International Cooperating Ministries, a nonprofit organization working to ensure “a healthy church is within walking distance of everyone in the world,” is one of several groups working to provide assistance to Ukrainians fleeing the eastern region of the country, which has come under attack by Russian troops since Feb. 24.
The group’s primary calling when it was founded was to construct church buildings for different ministry organizations in different countries in addition to building Hope Centers and providing discipleship material to existing churches so that they could nurture their believers.
Another group providing aid is Bible Mission Global. The ministry has three warehouses in Ukraine and a warehouse in Moldova from which they ship food and other necessities. From there, the churches and the Hope Centers take the lead.
Keith Townsend, who serves as ICM’s director for Russia and former Soviet Republics said, “They’re housing the people, feeding the people, and making sure they’re taken care of with their medical issues.”
Their biggest need is basic medical services such as ongoing medicines for blood pressure and diabetes. He also noted that the churches and Hope Centers are full right now, and “they could use 10 times the room if they had it, so they literally are at capacity.”
Townsend rejoiced that “the Church is doing what it was designed to do by acting as God’s distribution system through taking care of people and sharing Christ with them at the same time.”