Faith Facts

• Two women were baptized in the Dnieper River in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, moments after Russian missile strikes killed civilians nearby
• More than 400 Ukrainians gathered for Camp Amerikraine, resulting in multiple baptisms across the war-torn nation
• Survivors of the brutal Mariupol siege have returned to Ukraine to plant a new church that now has over 50 attendees

It was just another Tuesday in Ukraine.

As Russian missile strikes rained down across the besieged nation in Eastern Europe, Churches of Christ kept preaching, teaching and conducting Bible studies with their war-weary countrymen. In Zaporizhzhia, a city near the frontlines of the four-year-long conflict, two women decided to give their lives to Christ in baptism after studying with minister Andrii Bilokonnyi.

He and a small group of church members took the ladies to the Dnieper River to immerse them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins.

“Just before the baptism, there was another attack that took people’s lives,”

said Svetlana Shevchenko, a church member and journalist in Zaporizhzhia. In photos of the baptisms, plumes of smoke rise from the attacks across the river.

“We saw and heard the explosions, and at the same time heard the women confessing Jesus as their Savior,”

Bilokonnyi said.

In a text message, Shevchenko added:

“We live in such a city and such a world. The devil takes lives, but God saves for eternal life! What a blessing to be together with the Savior!”

The attacks on Zaporizhzhia are part of an intensive wave of Russian strikes across Ukraine in recent days. In the capital, Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called one such raid “one of the most massive ballistic attacks” since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has launched multiple drone attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, leading to a nationwide fuel crisis. As they assess damage from the recent strikes, Bilokonnyi and his family make plans to distribute relief through Program for Humanitarian Aid, a Texas-based nonprofit supported by Churches of Christ.

Seeing ‘God’s Hand at Work’

In the midst of the attacks, more than 400 Ukrainians gathered in western Ukraine for Camp Amerikraine, an annual retreat sponsored by Churches of Christ in the U.S. and Ukraine. Jeff Abrams, the camp’s founder, reported multiple baptisms during the camp and in the days after at Churches of Christ across Ukraine.

“Thank you to all who travel a difficult path to get here. Thank you to the team that plans and organizes everything. Thank you to all who pray and pay for this annual family reunion to occur,”

said Abrams, director of the nonprofit Rescue Ukraine.

One member of the organizing team, Stas Kuropiatnykov, was baptized at Camp Amerikraine 20 years ago.

“Back then, I had no idea what God was preparing for my future,”

said Kuropiatnykov, who now ministers for a Church of Christ in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv and served a tour of duty in Ukraine’s military during the war.

“That 20-year milestone is especially meaningful to me. Looking back, I can clearly see God’s hand at work through every season of my life.”

Mariupol Survivors Return to Ukraine

During the camp, Yevheniia Kalchuk shared her testimony of survival during the brutal siege of Mariupol in the early days of the invasion. She and her family were among 33 people — ranging in age from 9 months to mid-70s — who spent 51 harrowing days in the Mariupol Church of Christ building as the war raged around them.

After an exodus that took them to Sopot, Poland, they spoke about their ordeal in mid-2022.

“God did not remove me from difficult circumstances. Instead, he was with me in them. He did not stop the war. But he led me to safety.”

Kalchuk and her husband, Aleksei, have welcomed two daughters into their family since leaving Ukraine. The family made frequent trips back into Ukraine to help distribute humanitarian aid.

Last year, the Kalchuks made one such trip to Vinnytsia, a small city in western Ukraine. That visit led them to do what other Mariupol survivors might consider unthinkable — they moved to Vinnytsia and planted a church.

“Today that church has more than 50 people attending, and I believe God is preparing salvation for many of them. Today I am the mother of four daughters and serve alongside my husband in that church.”

Amid the horrors of Mariupol, she reflected:

“God (was) shaping his vessel. He was shaping me. He is shaping all of us so that we will be ready for heaven.”

The witness of these Ukrainian believers demonstrates that even amid the darkness of war, the light of the Gospel continues to shine. Their courage and faithfulness serve as a powerful reminder that no earthly conflict can overcome the power of Christ’s redeeming love.

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