JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Gov. Mike Parson may be the highest ranking Missouri Baptist in the state who has prayed for and expressed support for the Ukrainian people, but he is not alone.
“In the face of unprovoked Russian aggression, Ukrainians refuse to back down or cower to a dictator,” Gov. Parson, a member of First Baptist, Bolivar, said on March 1, announcing that the state Capitol dome would shine blue and yellow – the colors of the Ukrainian flag – through March 4.
“Missouri stands with and supports Ukraine, as the world again learns that freedom is not free,” Parson added. “Democracy is a threat to power-hungry oppressors, and for that same reason, we must always protect it. Teresa and I continue to pray for the people of Ukraine, all innocent lives put in harm’s way, and a quick resolution to peace that protects the sovereignty and freedom of Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, Missouri Baptists throughout the state have also stood beside the Ukrainian people – raising funds, reaching out to Christians in Ukraine and praying for all involved in the crisis.
Springfield church reaches out to Ukrainian orphans
For several years, Ridgecrest Baptist Church, Springfield, has ministered to Ukrainian orphans – and the Russian invasion hasn’t quenched the church’s passion for these children. Through the years, Ridgecrest church members have adopted at least 10 children from the orphanage the church partners with in Ukraine, Pastor Jeremy Muniz told a reporter with OzarksFirst.com.
On Feb. 27, the church held a special prayer service focused on the crisis in Ukraine. Also, they began to raise funds to help ministry there, raising $56,000 by March 1. Then, on March 2, Muniz and three other church members flew to Poland to visit with children who had fled there from the orphanage in Ukraine.
“We have not just friends there in Ukraine,” Muniz said, according to OzarksFirst.com. “These are family members. Many of these kids we hope someday will be here in Springfield and be in our homes. It’s awesome to kind of be in the middle of something like this that is, you know, making a difference in a lot of people’s lives.”
According to OzarksFirst.com, Ridgecrest was planning to send another mission team of four people to Poland during the week of March 7.
Ridgecrest member prays for Putin’s Damascus Road experience
Meanwhile, other Ridgecrest members are praying not only for the people of Ukraine, but also for the people of Russia. After Muniz urged Ridgecrest to pray, church member Jim Schurke felt convicted to pray specifically for Russian President Vladimir.
“Mr. Putin is the one person on earth who started the armed conflict in Ukraine, and he is also the one person who could end it,” said Schurke, who is also a member of the Missouri Baptist Apologetics Network. “My prayer then was that Mr. Putin would not rest or be at peace within himself until he called an end to this senseless conflict.
“The apostle Paul was a man committed to the destruction of the gospel, and it took a Damascus Road experience to get his attention. My prayer then became that Vladimir Putin have a Damascus Road experience, the purpose of which was to first bring a swift end to the senseless carnage he is responsible for inflecting upon Ukraine, and then that he would realize his deep need of the forgiveness only Christ can bring.”
Jefferson City church raises funds for Ukrainian church’s ministry
Elsewhere, Concord Baptist Church, Jefferson City, announced in a Feb. 26 Facebook post an initiative to raise funds for the Buzivka Baptist Church in Buzivka, Ukraine, a village only two hours from the nation’s capital city, Kyiv.
The church’s partnership in Ukraine began in 2018, when Concord worship pastor Brad Newbold first traveled there and began to develop a close relationship with Daniel and Olya Olynik. Daniel serves as worship director for the Baptist Union of Ukraine and as worship leader for Buzivka Baptist Church.
“This church owns a summer camp that can house 200 people, and many refugees have already moved into the cabins,” Concord’s Facebook post reads. “The village of Buzivka has swollen to twice it’s normal size due to people fleeing the cities.”
Two days after announcing the fund-raising initiative, Concord had already sent $17,650 to Buzivka, and they continued to accept more funds throughout the following week. Funds were directed through the Future Leadership Foundation, a Missouri-based ministry that has long worked in Ukraine and that is led by Executive Director Greg Morrow, who formerly served pastor at First Baptist Church, California.
Mo. DR raises support, explores options for bringing relief
On Feb. 28, Missouri Disaster Relief announced efforts to raise funds to bring help, hope and healing to Ukrainian refugees and other survivors of this crisis. By the end of the week, $5,000 had been given to Missouri DR, though funds are continuing to be raised online at https://mbcpathway.com/ukraine. Funds raised will support various ministries responding to the crisis in Ukraine.
“One of our SBC partners in the Ukraine response is Send Relief International,” an email from Mo. DR said. “They report responding with food relief before the invasion and continues to collaborate with national partners to provide food, shelter, transportation, medical supplies, clothing, and trauma ministry to those displaced and impacted by the crisis. Send Relief has expanded response to displaced people in Poland, Moldova, Hungary, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Total resources committed, planned, and in progress is $518,488.00.”
Gaylon Moss, director of Missouri DR, told The Pathway that they are exploring the possibility of sending teams to eastern Europe. In an email to potential volunteers, DR leadership said, “If you have a current passport that does not expire in 2022 and you are willing to follow Covid protocols of the host country, please complete the form at https://mbcpathway.com/ukraine-volunteer-form/. We do not know what the cost will be nor the dates. We are just gathering information at this time in order to be ready if called on.”
Concilium helps Ukrainians evacuate country
Meanwhile, Concilium President Scott Brawner, a Missouri Baptist church member, has worked alongside other Concilium team members to travel along Ukraine’s borders with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, assessing the needs and working to help Ukrainians evacuate the war-torn country.
Founded out of Kansas City, Concilium, Inc., is a non-profit ministry that helps Christian missionary and humanitarian groups with risk assessment and security around the globe. To hear daily updates about prayer requests and crisis management needs in eastern Europe, visit https://www.facebook.com/conciliumonline or https://concilium.us/ukraine-updates/.
MBU to bless Ukrainians with ‘evening of fun theatre’
The fine arts division at Missouri Baptist University has also announced a creative effort to help raise funds to support relief efforts in eastern Europe. On March 24-27, MBU’s theatre group will perform Neil Simon’s “Fools,” a “fable of comic proportion” set in – of all places – a small village in Ukraine. At the end of each performance, they will take a collection to forward to Send Relief International for relief efforts in eastern Europe.
Kasey Cox, director of theatre at MBU, said she began planning this performance in the fall of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic – rather than the Russian invasion of Ukraine – filled everyone’s newsfeeds.
“When we chose it, we were thinking, ‘We’re all tired, the pandemic has been difficult, politics have been difficult. Let’s just do a show that makes us laugh. Let’s just enjoy one another,’” Cox told The Pathway. But when Russia invaded Ukraine, Cox and her husband, Jordan (who is chair of MBU’s fine arts division), decided that this was an opportunity offer help to the hurting people of Ukraine.
Though the show is thematically unrelated to ongoing events in Ukraine, Cox said she hopes the evening will “remind people … that there are people who are hurting and who have lost so much.”
“If we can use an evening of fun theatre to bless someone else, that would be a joy,” she added.
To learn more about showtimes or to purchase tickets, visit www.mbuboxoffice.eventbrite.com. At press time, ticket prices started at $5.00 per seat.