Their faith tested to the limits, Ukraine’s embattled believers press on, even as many churches lie in ruins

 
CAN FAITH SURVIVE IN UKRAINE? Hundreds of churches lie in ruins, but faith in Europe’s war-torn “Bible Belt” remains strong, according to evangelical mission organization Slavic Gospel Association.

NEWS PROVIDED BY
InChrist Communications
July 1, 2025

LOVES PARK, Ill., July 1, 2025 /Standard Newswire/ -- Hundreds of churches lie in ruins. The number of young war widows grows by the hour. But Ukraine’s embattled Christians are keeping their faith alive — spurred on by the courage of fellow believers as the war drags on.

For decades, Ukraine has been considered the “evangelical capital of Europe” — with an estimated 13,000 evangelical congregations in 2022, according to the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA).

Since then, the war has taken a heavy toll. More than 600 churches and religious sites have been destroyed, including many evangelical churches.

“More than 400 drones hit Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, recently in just one night,” said Eric Mock, senior vice president of ministry operations at evangelical mission agency Slavic Gospel Association. “The people there face death and destruction every day. Fear and anxiety are raging. Young women send their husbands off to the front, knowing they might never see them again. All of this is a huge test of their faith.”

As war between Israel and Iran takes center stage in the news, the 3-year-old war in Europe continues off the radar of many in the U.S. It is estimated 70,000 Ukrainian servicemen have died at the front, many of them in their 20s and 30s.

Pastors are not exempt from being called up at a moment’s notice. Hundreds of churches are without pastors and male leaders, leaving congregations consisting mostly of women and children.

"It’s so powerful. They are keeping their faith when the world around them says ‘where is your God?’” Mock, a frequent visitor to Ukraine, said. “I find their faith extremely humbling.”

Any Day Could Be the Last

Every morning, Pastor Vlad’s wife helps him put on his body armor so that he can minister as a chaplain to those living near the frontline. She doesn’t know if it’s the last time she will see him.

Watch Pastor Vlad here.

“Jesus used to go where there was pain, where it was difficult, where people needed him,” Pastor Vlad said. “We’re going where Jesus would go.”

As pastors continue to be called up, Slavic Gospel Association is ramping up Bible training in Ukraine for new pastoral recruits. It aims to equip 1,000 new Ukrainian missionary pastors in the next 12 months as it supports some 850 evangelical churches there.

“It’s the first time many of these young men have been in ministry,” Mock said. “They’re speed-learning so that they’re ready to serve.”

Mock, a pastor himself, has preached at several evangelical churches in Ukraine that have since been reduced to rubble.

“It turns my stomach,” he said. “They’ve been wiped out.”

Meanwhile, the Illinois-based gospel ministry — founded by a Belarusian immigrant to the U.S. more than 90 years ago during the Soviet communist era — also supports the wives and widows of those called up to active military service or, like Pastor Vlad, those serving as chaplains.

‘Living Every Moment in Dread’

“On one side, they’re steadfast, faithful women, stoically supporting their husbands who are often serving as chaplains on the frontline,” Mock said. “But the other side is an anxious, emotionally-fragile woman, living every moment in dread.”

His wife, Kristi, spent days encouraging anxious and heartbroken wives at a retreat near Kyiv, sponsored by Slavic Gospel Association. It supports thousands of local evangelical churches and missionary pastors across Ukraine, Russia, Israel, and the former Soviet nations.

“Ukraine has been referred to as the ‘Bible Belt of Europe’,” said the organization’s president, Michael Johnson. “We’re seeing their faith being tested under the most stressful circumstances. It is a privilege to serve them.”

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.

SOURCE: InChrist Communications

CONTACT: DeWayne Hamby, 423-505-0041, dhamby@inchristcommunications.com