Here is a wonderful report from a region where churches have seen a massive amount of internally displaced persons (IDPs)—most of them transient. Please read these profound words Pastor Mykhailo:

They are very grateful that we do not “pressure” them to repent immediately. They frankly say that they understand us, what we are inviting them to do, but something is holding them back. And then you realize a simple thing—you cannot make them believers! This privilege belongs only to the Lord. So we do our best and believe that the Lord will continue to save people.

Each life, each heart is in God’s hands. Therefore we scatter the seed of the Gospel, we pray and we serve, and we rejoice with the angels for every life that God turns toward Himself in faith for it is for God’s glory alone. Thank you for your prayers and your faithful ministry serving Christ and these churches. Read more from Mykhailo’s report . . .

 Greetings friends and SGA workers!    

Please accept our sincere gratitude for your generous donation of food to meet the needs of the refugees! With your help, we were able to organize two meetings for 222 refugees. Our church has been serving refugees for over a year. Every week we have two services for 220 to 230 refugees. The attitude of the refugees towards the church is gradually changing. They are becoming more open. More and more often they come up to us after the service to express their personal gratitude for caring for their needs. They are very grateful that we do not “pressure” them to repent immediately. They frankly say that they understand us, what we are inviting them to do, but something is holding them back.

And then you realize a simple thing—you cannot make them believers! This privilege belongs only to the Lord. So we do our best and believe that the Lord will continue to save people. Every time I meet with IDPs, I announce that anyone who wants to study the Bible can come to me personally and we will discuss all the organizational issues.

Since December last year, 30 refugees have expressed a desire to study the course “Fundamentals of Faith” (by Dr. John MacArthur). Three women from this group have already repented. I asked one of them: what exactly prompted you to repent? She answered, “In your classes I have learned that I am dead before God. But I don’t want to be dead to Him, I want to be alive.” A month ago, 25 more refugees began studying the Fundamentals of Faith course. After each meeting with the refugees, I announce the opportunity to study the course “Fundamentals of Faith.” This week, after the meeting with the refugees, a woman came up to me and said, “My husband has cancer. He would really like to study the Bible. I am looking for a job for myself. I am very sorry that I cannot attend your classes yet. My husband often suffers from depression because of his illness. I am worried that depression will destroy him sooner than the disease. So I am sure that Bible study will help him.”

I asked her to invite him. And she said he is here and called him. The man came up and said to me, “Do you remember how I came to you in the winter and asked you to pray for me?” To be honest, I didn’t really remember that much, but I agreed with him. He kept saying, “when you prayed for me then, I felt something so good, unknown to me before, covered me. I felt like the happiest person in the world. . .” I invited him to study the Fundamentals of Faith course. 

Recently, a refugee boy came to our church and said he wanted to study the Bible. At this moment, I would like to express my special thanks to Dr. John MacArthur for the wonderful course “Fundamentals of Faith!” It has been a huge blessing to us in our ministry to the people of Ukraine who are affected by the war.

Since the beginning of the war, we have distributed more than 15,000 food packages for refugees. All the people who received them heard the Gospel! Praise be to God!  

Besides serving refugees, we also organize an eye clinic every month. At this clinic, we provide people with the opportunity to have their eyes tested and to get glasses for free. We can also check blood pressure and blood glucose levels. While waiting, people have the opportunity to hear preaching with an exhibition of paintings on the topics of the whole Gospel. Since the beginning of the war, 3,474 patients have received medical care and heard the Gospel. More and more new refugees are coming to [our community]. It is a very big field for evangelism! Our team is ready to always work hard for the Lord! But now, we are limited by the rent of the building, where we gather for Sunday worship, which is charged by hour. Therefore, we pray that the Lord would give us the opportunity to purchase a piece of land and build our own building to reach more people with the Gospel. 

May the Lord richly bless you for your prayerful and financial support! Without your huge help, our ministry would not be possible!  

With gratitude and prayers for you, 

Mykhailo

My name is Svetlana. I came from the Donetsk region. I have been living [here] for two years. The people here are very kind, they welcomed me with compassion and understanding that this is a war and we are all going through this tragedy together. The city is filled with a spiritual atmosphere.

Do you think the Lord cares about you and your needs? Do you feel it?

Oh, this is not can even be discussed and there is no need to prove anything. I feel that He loves me and shows His love through good people, through caring for us. Without God, I probably wouldn’t have found such a wonderful church, I wouldn’t have found such a wonderful shelter. This must be how God really cares! Thank you very much for welcoming us, for giving us the opportunity to communicate and not to isolate ourselves. We are so grateful that we read the Word of God, it is so important for us! 

My name is Alla, and I came here to Poltava from Bakhmut more than a year ago. It is very nice here . . . but I want to go home.

Do you think God cares about your needs?

Yes, I think God cares too much. I probably wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for God! Maybe I would have been killed already, but the Lord brought me to this beautiful city. I am grateful for all this food aid that is sent to us by caring people who live so far away from us. I am grateful to the church, which also takes care of our spiritual needs here. I am grateful to you and to God for everything!

My name is Nadya, I moved here from the Kharkiv region. I have been living [here] for one year. Of course, I’m surprised at how well we are welcomed here by the local people. The Lord also cares about me and has provided me with the opportunity to go to a Christian church here, to communicate with God’s children. This is such a joy for me in such a difficult time!  

My name is Tetiana. I am from Poltava, and my husband is from Kharkiv. He is a first-group disabled person, he is missing one leg. That is why such food support is very meaningful to us. We thank God that you are so kind to us, that you help people, everyone who needs such help. You are very nice, God’s people, it is a pleasure to listen to you, your church songs are fascinating. I always cry when I listen to you. I believe that the Lord works with my heart, I feel it when I come to the House of Prayer. It makes me feel so good. Thank you and all the people who care about us so much. 

In a time of great uncertainty, God is bringing help, healing, and hope to the people of Ukraine through SGA-supported pastors, churches, a seminary, and SGA-sponsored Compassion Ministry. Be a part of God’s incredible work with your generosity and prayer support.  

Your gift of compassion helps struggling people with emergency aid that generally includes Scripture materials, food, medicine, warm clothing, and shoes.