How To Support Ukraine Through Local Churches

I can’t help but be really sad and disheartened by what is going on in Ukraine right now. Especially as a mama of a toddler with a new baby on the way. It’s hard to watch the news and read the stories of these mothers and children fleeing from their homes and feeling helpless from the comfort of my own home on the other side of the world.

While I have never been to Ukraine, I did get a chance to visit the neighboring country of Moldova the summer before my husband and I got married and made connections with some people from Ukraine who were serving there. So now I am often imagining my time in Moldova, envisioning the countryside and kids and families that I met while I was there when I reflect on what is happening in Ukraine. It certainly makes me just a touch more personal.

My husband and I had the honor of attending a fundraiser dinner recently to learn more about how a local church is raising more awareness of the current crisis in Ukraine during this war and ways to be able to support refugees and other churches within Ukraine and other surrounding countries.

Our greatest takeaway from that fundraiser night was how incredible it was that God was working through the local church (both here and on the ground in Ukraine) to support people within the country with immediate needs. While there are lots of different organizations that you could donate or give towards, this Ukraine Aid Fund allows your support to go directly to believers within the country that are able to care for people immediately. They are using the local church within Ukraine to take food to cities that aren’t able to get food and supplies in via traditional supply trucks because they have been targeted and attacked. They are also using those vans that take in the food to also take people out of some of these cities. They have been able to make connections with other churches and believers in surrounding countries to house refugees from Ukraine as they are fleeing the country.

When we talk about effective missions or ministry opportunities, my husband and I are often focused on serving and working directly through the local church, and to see that happening through the stories that we heard at this fundraiser was so encouraging to us at the end of the night.

If you are looking for a way to give to the local church in Ukraine, consider checking out the Ukraine Aid Fund! I'll link a bit of their information below, but you can click on the button to donate or learn more about what they are doing.

What's Happening in Ukraine

Many families are currently sheltering in bomb shelters, subway stations, basements, or tents. Those able to evacuate west are headed towards Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova. With few exceptions, Ukrainian mobilization orders are not allowing men 18 to 60 to leave the country. As a result, women, and children who are crossing the borders at this crucial time, are left even more vulnerable during this crisis. 

How the Local Church is Helping in Ukraine

Bethany Slavic Church (Ephrata, PA) is working through their direct family contacts to ensure the donations and efforts are making a direct impact and are going to the immediate support of families. They are coordinating and funding the effort to help provide evacuation, temporary housing, and accommodations in Poland, Romania, and other nations to as many refugees as possible with partners and churches in those countries.

Border control points are overwhelmed and have created long convoy backup lines and refugees camping outside waiting to get across. The Ukraine Aid Fund is partnering with local churches on the Ukrainian border to get food, clothing, and find temporary housing while they wait to get cleared.