By Andrew McChesney

Adventist Mission has sent emergency funds to Ukraine to help feed and shelter frightened crowds who have sought refuge in Seventh-day Adventist churches even as several churches have been destroyed in the ongoing armed conflict.

In response to an appeal from the Adventist Church in Ukraine, Adventist Mission sent $15,500 from its Hope in Crisis initiative to support local churches this week, and additional funds will be forthcoming, said Jeff Scoggins, planning director at Adventist Mission, the mission arm of the Adventist world church that plants churches worldwide.

“We just sent $15,500 … thanks to generous donors,” he said.

Adventist churches have been swamped with people after the armed conflict erupted on February 24, with 50-100 people arriving at many churches every night for food and shelter. More than 3 million people have fled the country, but many others have been unable to leave.

Adventists pastors have stayed in Ukraine to do whatever they can to help.

Church members have been handing out food, providing a place to stay, and giving people rides from hot spots to safe places or the border. But the Adventist Church in Ukraine has run low on funds, and church members, who have been helping from their own means, face a similar predicament.

The Adventist Church has 784 congregations in Ukraine and a membership of about 43,300, more than in any other country on former Soviet soil.

It was not immediately clear how many churches have been left in ruins in the armed conflict. A Ukrainian senior church leader said only that “several” churches had been destroyed. At the same time, he said, it appears that all church members remain alive.

The leader also said Christ’s command to teach and baptize new believers was being fulfilled despite the turmoil. Thousands of people are completing digital Bible studies started before the crisis began, and the first baptisms have taken place.

“The baptisms have already begun,” said the leader, whose identity is being withheld by Adventist Mission to protect his safety. “It’s a miracle!”

Images obtained by Adventist Mission show men and women, young and old, taking a public stand for Jesus in water-filled baptismal tanks. One baptismal tank was decorated with festive blue and white balloons. Another was surrounded by colorful roses.

“The situation in Ukraine remains difficult and dangerous,” the Ukrainian leader said by e-mail. “But we, by the mercy and grace of God, will continue our ministry and the preaching of the gospel!”

The baptisms come as Ukrainian church members respond to the Great Commission, in which Christ said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, NKJV).

Scoggins, at Adventist Mission, appealed to church members worldwide to pray for the situation in Ukraine.

“The most important thing we can do for Ukraine is pray for God to send as many of His angels as necessary to push back the forces of evil angels because ultimately it is a spiritual war that is driving the physical war,” he said. “And beyond prayer, anyone who wants to help Adventist Mission in Ukraine in these oddly productive circumstances, now is the time.”

The Ukrainian church leader expressed gratitude for the generosity of donors.

“[We] will continue to actively serve and will be grateful for any help,” he said. “We effectively use every dollar and save lives. … Keep praying for the church and Ukraine.”

Tax-deductible donations to help the people of Ukraine can be made on Adventist Mission’s website, adventistmission.org/donate. Select “Hope in Crisis (Ukraine)” as the desired project. Alternatively, in the United States and Canada, call 800-648-5824, or send a check to 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, Maryland, 20904.