After more than four years of war, everyday life in Ukraine includes air alerts, missile and drone strikes, and floods of internally displaced people seeking aid.
Those who still have homes sometimes “camp” in a central room away from windows. “We shelter where we are and pray for God’s protection,” said ABWE Team Leader Mike Gustafson, “and then we get up, and we go to school, go to seminary, go to church, and continue our daily lives.”
The church where Mike serves as an associate pastor, Bible and Life Baptist Church, has greatly expanded its ministry as a result of the war. Before the full-scale invasion, about 70 congregants attended weekly. When the war began, the church opened its doors to share the gospel and humanitarian aid with internally displaced Ukrainians sheltering in Kyiv. Partially funded through generous donations to ABWE’s Ukraine Crisis Fund, Bible and Life Baptist Church hands out necessities like blankets and preaches the gospel to all who come to them—an estimated 50,000 people and counting. Some of these people stayed in the congregation, prompting the initiation of additional services, Bible studies, and outreaches that have served more than 4,000 people.
At the forefront of this ministry is Pastor Yevhen (known as Zhenya) Yashchenko, who has been involved at Bible and Life since the age of 17, when he met Mike through the church’s youth ministry. Mike has served at the church since 2003—three years after it was founded by another ABWE missionary.
Zhenya came to Christ in the 90s with his father, Alexander, after viewing The Jesus Film, but his mother, Elena, was opposed to the gospel. Over the next few decades, she made occasional courtesy appearances at church outings, but remained extremely guarded. As Rachel Gustafson, Mike’s wife, humorously put it, “You’d say hi and you almost wished you hadn’t.” Mike joined Zhenya in praying for his mother’s salvation.
Around the time the war began, Alexander developed lung cancer and began to rapidly decline. Elena became overwhelmed with anxiety. She asked Zhenya how she could overcome her fear. Zhenya recalled, “I gave her a Bible, and just said, ‘Read it. Read God’s Word, and you will find peace.’ And after that, she read the Bible every day.”
Elena willingly prayed with her son and began watching church services online. As her husband’s cancer progressed, she started attending Sunday services with Zhenya. Soon, she repented and surrendered to Christ.
Elena’s transformation was drastic. Despite her unchanged circumstances, she brimmed with joy and enthusiasm. She developed a servant’s heart, voluntarily cleaning the church and serving meals at church gatherings. Rachel said, “She would greet us at the door at church and she was just radiant. She’d give you a hug.”
Twenty years after her son began praying for her salvation, Elena became the first person Zhenya baptized. Her husband witnessed her baptism, and one month later died of lung cancer. The thing Elena had once feared most had happened, but Christ replaced her fear with hope. Her faith grew even stronger through her husband’s death.
Even as the devastation of war drags on, faithful believers continue spreading the gospel. Many other churches besides Bible and Life carry out similar ministries every day, demonstrating the hope and love of Christ to desperate people. Anyone can get involved by giving to the Ukraine Crisis Fund and continuing to support the Ukrainian church in prayer.
