We are called to carry light into darkness.
Hi Office, Dina’s hometown was shelled mercilessly by Russian tanks during their invasion. Most homes were destroyed, including hers. Six months later, when the Russians retreated, the locals had to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.
Because of HART’s new mobile home project and its cooperation with a local Baptist Church, God allowed Dina not only to hear about his love for her but to see it in action and ultimately to feel it.
Read how Dina’s faith journey unfolds as a local church brings light to a dark chapter in her life and that of others in her village.
The Persecuted Church
Russia’s propaganda machine is powerful and insidious, and it is trying to drive a wedge between Evangelicals in the US & Canada and their support for Ukraine.
What most North American evangelicals don’t know is that our faith is being targeted by Russian military forces in Ukraine.
Attack on religious freedom is one of the first things that happened following the occupation by the Russian army. The Russian occupiers have been persecuting Christians in the occupied territories of Ukraine since the very beginning of the full-scale invasion.
In November last year, a Ukrainian evangelical church leader, Anatoliy Prokopchuk, and his 19-year-old son Oleksandr were abducted by Russian soldiers. Four days later, their bodies were discovered in a forest, with evidence that the pair had been tortured and executed.
Russian occupying forces closed down the three largest evangelical Protestant churches in the city of Melitopol and shut down churches in Mariupol. In August, Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary President Yaroslav Pyzh estimated that about 400 Ukrainian Baptist congregations had been lost in the war in Ukraine, in part from evacuations and displaced communities and in part from casualties and destroyed churches.
Beyond the Russian army’s habitual cruelty to civilians in occupied territories, the campaign appears to have another driver: According to one witness, when the Russian troops arrested Prokopchuk before he was killed, soldiers specifically cited Ukrainian evangelicals’ ties to the West. We have heard these same comments from other Christians living in the occupied areas of Ukraine. Given how intertwined Putin’s regime is with the Russian Orthodox Church, in some ways, this is a religious war.
Under Russian occupying forces, Christians have reported torture with electrical shocks and being beaten with baseball bats. A source in Ukraine told a human rights organization, “They (Prokopchuk and his son) were so mutilated that it was difficult to identify them.”
Bottom line, let’s pray for this war to end and an end to the torture of Christians in Russian-occupied areas. Let’s pray for peace and justice.
Let’s pray for our Christian brothers and sisters, who, despite the risk of death or persecution, continue to be Christ’s hands and feet during this war.
Let us also pray for a better understanding that truth is not a matter of subjective taste but based on objective evidence. As Christians, we have a moral obligation to believe responsibly. We must base our beliefs on sufficient evidence that we have diligently investigated.
We appreciate your prayers and financial support for our partner churches throughout Ukraine.
Documentary
The story of one town under occupation
Kupyansk, Ukraine: This documentary sheds light on the complexities of life under Russian occupation, capturing the struggles, resilience, and moral dilemmas faced by the people of Kupyansk. These ordinary citizens demonstrated their desire to remain free Ukrainians even if they were under Russian occupation. It’s a powerful exploration of human experiences during wartime. (42 min)
The balance of war in Ukraine is set to shift, but not in Russia’s favor.
by Euromaidan Press
As Russia’s war against Ukraine nears its third year, a turning point seems imminent, with the balance of power likely to shift not in Russia’s favor. Factors such as intensified international backing for Ukraine, successful Ukrainian strikes on Russian military targets, and Russia’s domestic economic struggles are reshaping the war’s trajectory.
Pray for Ukraine, Pray for Peace
Here are specific prayer points that can help guide our prayers for the situation in Ukraine. Please share these with your friends and family:
- Pray for the physical protection and provision for Ukrainian children in harm’s way. Supernaturally and otherwise, minimize the suffering and loss of life. Pray for children who see things no child’s eye should ever see. Pray for God to protect children’s hearts, minds, and imaginations.
- Pray for and ask to see God’s glory amid this great struggle. Pray that He would be glorified through the Christians in Ukraine who are being his hands and feet during this tragedy.
- Pray for God’s peace to strengthen and encourage the thousands of Ukrainian workers/volunteers serving refugees and the poor in their communities, who need to hear of God’s love for them through these Christian workers.
- Pray for God’s protection for soldiers and civilians caught up in this conflict. Pray for the wounded soldiers returning from the war with missing limbs and suffering from PTSD.
- Pray for the residents of cities and towns who are under heavy, indiscriminate shelling and have lost their homes and livelihood.
- Pray for the civilian and military prisoners of war who are subject to torture and death at the hands of their captors.
- Ask God to comfort the many families that have lost mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters during this conflict. 8. Pray for God to give justice and peace to all those who have been cruelly and unfairly treated by their fellow man.
- Pray for God to give justice and peace to all those who have been cruelly and unfairly treated by their fellow man.
- Ask God to intervene. Pray for wisdom for world leaders. Pray that God would move in their hearts and guide their plans to end this war.
- Pray for the President (Zelensky) and the leaders of Ukraine to know God’s truth and peace and be transformed by his Holy Spirit so that they would seek to lead their country in the way of peace.
- Ask that this conflict would open doors of opportunities for the gospel. Pray that He would make his name known across Ukraine, Russia, and all the European countries refugees have fled to.
