russia - Victory - Honor God. Make Disciples.
Pray for Ukrainians Fleeing the War

Pray for Ukrainians Fleeing the War

  • April 12, 2022

The economic, social, political, and infrastructure cost of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will be felt for many years to come. Due to the interconnectedness brought on by globalization, these effects will be felt throughout the world.

However, one of the most tragic consequences of the war is the current refugee crisis as over 4 million Ukrainians and counting have fled and been displaced. Millions more will be forced to leave behind families, homes, professions, and a way of life almost overnight as the war drags on. Most of the displaced are women and children as men of fighting age stay behind to defend their nation. For comparison, only a million refugees combined from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq for the entire year of 2015 resettled in Europe. In Ukraine, a million are leaving on the average per week. This is the worst refugee crisis since World War II.

The Bible places a huge emphasis on the care for the alien, orphan, widows, and the poor throughout Scripture. In Leviticus 19:34, God made it part of the covenant responsibility of Israel, “You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” The reason is because they themselves were once refugees and aliens in Egypt.

The New Testament applies the same truth to the Church (Hebrews 13:2; 1 Peter 2:11). Therefore, as the body of Christ, we need to intercede for the safety, protection, and needs of those suffering in today’s war. Many fall prey and become easy victims to wicked crimes of human trafficking and exploitation.

Our Every Nation (EN) churches in Ukraine and Poland have been in the thick of this crisis serving as refugee centers. In Lviv and Ternopil alone, our churches feed up to 300 refugees a day. They provide food, beds, clothes, stipend, and free transport to Poland. Our pastors drive to war zones including Kiev to deliver tons of supplies and help residents escape on the way out. We also have a couple of pastors fighting on the frontlines.

According to Pastor Oleg Savchak of our church in Ternopil in Western Ukraine, “Since the beginning of the war, we have evacuated over 300 people from Kyiv, took 500 people to the Polish border, distributed 8 tons of humanitarian aid, and we have housed more than 3,000 refugees in our church!”

Pastor Przemek of EN Krakow purchased a few vans through the help of our churches worldwide, including Victory. He personally drives to EN Lviv, empties the vans of relief goods, fills it with refugees, and drives them all the way back to Poland every day. During a recent EN Global Team meeting, Pastor Przemek shared how he was stunned by the fact that there are over 2 million Ukrainian refugees in Poland, but you will see little to no refugee centers. The reason is because the Polish people have instead taken them into their homes and churches.

It is always the innocent civilians who suffer the most during times of war. God made it the covenant responsibility of His Church to help the poor, widows, orphans, and aliens. Let us stand in the gap and give toward their care.

PRAYER POINTS

  1. Ask God for a quick end to this war. Pray for both sides to agree to a truce very soon. Ask for wisdom and discernment for the diplomats and negotiators to arrive at amicable conditions for peace.
  2. Intercede for the millions of refugees including the millions more who have been displaced but choose to remain in Ukraine. Ask God to send angels to protect and provide for them.
  3. Stand in the gap for our churches in Ukraine and Krakow. Pray first for supernatural protection over our leaders and staff not only as they stay behind but go to the frontlines to deliver aid and help residents escape. Ask God to protect our church buildings and homes so that they may continue to serve as refugee centers.
  4. Pray for hearts to be open to the gospel. As tragic as crises are, these are the moments when the human heart is most open to God. Ask God for divine appointments and encounters for all those displaced; that even as they find themselves lost, they would find God.

Every Nation is a global family of churches and campus ministries, of which Victory is a founding member.

We are called to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). This is the reason we value world missions as a church and persistently pray for the nations every month.

To learn more about the situation in Ukraine, you can check the news and resources in the links below.

Pray for Peace to Prevail in Ukraine

Pray for Peace to Prevail in Ukraine

  • February 8, 2022

As news continues to unfold about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we turn to God for peace and hope and participate by sending help to support Every Nation’s relief efforts by giving through this link.

Russia has aggressively been placing itself in the middle of tense situations. It is seizing a perceived opportunity to take center stage in global affairs, highlighting what they conclude as the U.S’s failed mission in Afghanistan. In December, satellite images detected an unusual build-up of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border. When the new year opened in Kazakhstan with a political crisis, Russia was quick to send troops to quell the protests.

Threat of War

Ukraine’s location and vast expanse serves as an important military buffer against the West for Russia. When Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, it was a vital ally. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has leaned Westward and Russia fears its membership in NATO which would leave Russia totally vulnerable to an attack from the West in case of a war. Ukraine President Zelenskyy has acted against the interests of Russia and has strengthened political and economic ties with the US, the UK, and EU. Furthermore, Russian President Putin has accused NATO of placing missile systems in Ukraine aimed at Russia. This is what worries Russia. 

Estimates of up to 130,000 Russian troops are deployed along the border in addition to artillery, heavy weaponry, tanks, and air defenses. To put that in perspective, during the US war in Afghanistan, US troop deployment peaked in 2011 with over 100,000 soldiers. In other words, there is no reason to deploy over 100,000 troops unless a nation is engaged in or is preparing for war. An additional 10,000 Russian soldiers have been placed in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and another 30,000 in neighboring Belarus very soon. This has had the effect of surrounding Ukraine on three sides geographically. The US has gone so far as to accuse Russia of planning to stage a fake invasion by Ukraine in order to justify war. The Western allies have threatened heavy economic sanctions should Russia launch against Ukraine.

Russia states that the build-up is simply a matter of staging military drills and not plans for attack. However, despite possible diplomatic solutions, the negotiation ended in a deadlock. To complicate things further, China recently threw its support behind Russia’s efforts, potentially aggravating the current situation.

 

Emerging Conflict in the Midst of a Pandemic 

In an interesting twist, an Omicron surge has hit both Russia and Ukraine in record numbers and has also spread to the soldiers. This has led to a welcome disruptive and delaying effect on military operations and on any potential conflict.

The world is watching events in the region very closely. Russia has placed itself in a position to launch an all-out war quickly. As always in times of conflict, it is the ordinary citizens who stand to suffer the most. 

 

But in the wake of this turmoil, we hold on to Proverbs 21:1 and declare that God can indeed turn the hearts of kings and leaders toward His will. Let us lift up the situation in Ukraine in prayer.

PRAYER POINTS

  1. Ask God to thwart the plans of political and military leaders on both sides to start a war. Intercede that such leaders be removed from power. Declare Isaiah 2:4 over the situation—for swords and spears be turned into plowshares and pruning hooks, for war to be no more.
  2. Pray for wisdom over Western, Russian, and Ukrainian diplomats to arrive at a peaceful solution. Pray for genuine reconciliation to take place among Russian and Ukrainian people.
  3. Intercede for affected citizens in Eastern and Southern Ukraine. Pray for peace as well in the Russian separatist Donbas region in Ukraine. Declare the will and purposes of God to prevail.

Every Nation is a global family of churches and campus ministries, of which Victory is a founding member.

We are called to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). This is the reason we value world missions as a church and persistently pray for the nations every month.

To learn more about the situation in Ukraine, you can check the news and resources in the links below.