficult.

Wayne with the ministry Operation Mobilization says, “This is the country I’ve called home for the last 28 years. My wife is Ukrainian, and my four sons are Ukrainian. Here we have precious partnerships, and I’ve seen God do amazing things. For example, we’ve seen many new and vibrant churches planted over the last eight years in war-affected communities in Ukraine’s furthermost eastern regions. I’m heartbroken at what is happening now.”

The invasion followed seven years of war in Eastern Ukraine between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists.

God at work

Despite the invasion, Wayne says God is very much at work in Ukraine. OM workers and other Ukrainian Christians continue ministering to those in need. Churches are filling up with people touched by Jesus’ love.

Wayne asks readers to join him in prayer. “Pray the war would end and that justice and righteousness would prevail. Pray leaders in Ukraine and around the world will act with godly wisdom and selflessness as they make decisions. And pray that people hear might come together in a mighty way and find that their refuge and strength is the Lord.”

“OM is determined to continue to serve here as we can for as long as possible.”

Ask God to sustain those in occupied cities or cities under siege. Pray they will get the food and fuel they need as winter approaches.

Header photo courtesy of Mvs.gov.ua, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Last November, a coalition of Russian pastors asked for Scripture booklets from World Missionary Press. The pastors want to reach 25 million people across central Russia in 24 months and plan to use Scripture booklets in their outreach.

WMP had the booklets printed and ready to ship to Russia… and then Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. “We still have that original container sitting here waiting to be shipped,” WMP’s Helen Williams says.

“The standard way of getting things in [to Russia] is blocked because of the ongoing war.”

(Graphic courtesy of World Missionary Press)

To Russia, with love

Along with atheism, Orthodoxy holds the hearts of many Russians. According to Operation World, the Russian Orthodox Church survived Communism and remains the central symbol of Russian identity. Russian Orthodoxy is culturally strong but spiritually weak in the lives of most of its followers.

Led by the Holy Spirit, Russian pastors have mobilized believers to introduce their communities to the God of relationship, not religion. They only lack resources. Ask God to enable Scripture booklets to reach WMP contacts in Russia.

“We’re not trying to knock down any doors; we’re just trying to wait on the Lord” to make this shipment happen, Williams says.

“We are confident that this (shipment) is going to get there because His people are waiting.”

Pray the booklets will introduce people to the Gospel truth. “We would appreciate conservative prayer on behalf of this project because we can meet the need. We simply need to see how the Lord wants us to get it (the shipment) there,” Williams says.

“We are considering printing another [order] if we get an opening. We have another group in Russia that also wants a large amount of literature. The booklet has been translated; it’s all ready to print.”

Learn more about World Missionary Press here.

Header image depicts an Orthodox church in St. Petersburg, Russia. (Photo courtesy of Happy Donut/Pexels)

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)

The sanctions package also disconnected the largest Russian banks from the SWIFT international banking system. SWIFT stands for the Society for Worldwide International Financial Telecommunications. It is one of the pillars of the financial world, allowing banks from different countries to securely message each other.

Impact on Russians

All these measures aim to cut off funding for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. How do they affect the average Russian citizen?

Eric Mock with the Slavic Gospel Association says, “Since the very beginning when it became difficult, we were hearing from Russian believers who were sobbing over this. They were embarrassed, they were frustrated. Some of them had almost immediately lost their jobs.”

Mock knew many Russians who had worked with western firms. “When Western companies began pulling out and then the sanctions started taking root, there are a great number of people who lost their livelihoods.”

For Russians living outside Moscow especially, the sanctions have taken a toll. Many people struggle to put food on the table, while also suffering emotionally as they watch their country invade their neighbors.

Russian churches

SGA continues to serve local churches in Russia, as well as Belarus. Mock says, “I think in the middle of recognizing the brutality of what Putin is doing in legislating this war, we shouldn’t group the Russian people in with the Russian leadership. There are many faithful Bible-teaching churches in Russia who are faithfully doing everything they can to minister to those suffering.”

Praise God for the faithfulness of these Russian churches. And pray for an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The header photo shows a destroyed Russian vehicle in Ukraine. (Photo courtesy of Mvs.gov.ua, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)