On Feb. 24, pastors-in-body-armor brace for fifth year of Gospel ministry amid devastating conflict; Slavic Gospel Association stands with them
UKRAINE’S FRONTLINE PASTORS: “We are going where Jesus would go,” says Vlad, a local missionary pastor sharing the Gospel on Ukraine’s frontlines, supported by Illinois-based Slavic Gospel Association (SGA).
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Infinity Concepts
Feb. 16, 2026
LOVES PARK, Ill., Feb. 16, 2026 /Standard Newswire/ — Every morning, Vlad — a local missionary pastor in Ukraine — straps on his body armor and heads for the frontline.
Like all “frontline pastors,” Vlad is on a mission: to share the Gospel and pray with those who might not live to see another sunrise.
“Jesus went where there was pain,” he says, as gunfire echoes around him. “We are going where Jesus would go.”
His daily ritual of getting up at dawn to pull on his bulletproof vest enters a somber new phase on February 24 — the day that the brutal war rolls into its fifth year.
Ukraine’s evangelical community has suffered greatly since the war began in February 2022. Many pastors and church leaders have been called up to fight. And hundreds of church buildings have been damaged or destroyed.
But the bravery and faithfulness of Ukraine’s frontline pastors is both astonishing and inspirational, says Michael Johnson, president of Illinois-based Slavic Gospel Association (SGA), a mission agency that supports thousands of local missionary pastors like Vlad and evangelical churches across Ukraine and the former Soviet Union.
“These pastors are willing to sacrifice everything and put their lives on the line every day to share the Gospel and bring aid to families, widows, orphans, and the elderly,” Johnson said. “They and their local churches are the hands and feet of Christ to the forgotten.”
Faithfulness On The Frontlines
Some — like Oleg, an SGA-supported missionary pastor in the contested Kherson region — face overwhelming challenges. The situation in Kherson “resembles North Korea,” Oleg said, with churches having to meet in secret for safety.
“On the frontlines, there is only devastation,” he said. “Almost every night, we hear explosions, missiles, and drones. We pray that we will be faithful to God in this place and time where he has placed us.”
The faithfulness of frontline pastors like Oleg — and their efforts to comfort and aid families suffering alongside them — is attracting many to explore the Christian faith for the first time.
Supported by SGA’s donors in the U.S., hundreds of local evangelical churches have turned into centers of “Heat and Hope” — sharing the Gospel and providing firewood and fuel to heat homes as Ukrainians battle the most brutal winter in years.
Their Christlike compassion is producing “spiritual fruit,” said Pastor Igor Bandura, vice president of the Ukrainian Baptist Union, representing a grassroots network of more than 2,000 evangelical churches.
In a single year, 7,000 new believers were baptized, 65 new churches opened, and 300 new pastors were ordained in the war-torn nation, Bandura said.
“As the war grinds into its fifth year, Ukraine’s frontline pastors show no signs of slowing down,” said Johnson. “For them, serving Christ is everything.”
MEDIA: To schedule an interview with SGA president Michael Johnson and/or Pastor Igor Bandura, contact: DeWayne Hamby at (423) 505-0041 or dewayne@infinityconcepts.com.
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 Infinity Concepts
CONTACT: DeWayne Hamby, 423-505-0041, dewayne@infinityconcepts.com