Usually, when asked to draw something they like, a child might sketch a sun, a flower, a car, or a dog. However, Eric Mock of Slavic Gospel Association says the drawings they receive from Ukrainian kids tell a different story:

Girl in Despair (photo courtesy of Meruyert Gonullu via Pexels)

“All of their pictures involve pictures of missiles or bombs coming down and them hiding from them. Their idea of of daily life is a threat of an air raid siren and what it means to them.”

SGA also asked a few children about their prayers. “They said they pray for the war to end. They don’t ask for peace because they don’t know really what peace looks like,” Mock explained.

Many Ukrainian children are also growing up without a father. Some fathers have been killed, taken hostage, or are serving in the army.

“And so these children, the fabric of their communications with one another, the fabric of their walk through society, is dealing with the constant state of war. This causes anxiety and fear,” Mock says.

That’s why Slavic Gospel Association is running its Heat and Hope and Operation Winter Warmth efforts — practical, cold-weather relief projects aimed at easing the daily burden on families torn apart by war, especially single mothers and widows who are now carrying the full weight of providing for their children while struggling to make ends meet.

A Boy Behind The Glass (photo courtesy of Tanya Gorelova via Pexels)

The war has left deep trauma in children’s lives, but hope is not lost!

“The best medicine for these kids is the love of Jesus Christ and the warmth of a local fellowship of believers,” Mock said.

Hope exists alongside heartbreak. More than seven hundred children have been killed by Russian aggression, thousands more wounded, and around twenty thousand kidnapped to Russia.

Pray that many more children will find the help and healing they need in Christ. And pray for lasting, sustainable peace in Ukraine.

Header photo: Child Looking Through the Window (photo courtesy of Elina Fairytale via Pexels).

In 2022, Russia assaulted Irpin Biblical Seminary after receiving reports of civilians fleeing there. Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association says, “That school endured 30 rounds of mortar fire that turned the second floor of the school into an inferno, destroyed many of the rooms on the first floor, and, of course, vaporized the roof. For all intents and purposes, that building was gutted while 120 people were hiding in the basement below – and they survived.”

Irpin Biblical Seminary (Photo courtesy of Eric Mock/SGA)

Rebuilt and Thriving

Mock visited the school after the attack in 2022 and says it was hard to see. People were reeling from the war.

In time, the Slavic Gospel Association, as well as the seminary’s other supporters, helped them rebuild. Now just over three years later with the war still being fought, Mock says the seminary is like a new place.

“There was joy in the hallways. The professors that were there walked up and gave me great hugs with smiles on their faces, saying, ‘It’s good to see you.’ The students in between the breaks when I was teaching, were worshiping. Literally, they gathered around a piano and worshiped.”

Irpin Biblical Seminary (Photo courtesy of Eric Mock/SGA)

Yet the war was right outside. Mock says that while he was teaching classes there was anti-aircraft fire in the distance and even drones flying around the area to exhaust the people. These drones are sent especially between one a.m. and four a.m. to disrupt sleep patterns. However, people remain hungry for the Word of God and continue to joyfully serve God and each other.

“It was startling to see how much joy there was, how much effort there was to press forward. So as much as the Russian army is trying to bring the people to despair, the churches, the Bible-teaching churches we serve (which are over 1900 churches in Ukraine), these are the churches that are proclaiming hope of the Gospel and shining light in the middle of a dark time.”

A Reminder of Gospel Joy in Trials

Mock says this should serve as a reminder of truth for American Christians. It is like looking at a living hall of faith from Hebrews 12. We can see the Gospel being lived out by ordinary people who now are living in extraordinary circumstances and trials.

Irpin Biblical Seminary (Photo courtesy of Eric Mock/SGA)

“In Isaiah, 30 verses 20 to 22 and verse 21 it talks about, ‘You will hear the voice of the teacher, and he will say, this is the way when you turn to the left or the right.’ And we need to have that laser focus on Him, and that will guide us through these times. That’s what I saw in Ukraine, not despair, but joy. That’s kind of the story behind the story – is God advancing His church, and it’s a glorious thing to see.”

Please pray that God would continue to sustain the church in Ukraine. If you want to get involved with the Slavic Gospel Association, click here.

Header photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association.

Ukraine has struck at least 21 of Russia’s 38 large oil refineries, leading to fuel shortages. Meanwhile, Russia is targeting Ukraine’s gas infrastructure. Emergency power blackouts have occurred in nearly every region in Ukraine. 

Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association says a partner in Kyiv sent a desperate message last week about one Russian strike. 

“The damage that was done to the electrical facility was so great that the local leaders said, ‘This will not be rebuilt until the war ends,’” Mock reports.

You can imagine what having no light or heat source means for that SGA partner’s household, and others like it.

Heat and Hope outreach provides generators for emergency use (Photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association)

“Last year it was a temperate winter. But this year, we’re hearing that it’s going to turn cold, and it already has become much colder,” Mock says. 

SGA sends resources through an outreach they call Heat and Hope in order to equip local Christians for ministry. To provide generators, they partner with a group called Sunset Solutions. The emergency equipment goes even as far as the front lines of the war — but always through local churches.

“All the food we send over, everything we send over for winter warmth, all of that goes through the local church. Why? [So] that people that are in need would hear — hear from Christians who are showing them love and grace, even in their own fear — of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” says Mock.

Find your place in the story. Learn more about past Heat and Hope outreaches and how to partner with SGA’s work in 2025 on their website. 

“Imagine the people in Ukraine where a light switch doesn’t work, nor a thermostat doesn’t work, who may sleep through the night when it’s 25 degrees in the house, who may have to burn a candle as their only source of light, or use the the light on their cell phone through a soda bottle to generate light to live by, to even read their Bibles by and to stay in touch,” says Mock. 

“Life for them is very difficult. It’s in such time[s] that God’s people gather together to take care of one another.”

Header image: Ukraine, Kyiv (Photo courtesy of Алесь Усцінаў via Pexels)

Life’s struggles fade in the light of the Gospel. This is what Belarusian pastors believe as they persevere through obstacles in their ministry!

Eric Mock from Slavic Gospel Association says, “Through compassion ministry over the last eleven years, thousands of people have heard the Gospel, and hundreds have come to faith through this ministry.” Click here to learn more about the compassion ministry.

The obstacles are many — government restrictions, monitoring of sermons and social media, and even arrests of clergy who speak against limits on language or freedoms. Church leaders pray for wisdom as they carefully navigate registration and policy requirements, working hard to maintain peace with their government when possible.

Photo courtesy of Tima Miroshnichenko via Pexels

They persevere by remaining faithful to the Great Commission.

Mock says, “Look behind the curtain and see the faithful believers who, regardless of world events, continue to fulfill the task at hand and declare the Gospel to all people.”

Eric recalls meeting a few pastors from Belarus. He asked them how they respond to these challenges, and one pastor replied,

“That’s between them and God. As for us, we will continue the task before us of declaring the Gospel and making disciples of all people!”

These pastors are less concerned with government policies than with how to carry out the Great Commission in these times. And there are challenges, as many of them serve in two or three churches due to a lack of newly trained pastors.

Slavic Gospel Association supports Belarusian churches and leaders in their growth and humanitarian outreaches. Visit their website to learn more!

Mock adds, “We attempt to provide financial or supplemental support for these men who are out in the villages, because sometimes it’s almost impossible to take care of your family and continue doing ministry.”

Pray for a new generation of pastors to embrace the call and for wisdom as they navigate these sensitive days.

“Let us, in the middle of these chaotic times, preach Christ and Him crucified, so that people would know Christ and make Him known,” Mock encourages.

 

Header photo: Minsk, Belarus (courtesy of Egor Kunovsky via Unsplash)

However, Eric Mock with SGA says, “What they hadn’t counted on is there are a lot of people that didn’t know where their next meal was going to come from, and they would happily open the door to a pastor that wanted to tell them a message of hope and bring them a bag of groceries.”

In the countries of Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, SGA-sponsored missionary pastors are visiting needy families in their regions with much-needed parcels of staple food items. (Photo, caption courtesy of SGA)

Now, 11 years later, the SGA-supported Compassion Ministry is flourishing.

SGA supports 55 missionary pastors in Belarus, 35 of whom are actively involved in the Compassion Ministry.

“The figure the pastors last week gave me is that 7% of all people coming to faith, out of all the ministry of the churches in Belarus, are through this Compassion Ministry!” says Mock.

“Ten percent of all the pastors in Belarus are engaged in this Compassion Ministry through support from SGA.”

The pastors themselves often have very little. Yet, Mock says, “They faithfully declare the Gospel in their community, and here they give of the abundance of their heart more than an abundance of resources. So we help them in that, and that’s opened up doors and people have been coming to faith.”

Praise God for open doors and hearts to the Gospel in Belarus!

You can support SGA’s Compassion Ministry here.

Header photo courtesy of SGA.

What she found there changed her life.

Aneliya at summer camp. (Photo courtesy of Valentin Lupashko/Slavic Gospel Association)

One evening during worship, Aneliya came forward in tears. She prayed, and believed in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Later, she shared her story with a pastor — a story marked by pain and abandonment.

Aneliya’s father was drafted to the front lines of Ukraine. Not long after, her mother found another man and left the family, walking away from her two children. Aneliya and her younger brother now live with their elderly grandmother, trying to process trauma far too heavy for their young shoulders.

“She told me that this camp saved her,” the pastor reported. “She experienced spiritual renewal and found hope again.”

According to Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association (SGA), Aneliya’s story represents the hope many young people found in Christ this summer.

“These stories are of young kids saying they did not know of the love of God. They did not know they could go to heaven. They did not know of the grace of God. They were angry and confused, and now they walk away with hope,” Mock says.

But this ministry took place against a backdrop of war. “The war zone of Ukraine is getting more violent…. The nights are getting worse, the missiles and the drones are constantly coming in and harassing families,” Mock says. “In fact, we were told by one family that when they go to bed at night, they know that they’ll be awakened at 1:30, at 2:00 in the morning, often for four to five hours, and the sirens are blaring [while] they’re in shelters.”

For churches in Ukraine, the response may seem surprising. “What would you do if missiles and rockets were raining down every night?” Mock asks. “And their answer is this: ‘Well, what we’re going to do right now is we’re going to hold a summer camp.’”

(Photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association)

That commitment to Gospel service and encouragement is exactly what SGA exists to support. “The joy that we have is to serve the churches in these embattled countries who are faithfully ministering in their community.”

As summer camps wind down, local congregations are already preparing for the next outreach.

“We might think we’re done with summer camp. We can relax,” Mock says. “They’re already thinking of Christmas outreach. They never stop planning and prepping and ministering to the people in their communities.”

Pray for Aneliya as she begins attending church, and for many more young people across Ukraine who need the peace only Jesus can bring. Ask God to strengthen local churches as they continue year-round discipleship in the face of exhaustion, loss, and war.

Header photo courtesy of Valentin Lupashko/Slavic Gospel Association.

“These pastors are gathering together to be encouraged and refreshed,” Mock says. “Together we see that the best we can do in our world today is declare the eternal hope that we have in God, which has been afforded to us through Jesus Christ.” 

The conference comes as Armenia and Azerbaijan sign a US-brokered peace deal aimed at resolving conflict rooted in a regional dispute ongoing since the collapse of the Soviet Union. 

Historically Armenian but officially recognized as part of Azerbaijan, the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh has been fought for and ruled by ethnic Armenian forces for decades. Azerbaijan regained full control of the area in a 2023 offensive. Since then, Mock says SGA has been supporting Armenian churches as they minister to refugees fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh. 

“We have seen a constant tension: the fear of sending young men to war, the fear of losing men, the fear of losing more cities and towns and villages,” he says.

Mountains in Nagorno-Karabakh. Courtesy of Unsplash.

For this reason, the peace agreement has brought easier breathing to many families on both sides of the conflict. The 99-year lease involves a 27-mile stretch of land within Nagorno-Karabakh, known as the Zangezur Corridor, which will be developed as a trade route for oil, natural gas, and commodities. 

“What is established now is a roadmap for commerce and prosperity for both nations,” Mock says. “What you have is a situation where now everyone is a winner, including Europe, as they are now securing access to oil, natural gas, and commodities coming through Central Asia and Asia itself.”

Relief from decades of fighting, however, does not dissolve centuries of ethnic and religious tensions. The conflict in this region dates back to the fourth century, when Armenia recognized Christianity as its national religion. 

“As Islam grew and Armenians were seen as dissidents, the war of religious differences grew,” Mock says. During WWI, the Ottoman Empire carried out a mass genocide of Armenians. Armenia was then ruled by the Soviet Union until gaining independence at its collapse. 

All the while, Mock says churches have continued declaring hope to the hopeless in the form of salvation through grace alone.

“Whether there is a war going or there is a ceasefire, they continue to do the work that God has raised them up to do,” Mock says. “And so there is the political scene: there is the tragic reality of both the genocide and the pressure that exists between these nations, but in the middle of it there is the freedom that we have in Christ.” 

Praise the Lord for the cessation of fighting, and please pray for the continued work of the church in Armenia. Pray for pastors as they remind their congregations of the brevity of life and the assurance of a savior, and pray for believers as they hold grow in the knowledge and grace of their savior, Jesus Christ. 

Beyond historical losses and present gains, Mock points out: “Our hope is in Jesus.” 

Read more about Armenia’s history here. 

Bus stop in Armenia. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Featured image: President Trump brokers peace deal with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinyan. Screenshot courtesy of the White House.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

Photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association (SGA)

Divorce, abuse, war, and abandonment have shaped how these teenagers in Ukraine perceive life. Yet, when invited to church summer camps, they could finally breathe in hope.

Eric Mock from Slavic Gospel Association says:

“They were angry, confused, and now they walk away with hope, because they were judging God by their circumstances, not by His Word, not by His promises. And then secondly, in their circumstances, they had seen no love.”

This project brought together 160 young people for worship, rest, healing, and spiritual growth. A team of speakers — pastors, missionaries, coaches, and counselors — poured into the youth every day, helping shape their worldview spiritually and walking with them through the hard realities of life.

• Aneliya, came to camp after her father went to the front lines and her mother abandoned the family; she prayed to receive Jesus and left with renewed hope.
• Kateryna, from a violent home, called camp her “new birth” and found people she could trust.
• Maksym, who had never opened a Bible, repented on his own and began eagerly following God.
• Violeta, rescued from abuse, prayed publicly for the first time and left deeply grateful.
• Olena, abandoned by her parents, arrived unwilling but left with new friends and hope.
• Samuel, whose early trauma turned his hair gray, repented and found the friends he had long missed.

And more!

Photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association (SGA)

“Through the faithful believers ministering to them, they saw love,” says Mock — and believed in Jesus!

The realities of life can cloud and confuse a one-week camp memory. Mock says the work continues throughout the year through local churches: “That’s why God has raised up the church to minister to these kids. Some are orphans, whom the churches are ministering to and supporting through the SGA Orphans Reborn program, and some come from impoverished families.”

Though the camps are ending, the team is already planning what’s next, including a Christmas outreach. To understand the need behind these outreaches to children in times of war, click here.

Find your place in the story through prayer. Visit Slavic Gospel Association to learn more!

“One of the greatest prayer requests is that we wish that every child that hears the Gospel, the seeds of the Gospel would take roots in their heart, and they would grow up to be those adults that desire to follow the Lord,” urges Mock.

Header photo: summer camp (photo courtesy of SGA)

“Their children often will panic; some will wet themselves. They struggle with sleeplessness and emotions every time the siren goes off…”

Eric Mock from Slavic Gospel Assosiation recounts conversations he had with Ukrainian families and children about how they endure the war. The situation is grim, as Russian attacks intensify, wiping out families and stealing nights’ rest.

Despite active shelling and attacks, churches remain determined to organize summer camps for kids. Mock says, “In the middle of the sirens blaring, in the middle of the difficulties and the trials, they said it’s summertime. So we’re going to reach these kids with the gospel.”

Photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association (SGA)

Many Ukrainian children age eleven and younger don’t know a reality without war, having been born into it. Those from areas under frequent attack carry deep mental traumas. This reality underscores the vital importance of children-focused ministry.

“The summer camps become like an oasis away from the storms of life. They hear of joy and peace and of a love that will never leave them — a God who will never forsake them, a God who has poured out immeasurable grace and mercy. Especially for these children, who have known only difficulty, the message is one of warmth and care,” says Mock.

SGA partners with Ukrainian churches that organize summer camps. “God raises up the right people to take his gospel to the right communities in a way that only they can, and so SGA enters into their ministries,” explains Mock. Visit SGA website to learn more!

The summer camps take different forms — from day programs in city centers surrounded by apartment blocks to gatherings in the woods or at rented facilities. Yet in every setting, a faithful group of believers continues the work, pressing on for the sake of the gospel despite many difficulties.

“These faithful believers fix their eyes not on their own safety but persevere, knowing that even one child or family might hear the gospel for the first time through these summer camps and find peace,” says Mock.

Pray for the seeds of the gospel to bring hope for the future of these children. Pray also for the protection of civilians and the end of war.

Header photo: Boys playing in the forest (photo courtesy of Muhammed Aktürk via Pexels)

“That’s the deepest pain I experience,” he said. “Every time I go to the front, I realize it might be my last. I record a goodbye video then delete it. And do it again. Every time.” 

One Washington D.C.-based think tank has estimated that nearly 1 million Russian soldiers have been wounded or killed in the Russia-Ukraine war. It estimated that Ukraine has seen nearly 400,000 wounded or killed.

(Photo courtesy of Julia Kadel via Unsplash)

Pavlo’s story is tucked within two other stories like a matryoshka or nesting doll, says Eric Mock with the Slavic Gospel Association (SGA).  

The first story surrounding Pavlo is that of Angela and Val. 

Angela was born in the US, but her husband, Val, is a missionary chaplain supported by SGA. She regularly says goodbye to him as he goes out to minister to men on the frontlines. 

“Her family appeals to her often to please, come home where it is safe and secure,” says Mock. “She responds that her ministry is there with her husband, and her husband is following the calling to minister there.” 

Angela wrote Pavlo’s story after Val sat with him for hours. She then sent it to Kristi Mock, who is part of the next layer surrounding Pavlo: the SGA storytelling network.

“They tell stories that defy the imagination,” Mock says of the few ordinary people who gather news of God at work in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Israel and other countries. 

Kristi Mock also knows what it’s like to send family into dangerous zones. Mock travels to visit partners across the Slavic-speaking world. Some of them live in active conflict zones like Ukraine.

Chaplain Praying and Preaching with Soldiers (photo courtesy of SGA)

“While I’m away, she prays for me. She cares for family,” said Mock. “There’s a certain amount of trepidation and fear because she’s sending me away to countries [experiencing conflict].”

From Val to Angela to Kristi, Pavlo had simple words to share with civilians: “Live. Do everything you can to stay alive. The dead can’t change anything. The dead can’t speak.”

Mock says, “He [told] Val that, in the military, even tanks are more valuable than men. It’s difficult to replace a tank or a high-tech weapon, but it seems like it’s less difficult to just put another man into the trenches. There, it seems that the value of life is lessened.”

But Pavlo has experienced something else now: the value of his own life honored by an ordinary chaplain.

“I’d never met a chaplain before,” Pavlo said to Val. “But I came to you with so many questions. I talked for three hours straight, and you just listened. That silence — it surprised me. But later, back in my room, I realized I felt lighter. I don’t know what it is, but something draws me back.” 

Pray for Pavlo and men like him caught in the war, that they will come to know the value God places on their lives.

In writing Pavlo’s story, Angela said, “Christ doesn’t promise fairness. He doesn’t promise we’ll recover everything we’ve lost. But He offers something no system, no army, no nation ever can: soul-deep healing and the assurance that our value is not based on what we do or what we carry — but on His love for us.”

More stories come in every week from SGA. Find them at sga.org.

Header photo courtesy of Slavic Gospel Association.