This past week I had the privilege to hear Dr. Ivan Rusyn, the president of the Ukraine Evangelical Theological Seminary in Kyiv. Dr. Ivan shared about how the church has become central to the healing of communities and people traumatized by the 4-year war that is taking place in the Ukraine.
He described the difficulty that the people of Ukraine are experiencing in the midst of a war that is taking place just outside of their homes. There is the physical trauma of war but there is also spiritual and psychological trauma, and the seminary is helping the people of the Ukraine heal.
The amazing thing is that many people are turning to Christ in the Ukraine, and they never would have come in contact with the church without the war. God has used a horrible, life-threatening event to bring people to Himself. It is the upside-down work of the Kingdom of God. God takes a bad situation and uses it to draw people into a relationship with Jesus.
Pastor Ivan urged us to pray for the church in the Ukraine. There are many young believers, many women, and many of them are now leaders in their churches.