Evangelical missionaries are finding fertile ground in Ukrainian cities ravaged by war.
As Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists carry on an almost forgotten fight in half-deserted towns across the region, despite a year-old cease-fire, several well-organized evangelical groups are staging a very successful campaign of their own….to win hearts and minds for Jesus Christ.
Evangelical missionaries began to appear in the area just weeks after the Ukrainian Army pushed back a large rebel assault last summer.
Some Protestant denominations have deep historical roots in Ukraine, while others spread after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Yet the speed of the evangelicals’ expansion in the conflict area is new, as is their approach of blending humanitarian aid with the gospel.
While virtually everyone in eastern Ukraine has suffered in the nearly two years of war, residents of these areas have endured even more hardship.
In Maryinka, one of the towns where missionaries have made their presence known, only about 6,000 civilians, less than half its prewar population. Few people work and most are cold and hungry.
Evangelical churches in the United States are underwriting some of the aid for the missionaries, who are all Russian speakers from Ukraine or other former Soviet states.
The missionaries point out that When Jesus was on Earth, he fed people and people followed him for that reason, too.” And they’re finding religion has always been easier during a war because “when fear comes, people are open to God.