More than 100 new evangelical churches have opened in Ukraine since the conflict began, showing a surge of interest in faith among Ukrainians living in the shadow of war.
“One hundred and six new churches have been started over the past four years,” said Igor Bandura, a pastor and vice president of the Ukrainian Baptist Union. “Over 13,000 people have been baptized — significantly more than before the war.”
Growth in churches is occurring across evangelical denominations, said Bandura, who represents more than 2,000 congregations.
Faith is especially rising on the frontlines, where local evangelical missionary pastors — including many supported by Illinois-based Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) — report growing interest among young men recruited into the army.
“A fellow pastor is currently serving as a full-time chaplain on the frontlines,” Bandura said. “In the past month, at the request of soldiers, he distributed over 300 copies of the New Testament, 27 audio Bibles, and more than 670 prayer books. That is the work of just one chaplain in a single month at the front.”
Around 2,000 chaplains have been sent to the frontlines from Protestant churches, including about 100 full-time chaplains representing evangelical churches, Bandura said.
“On the frontlines there are those who are saying, ‘God has found us,’” he said. “They ask for Gospel literature and want to learn how to pray.”
People are searching for “something they can trust in these uncertain times,” Bandura said. “Even those who’ve never attended church or read the Bible begin to think about God.”
Europe’s Bible Belt
For decades, Ukraine has been described as “the Bible belt of Europe,” according to Eric Mock, SGA’s senior vice president of ministry operations. Now it’s becoming like the modern-day version of the church in the Book of Acts, he said. “We’re seeing hundreds of young men eager to enter the ministry and take on the leadership of local churches.”
Many local evangelical churches have also become aid centers, distributing food and providing warmth during the bitterly cold winter months. Support has come from SGA’s donors in the U.S.
“We’re living in chaotic times and many people are looking for hope,” said Mock, a frequent traveler to Ukraine’s war-torn areas. “They’re finding that faith in Christ is the only anchor in the storm.” - Infinity Concepts
Founded in 1934, Slavic Gospel Association (SGA, www.sga.org) helps “forgotten” orphans, widows and families in Ukraine, Russia, the former Soviet countries of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Russian-speaking immigrants in Israel – caring for their physical needs and sharing the life-transforming Gospel. SGA supports an extensive grassroots network of local evangelical missionary pastors and churches in cities and rural villages across this vast region.