Ukraine Partnership
A NETWORK OF PARTNERS
Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, The Outreach Foundation has supported war relief efforts of ministries across several church traditions in and around Ukraine. This has been kingdom-centered work lifting up the name of Jesus Christ through the church. We continue to receive stories of personal impact and spiritual revival from throughout the region, and our donors and congregations have been part of this. The context has shifted considerably since the war began in February 2021, and our work has adjusted to meet current needs.
In Kyiv…
Our primary partner is the Ukraine Evangelical Theological Seminary (UETS) which trains and supports military chaplains, delivers humanitarian relief, and educates counselors for trauma and grief work. Through UETS, we support the large network of small congregations that are part of the Ukrainian Evangelical Church. We have also come alongside Peter’s Work, Mission Eurasia, and Radooga Ministry for humanitarian relief and children’s camps where families and orphans are hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Each of these ministries is connected strongly to major church bodies in Ukraine.
In Poland…
We have formed a significant bond with the College of Theology and Social Sciences (CTSS) which launched Novus Center, a Christian trauma counseling center that trains psychological professionals and pastors. In the war's initial stages, CTSS helped over 100 Ukrainian families relocate and find employment and educational opportunities.
In Lithuania…
We focus our resources on City Church, a church with several church plants in Lithuania. They continue to provide quality housing for a number of families in eastern Ukraine. They have helped over 250 families regain their dignity during the war. City Church leaders are working with UETS to organize visits to Kyiv and other areas of Ukraine.
The Outreach Foundation visits Kyiv in 2023
In the spring of 2023, we received permission to visit our partners in Ukraine. Accompanying us was Dr. Piotr Nowak, CTSS president. The visit was eventful and meaningful. We were able to bring several hundred Immediate First Aid Kits (IFAKS) for wounded soldiers as well as medicine. We visited the site of a mass grave in Bucha and met many residents in areas where they are starting to rebuild with the help of the church. Click to below to read more of our visits we’ve made over the course of the last two years.
Timeline of The Outreach Foundation Visits to Ukraine
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Outreach Executive Director Mark Mueller and Associate Director Tom Boone joined trustee Bob Fuller in Warsaw, Poland. We met with staff and faculty of the College of Theology and Social Sciences (CTSS), 50 Ukrainian refugees who were calling that campus home, and the female leadership team of Radooga who were fleeing Ukraine. Fear was pronounced. PTSD and human trafficking were rampant. But we could tell that even though we couldn’t perceive it yet, God was going to do something new through the people we met.
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We took a team of 10 people to visit Ukrainian refugees living in Lithuania, Poland, and Spain. We took relief supplies and toys but most importantly encouragement to people exhausted by the war. There were whispers of a new initiative to bring trauma care to refugees, but it would need substantial funding. Outreach donors responded, and in the fall of 2022, we helped launch CTSS’s Novus Center for Trauma Care.
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We brought a team of seven to the border of Ukraine and face-to-face with heroes of the war, Dr. Ivan Rusyn of the Ukraine Evangelical Theological Seminary (UETS) and Father Oleh Kindii of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Our friends from City Church and CTSS joined us. Though we brought more relief supplies, it became clear that a shift had occurred, from large-scale humanitarian relief to long-term care for people living in diaspora.
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Our fourth visit occurred in March 2023. While Dr. Rusyn was with us for a humanitarian visit to the U.S. in February, he spoke much like the man from Macedonia in Paul’s dream (Acts 16). Please can you come to Kyiv and spend time with us? Quietly we worked on a plan, and Mark Mueller, Tom Boone, and Victor Petrenko, husband of trustee Amy Petrenko, went to Kyiv helped by Dr. Piotr Nowak of CTSS. In addition to medical supplies, our U.S.-based support team pulled together 800 military first aid kits (IFAKs) and Delta waived the baggage fees. These were a specific request, and we were pleased to bring them.
The visit was much more than bringing supplies. We were able to be on the streets of Kyiv hearing stories, meeting people, and helping pastors deliver hot food to war-wearied people. We stood at the site of a mass grave in Bucha and talked with the pastor who had been forced to bury 153 victims of genocide. We went through an air raid during which seven people were killed. Amid all this, we witnessed how Jesus was present through our friends in Kyiv.
THE IMPACT
While we pray for an end to the war, this network has seen lives transformed through the love of God expressed tangibly through the church. Many who simply identified as Christian are discovering a personal walk with the Lord. Baptisms are surging. Lives are being transformed, even as war rages. The church has come together in a way that we have not seen in this region. For 30 years, since the fall of communism, the once nascent church has matured, and they are carrying forth the mission of God. In the words of one woman, a mother of two, “God brought me here to learn what Christian kindness is through the church. I go back to Ukraine now as a missionary showing my people the depth of God’s kindness and the way to follow Jesus truly.”
The present reality and steps into tomorrow
From Dr. Ivan Rusyn, president of Ukraine Evangelical Theological Seminary, we hear painful words. “Yes, there are advances but the cost is very high. The noose is tightening, and people need to hear our message of hope.” There is a major emphasis now on providing training for trauma counseling through the College of Theology and Social Sciences and the Ukraine Evangelical Theological Seminary. With over six million Ukrainians internally displaced, the need for shelter, education, and especially childcare is immense. The winter of 2022 was a gift from God, but a warm winter in 2023 is not guaranteed. As the months become cold, our funding will focus on providing heat and fuel sources, food, and relief supplies. They are in this for the long haul, and we are with them.
Ways you can still help
PRAY UNCEASINGLY as directed in 1 Thessalonians 6:16-18. We continue to get requests for prayer from the church in Ukraine. Attacks occur daily and pastors are exhausted yet still pressing forward.
STAY INFORMED AND SPEAK as Paul encourages in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3. Read the stories and share them as we seek to amplify the victorious voice of the church in this region. Consider inviting a conversation between your church’s leadership and Tom Boone or Mark Mueller.
RESOURCE GENEROUSLY as the Spirit leads you in Galatians 6:9. In addition to other needs, trauma among internally displaced people is becoming more visible with suicides, addiction, and marital problems on the rise.
We invite you to make a gift in support of these ministries to strengthen their outreach being done in Christ’s name.
Click here to give online now or you can mail a check to The Outreach Foundation, 381 Riverside Drive, Suite 465, Franklin, TN 37064. Designate your gift for the Ukraine Appeal.
Updates From Ukraine
Word from Ukraine is difficult. We have had several sleepless nights in a row. Ivan looked more tired than I had seen him in a while. With our attention focused on elections, Russia, with help from North Korean troops, has been pummeling Ukraine daily. For weeks the situation has worsened in many cities, even Kyiv. I have learned to become more understanding with staff who suddenly become less effective. Ivan was speaking about a young married woman who had been doing well until recently. Her husband and father are on the front lines, and for several days, she has not heard from her brother. This war is taking a deep toll on the people, and the number of refugees has increased greatly as winter approaches.