Photo by Dominic Chavez licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
As the war in Ukraine has devastated that nation and its peoples, Wes White, one of our missional staff in the UK, pleads for your prayers for his friends and colleagues from the Ukraine Evangelical Theological Seminary in Kyiv, where Wes has taught.
Nykolai (name changed) and his wife and son joined hundreds of staff and students, hunkered down in basements and bomb shelters, before his wife and son were safely evacuated to Poland. Many of the wives and children of staff and students were housed in makeshift beds on the floors, with the use of one bathroom and a kitchen, in an undisclosed building. Many men were conscripted to serve in various military capacities. The seminary campus itself was turned into a large humanitarian center.
Please continue to pray for those in Ukraine, as it is easy to move on to other events and activities in the world. Christian leaders like Nykolai and his students and colleagues at the seminary continue to trust in God, but understandably are exhausted: physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Pray too for the people of Ukraine, that they might put their trust in Christ. Pray for Ivan Rusyn, the president of the seminary. He is a humble but fearless leader, and yet he easily broke into tears on Zoom calls in the early days of the war, says Wes.
Early on, Ivan was quoted in Christianity Today, saying, “This war has completely redefined my understanding of mission and holistic ministry. You cannot show compassion from a distance. We are learning the real cost of what St Paul means when he says, ‘We loved you so much, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us’ (1 Thessalonians 2:8).”
Communitas International starts and shapes churches that love like Jesus in their neighborhoods. We do this to see Transformed Lives, Transferred Neighborhoods, and a Transformed World. We partner with and train many national leaders and are so grateful for how God is moving through Kyiv Theological Seminary and other Bible schools. May we be faithful in this holistic ministry, with our time, resources, prayers, and availability to do the part that God calls us to. And may God’s grace and justice prevail over all things.
Please join us by supporting our front-line efforts to help the people of Ukraine who have fled to Poland, Romania, and Czechia. Communitas staff and partner churches are directly engaged in housing, feeding, and caring for refugees–often at great personal sacrifice.
100% of YOUR GIFT will support these efforts directly, and the need remains tremendous… in fact, it is significantly larger than when we first asked for your help. Please give as the Lord prompts you. Thank you.
