Recent Update and Prayers for Ukraine
Langham partners with and serves Ukrainian seminaries, churches, and pastors who now find themselves ushering students to safety, helping refugees cross borders, and sending up desperate prayers from the rubble.
One way we can draw near to our Ukrainian sisters and brothers is to listen to their stories and let them guide our own prayers. Here are some recent updates and prayer requests:
1. From Langham’s preaching coordinator in western Europe: “Please pray for the war in Ukraine to end. Pray for our brothers and sisters there as they hold on to hope in our Lord Jesus as well as holding out hope to others risking their lives to serve them. Pray for the churches and the Langham family in their neighboring countries such as Poland, Moldova, Romania, and Hungary as they receive refugees. Pray for the Hungarian Langham movement who pledged together to house anyone connected to Langham Ukraine who needs shelter . . . Pray for those involved in Langham movements, in Ukraine and throughout Europe, that we might speak the message of Gospel-hope into this darkness. Lord Jesus, build your church in the midst of this chaos. Thy will be done. Thy kingdom come.”
2. From Langham’s literature and preaching leaders in Ukraine: Please pray for our friends, partners and colleagues in Ukraine who are this month travelling throughout the county visiting several theological institutions which are acting as refugee hubs for those displaced because of the war. Taras Dyatlik (in leadership with Overseas Council, ScholarLeaders and project manager of the Langham-produced Slavic Bible Commentary), Roman Soloviy (director of the Eastern European Institute of Theology and regional commissioning editor for Langham) and Scott Cunningham (director of Overseas Council) will be visiting 13 schools in total, looking after the displaced and helping the colleges who are housing refugees. Please pray for their safe travel and also the important work they are doing.
3. From Taras Dyatlik (regional director for Overseas Council & project manager of Langham’s Slavic Bible Commentary): This leader, who partnered with Langham to develop the Slavic Bible Commentary, reflects: “When people are told to evacuate (either by the government or volunteers), there is often great resistance—people are in such trauma that they cling to what they know and cannot think rationally that it will be safer to leave their homes. Then when the expected shelling/bombing/raiding begins, they frantically request help from volunteers. This makes the evacuations more chaotic and rushed. Many people leave their homes with only what they can carry, literally. Most of them will never return—as Russians leave, they burn everything to the ground. Families are often separated because men (fathers, sons, brothers) cannot leave. Pray for the volunteers working with the internally displaced and refugees. The volunteers themselves may have lost homes, family members, etc and are in trauma themselves, and yet they are working tirelessly to be the hands and feet of Christ to others.”
Soberingly, we learned that the Mission Eurasia office near Kyiv was burned to the ground, including thousands of books. Several hundred Bibles and New Testaments were burned in a pile outside the office (pictured at right). About 3,000 copies of the Slavic Bible Commentary were stored in a warehouse in Makariv. Praise God that the commentary copies were evacuated in time.
4. From Langham Scholar Tomasz Terefenko in Poland: This leader lives and serves in Poland, and the church he pastors is welcoming and housing refugees who stream across the border. The church has added a second Sunday service in Ukrainian. He says, “Our church has accepted almost 30 refugees. We are experiencing a lot of God’s blessings and we are really rejoicing that we can be of help to at least several families. It is so strange because we spent about half a year praying for our church to grow spiritually and now God has put us in a situation that is far beyond our understanding that is creating a lot of mixed emotions. Fear of what’s next and trust in God’s providence.”
On the Podcast: Conversations with Frontline Leaders in Ukraine
On March 8 and 12, 2022 we recorded conversations with three church leaders in Ukraine. They provide a street-level level perspective of the situation the church is facing there. Listen below to learn ways you can pray.
