KRIVYI RIH, Ukraine — Krivyi Rih’s skyline has barely changed in 30 years, with only three new buildings constructed in recent decades. Andriy can describe the architecture of his city in three words: depressing, Soviet, and large.
Since February 2022, however, the city’s stoic skyline has been threatened by Russian rockets, ballistic missiles, and drones. Situated in south-central Ukraine, Russian attacks launched from Crimea can reach the city so quickly that residents sometimes have less than 20 seconds to find shelter—or have no warning at all.
In mid-January 2025, a missile attack on the frequently targeted city killed four people, injured 10 adults, four children, and damaged an educational institution—the latest scar from three years of full-scale war.
That is why most children in the city now attend school online. Educational institutions, like so many civilian sites, have become deliberate targets in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Andriy calls the Christian soccer club where he coaches an “oasis” in the midst of war. It’s a place where kids can put aside daily stresses, knowing that they will be loved and treated as family.
This past year, soccer players have been coming to Christ so often that Andriy couldn’t help but plant a church that now meets at the soccer stadium to disciple these young believers. Neighbors became curious about the group gathering on the field. As of this past summer, the church has baptized 12 new believers: eight soccer players, three internally displaced persons, and one soldier.
“When you have something to do, when you see people changing, when you realize you’re influencing others [for Christ]—that’s what inspires you and keeps you going,” Andriy said.
Gifts to Send Relief, Southern Baptists’ compassion ministry, have helped make ministries like Andriy’s soccer club and church plant possible, bringing gospel hope amid war. To date, the compassion ministry’s work in Ukraine has impacted 1.2 million people, starting 425 Bible studies, at least 44 churches, leading to over 10,500 new believers.
“Churches in Ukraine are experiencing a remarkable spiritual awakening. They are enjoying religious freedom, planting new churches, and actively serving their communities in ways that were once unimaginable,” said Yaroslav Pyzh, president of the Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary (UBTS). “But the reality differs between occupied and unoccupied territories. In areas occupied by Russia, there is no religious freedom—evangelical believers face absolute persecution, with churches being shut down and their leaders targeted.”
In the midst of full-scale war, UBTS has continued to train church and marketplace leaders and established a network of ministry centers across the nation that have found countless creative ways to meet the needs of their communities.
Mike Domke, an International Mission Board (IMB) missionary to Ukraine, partners with Christian leaders all around the country to help provide practical and spiritual help to the many in need.
“You can’t go anywhere in the country without seeing and feeling the needs,” he said. “There are a lot more widows, a lot more families without their fathers who are fighting in the war, so all of that puts another need on the already struggling society.”
This past year, Send Relief projects reached places like Pokrovsk, a city increasingly threatened as the frontline inches closer. There, gifts to Send Relief provided firewood, blankets, clothing, and hot meals to keep families warm and fed, while also helping them find safety when forced to evacuate.
In the city of Bucha and the surrounding towns of Borodianka and Hostomel, now known for experiencing countless war crimes against civilians during Russia’s occupation in 2022, people in need received practical help through food and clothing, as well as emotional support.
“As we’re meeting the physical needs, we’re able to have conversations around the spiritual needs,” Domke shared. “And as it relates to the emotional needs right now, there is a void of hope in the country.”
In striking contrast to the grim realities of war, however, Domke describes the past three years as a season of spiritual harvest in Ukraine.
“It’s also been a season of starting new churches because the people have been so open to hearing the gospel,” he shared.
Igor Tkachenko, who leads the network of compassion ministry centers at UBTS, five of which are supported by gifts to Send Relief, echoed this message. Through providing a myriad of practical services like basic humanitarian aid, trauma counseling, programs for children and families, and more, these centers are witnessing new churches start—like the one in Krivhi Rih—and people coming to Christ and following in believer’s baptism.
In fact, evangelical Christians across Ukraine have gained newfound credibility and respect from their government and civilians alike for the hands-on support of their communities throughout the war.
“The most important message is that it has not gotten easier,” Tkachenko said. “We continue to need support and are thankful that this [support] continues because the work we do would be impossible without it.”
One image from the past year of ministry that Tkachenko can’t shake from his mind is a special trip his team organized to bring Christmas programs and gifts to children living near active war zones.
“We chose to go to places where we knew there would be no Christmas for them this year,” he said.
As they traveled from village to village, children arrived at the celebrations on old bicycles, some wearing boots several sizes too big to trudge through the mud.
“What struck me most were their smiles,” Tkachenko recalled. “In the places where they live, people don’t smile often. Fear is a constant reality. That’s why you hug these children, give them gifts, and offer them hope. I tell them that God loves them and that there is a future—because there truly is.”
“I don’t know when this war will end, and I don’t know what’s next,” Domke said. “But I know that this is the season, and I have to seize the moments now to be able to make a difference with what’s going on today.”
Published February 17, 2025