YOU CAN HELP

We are seeking to raise funds to bring relief to the refugees, support to the brave pastors who remain with their churches, and make plans for rebuilding.

Your gifts allow the MTW crisis response teams in Lviv, Ukraine and Krakow, Poland continue to care for evacuated Ukrainian families and transport humanitarian aid into Ukraine. These crisis response teams provide displaced Ukrainians shelter, food, clothing, and medical supplies. Similar crisis response teams in Romania and Slovakia offer the same short-term care for Ukrainian refugees.

Besides supplying the necessities, MTW crisis response teams offer places for Ukrainian families to regroup as they reorient themselves after fleeing their homes to escape the Russian invasion. Your donations keep facilities where displaced civilians gather for meals, access the internet, and organize activities for their kids running.

Funds also support Ukrainian-led crisis response teams in Kharkiv, Odesa, Kyiv, Nikolaev, Kherson, Lviv, Belgorod Dnestrovsky, and Ivano-Frankivsk. Convoys of nine-passenger vans full of supplies have been delivered to churches in Ukraine who then distribute humanitarian aid to people in their community who are in desperate need. Transportation has been provided for churches in Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Kherson, and Kharkiv, so those who remain have access to medical and personal hygiene products, gas masks, solar panels (for electricity), and other basic supplies. Delivering aid to people in Ukraine living under the immediate threat of the Russian advancement would not be possible without your generosity.

Finally, your gifts continue to support MTW missionaries and local staff committed to ministry efforts and sharing the gospel. MTW missionary Bob Burnham, who served in Odesa, Ukraine, for 27 years, said they have moved from triage—getting people out, finding them a home, food, and clothing—to addressing the significant emotional and spiritual needs of those living in the evacuated communities. The Burnhams have been able to have regular church service, Bible studies, and prayer sessions at the evacuation shelter in Romania where they are currently living. Other MTW workers in Slovakia, Lviv, and Krakow are gathering believers in the name of Jesus and encouraging Christians to be salt and light to the unbelievers in their midst. Your contributions help the church in the region be the hands and feet of Jesus to scared Ukrainians suffering from the trauma of war. Thank you for giving and please continue to pray for peace in Ukraine.

WHO WE ARE

Mission to the World has been working in Ukraine since the earliest days of her independence in the 1990s. Through God’s amazing providence, we have seen Him raise up 15 churches having a total of approximately 1,000 members, establish the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ukraine (EPCU) as a new denomination, and begin a seminary. Many of the cities in which these churches exist have come under attack as Russia invades the country. We are appealing for your help for the sake of the churches, the pastors, and the people of these churches.

A pastor in Mykolaiv waits in a bomb shelter for the shelling of his city to stop. When a window of opportunity opens, he grabs his bicycle and rides off to deliver small amounts of money and a large helping of pastoral care to the families who remain. Two thirds of his congregation have evacuated to the west. His small supply of funds, from his church and his own pocket, are depleted. He is effectively out of a job – from a financial point of view. From a pastoral perspective, he has never had more to do.

By the time you read this, the statistics regarding the refugee crisis in Ukraine will have ballooned. As of today, millions of Ukrainians are crossing the borders of their homeland into neighboring countries. They have no certainty of ever seeing their homes or families again. Due to martial law, men from 18 to 60 years of age are not allowed to leave the country. As a result, many families are separated as fathers kiss their wives and children goodbye and send them westward to safety. It is widely believed that as many as 5,000,000 people will be displaced as a result of the war. Some of the refugees will evacuate the most dangerous areas of the country, but choose to remain in Ukraine. The cities in the western portion of the country have already been overwhelmed by the arrival of these refugees.

WHERE WE ARE

We are seeking to raise funds to bring relief to the refugees, support to the brave pastors who remain with their churches, and make plans for rebuilding. Our original goal was $2 million but as the crisis has evolved and escalated, we realize that there are many, many more needs than we anticipated. There are immense needs now but as the dust settles the needs will be even greater as we rebuild and replant churches. We have a large team at work in the western city of Lviv and are partnering with churches and mission teams in neighboring countries.

What follows is our vision for how we can accomplish these things. Please remember that this is our plan today. Due to the extremely fluid nature of the crisis, we expect that these plans will be revised many times.

You Can Help: Short-Term Needs

We have a mission for reaching Ukrainians in the following ways. Your gifts will contribute to the items below. This is a fast-developing crisis situation; monetary allocations may change as needs adapt.

FACILITIES

Rental expenses for hostels, hotels, empty structures; this includes utilities, equipment, and supplies.

STAFF

We need to hire support staff immediately to relieve the mission team and church members.

TRANSPORTATION

Most refugees need help getting to the locations where we can help them. Most will need help to move into other countries.

FOOD

None of the refugees will bring more than a few days’ worth of food with them.

CLOTHING

Many refugees left their homes within minutes of hearing the bombing and shelling. They have little more than the clothes on their backs.

SUPPLIES

In the event of loss of electrical power, we will need heating fuel and diesel generators.

COMMUNICATION

Helping refugees stay in touch with family and friends is vital.

MEDICAL NEEDS

Some of our refugees will need medical care and medicines.

PASTORS' SALARIES

We want the brave pastors who are staying in their cities to be able to continue to minister without concern for their finances.

DIACONAL FUNDS

We want our pastors to be able to meet critical needs in their churches and their cities.

REFUGEE COUNSELING

Refugees and those working with them are subject to significant levels of trauma. We will provide counseling for those impacted by the crisis, as well as training for lay people in grief/trauma care.

You Can Help: Long Term Needs

CHURCH PLANTING

We have already begun to hear stories of people turning to Christ in this crisis. We want to be prepared to receive them into churches where they can hear the gospel, grow in Christ, and be healed. If we cannot plant new churches in Ukraine, we will seek to train pastors in adjacent countries.

REPAIR FUNDS

When the war is over, we want to be able to supply funds for rebuilding churches and the homes of church members. We also want to help to rebuild the communities in which our churches are located. In the event that we are unable to use these funds to rebuild, we will seek to use it as aid to the underground church and for ongoing refugee work in adjacent countries.

WILL YOU JOIN US?

As of this writing, the vast majority of EPCU church members in the eastern and central parts of Ukraine have left their cities, hoping for safety in the waiting arms of their brothers and sisters in the western area of their country or beyond. Although these dear ones and their families are the primary focus of our relief efforts, we will open our doors to anyone who needs our help. We want to do all we can to be the body of Christ to the vast throng of displaced and fearful Ukrainians who are probably wondering where God is right now. Please join us.

For the glory of Christ,
—Jon Eide, MTW regional director, Eastern Europe/Kyiv team leader

YOU CAN HELP

Crates for Ukraine: The Next Season

WHO WE ARE

WHERE WE ARE

You Can Help: Short-Term Needs

FACILITIES

STAFF

TRANSPORTATION

FOOD

CLOTHING

SUPPLIES

COMMUNICATION

MEDICAL NEEDS

PASTORS' SALARIES

DIACONAL FUNDS

REFUGEE COUNSELING

You Can Help: Long Term Needs

CHURCH PLANTING

REPAIR FUNDS

WILL YOU JOIN US?