“One aspect is, depending on your estimate, over a million men and women that have been killed or seriously injured [on both sides of the war]. That translates to maybe millions of families that no longer have a father,” says Mock. “It’s brutal to look at what this war has done to so many young lives, leaving the families broken and fractured.”

Photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association

Children and adults carry invisible scars, the war within the war. 

“They’re going to be dealing with the horrifying sights and sounds that this war for four years has brought into their hearts and lives,” says Mock. “This trauma means that any political process for peace really is irrelevant when it comes to peace within the heart.” 

Although the United States has tried to broker a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, Mock says the fundamental differences between the two nations are land, authority, and control. 

“And also security guarantees,” he adds, “because they know an American president is a president for a limited time. So any peace agreement that they have may be transient or temporary.”

Please pray — but not only in the way you might think. 

“I am not going to ask you to pray for peace in Ukraine,” says Mock. “I’m going to ask you to pray for peace in the hearts of many Ukrainian families and many Russian families.” 

How the Ukrainian church is moving 

As peace talks concerning Russia and Ukraine continue to flash across daily headlines, Mock says the real question is this: “Both on the Ukrainian side and on the Russian side, will people caught up in the torment of this war turn to Christ and His saving grace?”

Relief and pastoral training are two of the ways that SGA helps Ukrainian Christians serve in this spiritual battle. Mock says compassion ministry builds bridges. 

“It is not about just having a warehouse full of compassion items that we’re distributing to people and feeling good about the distribution,” Mock explains. 

“It is equipping local churches to reach the people in their own community, or people who are fleeing to their community, that people would find lasting peace through the gospel of Jesus Christ.” 

You can help support this work by giving to SGA’s Ukraine Relief fund. In the past four years, SGA has helped churches provide more than 27 million meals, at least 500 generators, and thousands of blankets, heaters, medicines, and more. They estimate over 2.6 million people have heard the gospel who wouldn’t have otherwise.

SGA church partners prepare meals for displaced people from the Kursk region. (Photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association)

Pastoral training is another critical need, so that when Ukrainians connect with a church, they will hear true, biblical teaching that helps them grow their faith. Mock says many pastors have fled Ukraine. Others have been conscripted into the army.

“They forecast as many as the need of 1,000 pastors in the next 10 years,” he says. “So SGA, in 19 locations across Ukraine, we’re taking the training to them, working through pastors and teachers in Ukraine, as well as some Americans coming over to teach. We’re trying to train up as many young people as possible.”

Learn more about supporting pastoral training with SGA here at their website.

Header photo of Kyiv park (Photo courtesy of Nadiia Yahaha via Pexels).

Ukraine (MNN) — On February 12, Russia launched a large-scale drone attack on Odesa and the wider Odesa Oblast in Ukraine.

The strikes hit a Baptist church and damaged a high-rise residential building, a recreational facility, and a commercial site. At least four people were reported injured.

Eric Mock of the Slavic Gospel Association says the assault reflects a broader strategy. “In Ukraine, the destruction is raining down on the people, trying to break the will of the people,” he says.

Collage of the photos from the site (courtesy of SGA)

Russian military tactics such as targeting civilian areas violate the rules of war. Among the buildings damaged was a local Baptist church led by Pastor Ruslan Shiringa.

“There were 12 drones flying around, and one hit just outside his church, shattering and destroying windows and doors and frames and the interior,” says Mock.

Despite the severity of the attack, no one inside the church was injured. However, the building sustained significant damage. In that moment, believers were once again reminded of a deeper truth — one that holds universal significance.

“They recognize in this time of war that the things of this world are temporary — and that the Church is not a building, but the people,” says Mock,

As soon as repairs were completed, the congregation gathered again.

The size of a Russian drone Geranium (Shahed), found in Vinnytsia region of Ukraine in March 2024 (photo courtesy of National Police of Ukraine via Wikimedia Commons)

“One place they find solace is by gathering on Sunday mornings or during the week to worship, study God’s Word, and unite in hope,” he adds.

Still, beyond the church walls, despair is growing. Months of relentless attacks have taken a psychological toll. “The human condition can slip into despair,” explains Mock, “into indifference and depression, leading many to shake their fists at God and wonder if He is even there.”

This is where the church steps in — bringing hope to those who have lost it and shining as a light in the darkness that leads to Christ’s salvation.

The Ukrainian church continues to carry that weighty mission of sharing hope. Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide and strengthen them.

Visit Slavic Gospel Association to learn more about the work they do with Ukrainian churches.

Header photo: Odesa (Photo courtesy of Oleh Kushch via Wikimedia Commons).

Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association explains, “It seems like a territorial discussion — a discussion of finance and economics — and certainly the peace plan was born from economics. But that masks the polar-opposite dynamics of Azerbaijan and Armenia.”

Azerbaijan is predominantly Muslim, while Armenia is a long-standing Christian nation. Armenians also carry the deep trauma of the genocide that killed 1.5 million Armenians under the Ottoman Empire more than a century ago. Today, strong ties between Türkiye and Azerbaijan revive fear and caution among Armenians.

Armenian cross and text (Photo courtesy of Frederico Machado via Unsplash)

Mock adds, “So what has been made as a peace agreement exists, in part, as a détente between the nations, while the deeper roots — ideological and theological — remain.”

Despite political tensions, Mock says the Gospel transcends borders. SGA partners with indigenous churches in both Armenia and Azerbaijan to advance God’s Kingdom. As Mock notes:

“The Church of Christ is a beautiful thing that is about the Kingdom of God, not the kingdom of men.”

In addition to its other efforts, the ministry focuses on training and supporting national missionaries, as well as assisting churches in both countries during outreach initiatives, including Christmas programs.

He adds: “Human preferences, human desires, go away, and you, when all is stripped away, all you have is the Gospel and the hope of the kingdom to come. And it unifies the people towards a common heart.”

As both nations pursue a fragile peace while still grieving their losses, uncertainty about the future creates space for deeper questions. In that space, the church gently walks alongside people, helping them seek answers.

“We’re aware of the tensions between the two countries,” says Mock. “But what I’ve seen is that when those tensions spike — when they’re at their peak — people seek Christ in much greater numbers.”

Please pray that the Armenian and Azerbaijani churches would respond faithfully to these challenges. Ask God to make them a source of hope for their nations.

Visit Slavic Gospel Association website to learn about their work in both countries!

Header photo courtesy of Mart Production via Pexels.

However, for many Ukrainians these issues are just the most recent in a string of challenges due to the war.

Viktor’s Story

Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) shares updates from a partner who has seen firsthand the chaos of the war. After trusting Jesus and turning from a life of drugs, God gave Viktor a true zeal for the Gospel. He was being discipled by the pastor of his local church and even became an elder. As Russian armies made their way to Kyiv, he suddenly found himself in leadership.

“The pastor had just completed preaching his message. Then he said unexpectedly, looking at Viktor – he said to his church – Viktor, you are the new pastor. My car is outside, running with my family already loaded in. I am gone. I am leaving.

“You can imagine the shock of hearing those words. Viktor didn’t know what to think, and then everyone turned to him. So here you have a church where Viktor is suddenly thrust into being the pastor. A church which was probably 50% depleted as people would flee, that he had to gather together with at the advent of the Russian army invading toward the city limits.”

Marking Time by War Events

Despite his unexpected start in ministry God has given Viktor the joy and strength to lead his church. However, like everyone in the city, he is greatly impacted by war, including increasingly serious rolling blackouts and heating shortages.

(Representative photo courtesy of congerdesign via Pixabay)

“In a recent report from Viktor, he talked about setting his clock by the various different problems that he’s facing. Setting his clock by the air raid sirens going off in the middle of the night every night. Setting his clock by the sequence of rolling blackouts when the power would come on and off. And to be ready to charge phones and do whatever he needs to do, and actually for his wife to prepare some food while the electricity was on. Life changes, and it’s set, not by your clock, but it’s actually set by the series of difficulties that you’ll face during the day.”

This schedule of quickly working when you have power and sleeping wherever you can, is becoming normal. Even sleep is not governed by time of day.

“There are times that Viktor has told me that he went to a bomb shelter at one o’clock in the morning. He’s shown me pictures of he and his family trying to sleep on the floor of a bomb shelter with a couple of pillows. Then the all-clear siren signed off at 6 a.m., in which case he went home, threw some water in his face, and then went straight to the church to get ready to lead Sunday school and preach at the church.”

Hope through Prayer and Heat

In this setting, fear is commonplace. People need assurance and hope. SGA and its partners offer physical and spiritual aid through local churches.

(Photo courtesy of SGA)

Mock asks for prayer that God will continue to provide for the physical needs of those affected by the blackouts. He challenges Christians living in warm homes to pray for their brothers and sisters in Ukraine whenever they feel cold or turn up the heat in their own homes this winter.

While chaos seems to reign, God’s people know who is truly in control. Mock says, “Be reminded that the churches are exploding there. That often in what your listeners and myself may count as the worst of times, God could use those as the exact times to advance the Gospel to a great number of people. So be encouraged in the middle of discouraging times.”

If you want to help SGA provide generators, wood, coal, diesel fuel and more to churches through their Heat and Hope campaign, click here. You can also help provide more general aid through their Ukraine Aid program here.

Please pray that God would strengthen His Church and advance the Gospel in Ukraine as His people faithfully serve Him.

Representative photo courtesy of Katrina_S from Pixabay

Only 15% of orphans in the region are adopted. About 70% of orphaned children are unadoptable because they still technically have a living parent who is unable to care for them. For the rest who are eligible for adoption, only about half will ultimately find a family.

Eric Mock with SGA says, “So where a lot of people are focusing on adopting these children out, what do you do with the other 85% of these kids?

“Well, what SGA is doing [is] we help the local churches put their loving arms around these children and minister to them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So these children with no hope are finding hope.”

Orphans Reborn in Russia (Photo courtesy of SGA)

Orphans Reborn partners with local churches to walk alongside orphaned and vulnerable children with the love of Christ. That presence becomes critical as children approach adulthood.

Without guidance, Mock says many young people leaving orphanages face devastating outcomes.

“A lot of the young girls end up in prostitution. A lot of the young men end up selling drugs, or they’re in destructive behavior,” Mock says. “So these churches are the ones locally who will not only minister to the kids, but bring them into the family of God, the family of the local church.”

That long-term investment was on display during a recent Christmas outreach in Russia.

An Orphans Reborn coordinator named Olga had spent years visiting an orphanage serving about 45 children. When that orphanage closed, God opened another ministry door at an orphanage for children with special needs. It was the first time believers had ever been allowed on the premises.

More than 130 children attended the Christmas celebration. A puppet theater presented a Christmas message, followed by a brief talk about the birth of Christ. Each child and staff member also received a gift.

Mock says, “To these kids, it’s more than what they get. It’s the fact that they aren’t forgotten, that they get something, and they know that someone is thinking about them. So through Orphans Reborn, they get the gift of family, the gift of the Gospel, the gift of Christmas.”

Orphans Reborn in Russia (Photo courtesy of SGA)

Orphanage administrators expressed gratitude and invited Olga to come back at the end of January!

Across the region, SGA supports ministry to orphaned children in more than 285 orphanages and Christian family homes in seven countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Poland, Kazakhstan, and parts of Central Asia.

“So more than 17,000 children that don’t have the love of a family experience the love of the family of God and the hope of the Gospel,” says Mock. “This opens amazing doors.”

It just costs $60 to reach one orphan with SGA Orphans Reborn for the year. Click here to support Orphans Reborn with SGA.

Header photo: Orphans Reborn in Russia (Photo courtesy of SGA)

Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association says: “Some of the destruction that is happening Ukraine is far greater than anything they’ve experienced since the onset of the war.”

Russia is pressing on the frontlines, where defenders are holding, while also terrorizing civilians. Winter weather is part of the strategy. “Electrical substations are being targeted. Heat generation facilities are being targeted. Civilian infrastructure is being targeted as a result,” says Mock.

Ukrainian couple reunites during war (photo courtesy of Dmitry Zvolskiy via Pexels)

With temperatures dropping to 5°F and below, people are searching for ways to stay warm. “This is when our bodies become weaker or more susceptible to catching viruses and getting sick, and so that is a certain reality,” he explains.

SGA is responding by equipping local churches with wood, coal, pellets, and generators. Some people come to churches for warmth and shelter, while others ask the church to come to them.

“The church begins to reach out to these homes to provide them wood, coal and other needs,” says Mock, adding that heat is not the final goal. Hope is.

Even with warmth, fear and the stress of war remain. This is where believers step in with news of lasting value. Mock says:

“The way to navigate through that [despair] is through the power of the Gospel, the hope that we have in Christ. We aren’t surrounded by unending darkness with no answer forward. We have the light of the Gospel to lead us forward.”

The Gospel helps churches shine in the darkness, and that’s the goal behind every effort. In fact, even in the middle of war, more churches are starting. “Where there’s aid centers, there are now churches,” he says.

Meanwhile, the frontlines are straining defenders. “They’re the ones that are suffering the most, and by God’s grace, they’re the ones that are most open to the truth of the Gospel,” adds Mock.

Pray that believers use their resources wisely and share the Gospel boldly. Visit Slavic Gospel Association to learn more about their work in Ukraine.

Header representative photo: Yellow excavator digging rubble of a ruined house in Kyiv (courtesy of Ales Ustinau via Pexels).

For people facing heavy life circumstances, the Christmas refrain “Joy to the world” can feel out of reach. Joy can seem like a luxury when daily life is marked by stress, loss, and uncertainty.

Eric Mock of Slavic Gospel Association says the longing behind that struggle isn’t new. He points to Israel’s expectation of deliverance two thousand years ago — a hope that echoes what many people feel today as they wait for suffering to end and life to return to normal. He explains:

(Photo by Luke Southern on Unsplash)

“When Christ was born, they thought, ‘Oh, finally, here is the answer. The Romans will be gone, and life’s going to get easier. He’s going to establish the Kingdom. We’re going to be on top, and the poverty will be gone.’”

But many were blinded by their expectations. They wanted deliverance from Rome, and in doing so, missed the deeper rescue Jesus came to bring.

That same temptation remains today: to tie hope and joy to external circumstances — peace treaties, economic stability, or the end of hardship. But circumstances are fragile, and they can change overnight.

The remedy for weary hearts is not denial of suffering, but a shift of focus. Mock adds, “When we fix our eyes on Jesus, when we fix our eyes on that hope, when we saturate ourselves in the things of God, the ugliness of the sinful world begins to fade away, and the light of the Gospel comes to the forefront.”

World from space (photo courtesy of NASA via Unsplash)

Many people are enduring hardship and simply hoping it will end. Christians continue to pray for peace and safety, but Scripture reminds us that the world will remain broken until Christ returns.

That reality can feel heavy, but Mock says it also clarifies where lasting hope is found!

“Once we know that God is with us and recognizing we live in a broken and fearful world until Christ comes and establishes His kingdom, we recognize that in Christ we can have an everlasting hope,” he adds.

Pray that many people — especially those living under war and instability — find their ultimate hope in Jesus. Pray for peace, endurance, and for the light of the Gospel to shine even in places marked by darkness.

Visit Slavic Gospel Association to learn how they minister children this Christmas season!

Header photo courtesy of Ingmar via Unsplash.

Eric Mock from Slavic Gospel Association says that’s the heart behind their Christmas Immanuel’s Child Outreach.

“We’re hoping to be able to help more than 80,000 kids that have never heard the Gospel come to a church and hear the hope that we have in Christ,” says Mock.

(Photo courtesy of SGA)

Mock says these children live across thirteen countries, each with very different cultures and living conditions.

“What the kids get in Central Asia may be different than above the Arctic Circle, where frozen fish is a good thing compared to what it is in Ukraine,” he explains. The kids in Tajikistan will have a celebration involving camels, while the far east of Russia, where kids believe in Father Frost, will have a much different experience.

Many of these kids could not imagine receiving a Christmas gift at all. Since many of their families are making the bare minimum they could not afford to spend extra. Now they receive both the gift and the Christmas message to carry through life!

Local approach

The local Christians know their communities and prayerfully prepare a celebration that will help children understand the love of Christ best. SGA gets to help these churches reach their own by providing the resources collected from the West throughout the months of preparation.

(Photo courtesy of SGA)

“All these different programs are as God has equipped their churches and as God leads them,” says Mock.

Mock explains, “It’s really important that we serve the local church as they reach people in their culture, and they’re purchasing gifts locally, which helps the local economy, which stimulates the relationship of the church in its local village, and then they’re able to multiply to reach even more kids than we sent funds to do.”

Children also receive paper stars with the name of a donor who commits to praying for them for a year. “But a lot of these kids carry around that paper star because they know there’s someone praying for them, and they remember that they matter,” adds Mock.

Pray for this outreach and for many to come to Christ. And if you want to become a part of a child’s Christmas this or next year, visit the Immanuel’s Child Outreach page of SGA.

Mock adds, “Every year, we hear of thousands of children who come to faith, and even thousands of parents who come along with them.”

Header photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association.

Usually, when asked to draw something they like, a child might sketch a sun, a flower, a car, or a dog. However, Eric Mock of Slavic Gospel Association says the drawings they receive from Ukrainian kids tell a different story:

Girl in Despair (photo courtesy of Meruyert Gonullu via Pexels)

“All of their pictures involve pictures of missiles or bombs coming down and them hiding from them. Their idea of of daily life is a threat of an air raid siren and what it means to them.”

SGA also asked a few children about their prayers. “They said they pray for the war to end. They don’t ask for peace because they don’t know really what peace looks like,” Mock explained.

Many Ukrainian children are also growing up without a father. Some fathers have been killed, taken hostage, or are serving in the army.

“And so these children, the fabric of their communications with one another, the fabric of their walk through society, is dealing with the constant state of war. This causes anxiety and fear,” Mock says.

That’s why Slavic Gospel Association is running its Heat and Hope and Operation Winter Warmth efforts — practical, cold-weather relief projects aimed at easing the daily burden on families torn apart by war, especially single mothers and widows who are now carrying the full weight of providing for their children while struggling to make ends meet.

A Boy Behind The Glass (photo courtesy of Tanya Gorelova via Pexels)

The war has left deep trauma in children’s lives, but hope is not lost!

“The best medicine for these kids is the love of Jesus Christ and the warmth of a local fellowship of believers,” Mock said.

Hope exists alongside heartbreak. More than seven hundred children have been killed by Russian aggression, thousands more wounded, and around twenty thousand kidnapped to Russia.

Pray that many more children will find the help and healing they need in Christ. And pray for lasting, sustainable peace in Ukraine.

Header photo: Child Looking Through the Window (photo courtesy of Elina Fairytale via Pexels).

In 2022, Russia assaulted Irpin Biblical Seminary after receiving reports of civilians fleeing there. Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association says, “That school endured 30 rounds of mortar fire that turned the second floor of the school into an inferno, destroyed many of the rooms on the first floor, and, of course, vaporized the roof. For all intents and purposes, that building was gutted while 120 people were hiding in the basement below – and they survived.”

Irpin Biblical Seminary (Photo courtesy of Eric Mock/SGA)

Rebuilt and Thriving

Mock visited the school after the attack in 2022 and says it was hard to see. People were reeling from the war.

In time, the Slavic Gospel Association, as well as the seminary’s other supporters, helped them rebuild. Now just over three years later with the war still being fought, Mock says the seminary is like a new place.

“There was joy in the hallways. The professors that were there walked up and gave me great hugs with smiles on their faces, saying, ‘It’s good to see you.’ The students in between the breaks when I was teaching, were worshiping. Literally, they gathered around a piano and worshiped.”

Irpin Biblical Seminary (Photo courtesy of Eric Mock/SGA)

Yet the war was right outside. Mock says that while he was teaching classes there was anti-aircraft fire in the distance and even drones flying around the area to exhaust the people. These drones are sent especially between one a.m. and four a.m. to disrupt sleep patterns. However, people remain hungry for the Word of God and continue to joyfully serve God and each other.

“It was startling to see how much joy there was, how much effort there was to press forward. So as much as the Russian army is trying to bring the people to despair, the churches, the Bible-teaching churches we serve (which are over 1900 churches in Ukraine), these are the churches that are proclaiming hope of the Gospel and shining light in the middle of a dark time.”

A Reminder of Gospel Joy in Trials

Mock says this should serve as a reminder of truth for American Christians. It is like looking at a living hall of faith from Hebrews 12. We can see the Gospel being lived out by ordinary people who now are living in extraordinary circumstances and trials.

Irpin Biblical Seminary (Photo courtesy of Eric Mock/SGA)

“In Isaiah, 30 verses 20 to 22 and verse 21 it talks about, ‘You will hear the voice of the teacher, and he will say, this is the way when you turn to the left or the right.’ And we need to have that laser focus on Him, and that will guide us through these times. That’s what I saw in Ukraine, not despair, but joy. That’s kind of the story behind the story – is God advancing His church, and it’s a glorious thing to see.”

Please pray that God would continue to sustain the church in Ukraine. If you want to get involved with the Slavic Gospel Association, click here.

Header photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association.