Three years of resistance, struggle and hope

In the suburbs of Kyiv, where the central office of the Ukrainian Baptist Union is located, it is almost always loud. Over the past year, the sounds of repeated massive kamikaze drone attacks have become more frequent here. However, this noise no longer confuses anyone, as there is a saying among our people that dangers should not stop you if you want to achieve something. This principle guides all local churches during the war: to be with their people, to give them hope, and to do even more under these circumstances.

Russia's war against Ukraine continues to bring numerous sufferings, sorrows, and losses to the Ukrainian people, the destruction of cities and civilian infrastructure, and the brutal violation of rights and freedoms in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. [There has been] religious persecution, church closures, torture, killings of religious leaders, mass migration, family separations and horrific treatment of military and civilian prisoners.

[And yet], in the three years of war, 86 churches have been established within the Baptist Union.154 Ukrainians have been baptised. Despite 261 pastors leaving during the war, 315 new pastors were ordained, and 19 returned from overseas. A total of 467 deacons left Ukraine, while 592 new ones were ordained. Overall, 906 pastors and deacons were ordained during the war.

Without the help of foreign friends and partners, our brothers and sisters, we would have accomplished little. The prayers and love of hundreds of thousands of brothers and sisters from our large family in the European Baptist Federation are a constant source of support, strength, and inspiration. If a church worries about how their pastor will support their family, how the church will survive the winter, how to heat the premises and feed people, it will be less effective in evangelising. But when its basic needs are met by a caring helping hand, it opens many new doors. Therefore, we are grateful to all our international partners [including BMS World Mission supporters] who, in countless ways, have shown us their support and helped Ukrainians to survive and to protect our freedom and democracy. Looking back, we are filled not just with tears of sorrow and loss, but with tears of gratitude and admiration for God's grace.

The winter period is particularly troubling and tense for us. Thousands of people found themselves in despair, and fortunately, many of them found refuge in local churches. Besides assistance with accommodation, food, and other humanitarian needs, winter support includes services for the children of servicemen, the missing, and low-income families, encompassing 42,596 children this winter, providing churches and Christian organisations with heating materials, offering psychological and spiritual support to the population, and implementing mobile kitchens for the most needy, where over 6,000 hot meals were distributed in three Ukrainian cities just in January 2025.

In serving society, churches are not superheroes; they remain just as vulnerable and weary. Meanwhile, we have to find the right words to say to disheartened soldiers, to say to the families of the deceased. Christians in Ukraine have learned not to live under any illusions — focusing not on passive waiting for peace and victory, but on hard work, with no expectations of what might still happen. Therefore, we need to continue to strengthen, save immortal souls, and place our hope in God alone. A sign of God’s blessing was the law recently adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament to establish a National Day of Prayer annually on 24 February. We believe that all of you will stand with us on this day before God in intercessory prayer and thanksgiving. Imagining this unity in prayer, we feel grateful beyond measure!

This piece has been edited and abridged with permission for the BMS website from a longer piece by Valeriy and Igor, on behalf of the Ukrainian Baptist Union.