Editor's Note
This story is the second in a two-part series featuring stories of ministry in Ukraine,in the midst of the ongoing war. Part 1 features Anita Grigas, who is involved in discipling children through the AWANA ministry, even as the war rages on.The interviews in this series were conducted during the Fourth Lausanne Congress in Incheon, South Korea.
To the question, ‘Why haven’t you left Ukraine in this time of war?’ Ivan Rusyn,1 a church planter, pastor of a church in Kiev and current president of the Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary (UETS) responds with confidence and joy: ‘Because I want to follow Jesus. He always goes to the epicenter of suffering. So, how can I be somewhere else? From here, I fly back home. Well, not directly to Ukraine because we have no civil aviation. I fly to Hungary, and then continue from there to be with my people. It is not a hard question for me. I do it with great joy.’
I want to follow Jesus. He always goes to the epicenter of suffering. So, how can I be somewhere else?
Since the courageous contribution to the fall of communism by men like Dan Harrison, a man driven by ambition and with a passion for evangelism, Christianity in Ukraine has witnessed much growth. On Dan Harrison, Lindsay Brown says, ‘His dynamism and zeal made it possible for us to buy up new opportunities in Russia, Ukraine, and some of the Russian satellite countries. In the summer of 1990, he arranged for a short-term team to go to Ukraine and Kazakhstan, to offer English language programmes to students over a period of eight weeks. It was a visionary move. Through these teams, Ukrainian and Kazakh students came to faith in Christ.
Some team members, so excited about the openness to the gospel, stayed on to build [on] the work.’2
And since then, people like Ivan have stayed to build on the work in Ukraine, refusing to cower in the face of adversity.
Making Ministry Relevant in Times of War
Ukraine, according to Ivan, is in a full scale war, and this war has dramatically changed the country’s landscape. Although a seminary president, Ivan’s work now goes beyond mere educational ministry, balancing between evangelism and social action.
‘We are doing a relief ministry, feeding people, evacuating people, and showing the love of Christ to them,’ says Ivan. ‘So, basically speaking, the main question we have now in Ukraine is, “How does the church navigate through the hell of the war?” Our society has a lot of questions, a lot of wounds. But we see that the gospel can help us navigate our nation through this war.’
‘So, basically speaking, the main question we have now in Ukraine is, “How does the church navigate through the hell of the war?”
Due to the war, UETS is developing totally new programs that will equip pastors and other ministers to respond to the situation and to serve the nation. One of the important areas of training is trauma healing because the entire nation feels traumatized by the war.
Another type of ministry that UETS is undertaking is supporting and equipping military chaplains to care for the men and women in uniform who are on the front line of the war.
Transforming the Image of the Ukrainian Church
It is noteworthy that in Ukraine, the evangelical churches are a minority. Ivan shares that for 30 years, the evangelical church in Ukraine has been viewed almost as a cult because of its Soviet Union heritage and the anti-religion propaganda of Stalin’s regime.
However, because of the way the evangelical churches continue to respond to the war and its impact, there is now an absolutely new atmosphere in Ukraine. In the words of Ivan,
‘It was an eye-opening experience for our society when they saw how the church is responding to the war. Now, churches in Ukraine are not just “saving people spiritually”. But millions of Ukrainians have survived physically because of the church. The people were provided with food, with medicine, they were evacuated and they were protected. Now, our society is extremely opened up to the evangelical church. People are open to listen to our voice.’
In the midst of this great opportunity the Lord has opened to the gospel, Ivan asks a poignant question, ‘Does the Ukrainian church have something to say in a way for Ukrainians to understand?’ In a strategic response, UEST is helping to develop new relevant approaches and answers to respond to people who have a lot of questions.
For Ivan, it’s interesting that in the midst of suffering, people are coming to faith in Jesus Christ, and churches are growing despite the numbers of those who have fled the country. According to the UNHCR, by the end of 2023 the war in Ukraine had displaced an estimated 3.7 million people within the country and forced 6.3 million refugees and asylum-seekers to seek protection abroad.³ Those who are left behind are finding hope and encouragement in Jesus Christ through the church. The lives of many have been transformed.
He underscores the impact the church is making in the midst of this brutal conflict: ‘This war has enabled us to serve holistically as never before. The most radical thing I was doing was transporting dead bodies in a seminary bus. There is holistic ministry now in Ukraine. When our people see our presence in the midst of the war, they want to learn more about our beliefs or why we do what we do.’
As a result of this incarnational ministry of the church, Ivan says, ‘Basically speaking, our church has numerically doubled during this war. We see that the people just come to our church and also to our seminary.’
The Ukrainian Call
We are familiar with the Macedonian call (Acts 16:9) but often oblivious to desperate calls from other contexts. Similarly, Ivan calls on the global church. ‘I want to tell the global church that this war is not about the land. This war is about the very existence of the Ukrainian nation. This war is against our identity, culture, and freedom.’
The churches are being destroyed. Pastors and ministers of the gospel are being arrested and kidnapped. ‘So, we want the global church to be our voice. Because it is difficult to comprehend why the world can tolerate such injustice. Millions of Ukrainians are suffering in this unjust war. We want the global church to continue praying for us,’ Ivan says.
Here lies the Ukrainian call to the world to continue supporting this nation at war to care for its citizens, to rebuild its broken walls and defenses, and to be restored to its glory. ‘We only have one challenge—to survive, because Ukraine is bombed every single day,’ Ivan states without any equivocation.
Lastly, Ivan calls on the global church for what he terms as ‘professional generosity’—to share with the Ukrainian church knowledge in chaplaincy ministry, in trauma healing, and in navigating people through such crises. He believes this assistance from the global church will empower them to disciple Ukrainians becoming followers of Jesus and also to take care of the whole nation.
Conclusion
Ivan Rusyn’s story and resolve to stand with his people in the midst of this war is a challenge to each one of us to be faithful to King Jesus and his church even till the end of the age.
And whilst we celebrate Ivan’s courage, we invite the global church to stand with the church in Ukraine and Russia, as they navigate the complexities towards ending the war and modern diplomacies.
Endnotes
- Interview by Nana Kojo Aboagye-Obeng.
- Lindsay Brown, Shining Like Stars: The power of the gospel in the world’s universities. (La Grange, KY: 10 Publishing, 2015), p.44-45
- UNHCR Global Focus. https://reporting.unhcr.org/operational/situations/ukraine-situation#:~:text=3.7%20million%20people%20remained%20displaced,as%20refugees%20and%20asylum%2Dseekers.