Gospel Hope in War-Torn Ukraine
In late February of 2022, the Alvords and the Whites, missionary families working with The Master’s Academy International, faced perhaps the most difficult decision of their lives. Should they stay in Ukraine as Russia invaded or should they come back to America until the fighting passed? The couples decided to stay in the country where they have trained pastors for nearly 30 years.
In the days following that decision, the bombing became so intense around Kyiv, the nation’s capital, that the Alvords had to leave their apartment and live at the church where Bruce pastors and trains men for ministry. For a time, the Alvords, along with dozens of church families and several nonbelievers from the neighborhood, slept in an underground parking garage across the street. The garage provided several concrete layers of protection against the Russian bombs, which, at the time, were a daily presence throughout Kyiv. From the church and parking structure, the Alvords ministered to their local congregation and kept in touch with many of the more than 900 graduates of Grace Bible Seminary, men scattered across Ukraine, engaged in the same gospel ministry as the Alvords. Not far away, the Whites ministered directly to the Ukraine army, bringing food to the soldiers, even as they provided resources, counseling, and hospitality to believers and neighbors.
Both couples were putting their lives at risk for the sake of the gospel. At times, they weren’t sure they would survive the war. But because of their heroic decision to stay, the Alvords and Whites were able to minister to the body of Christ and bring the hope of the gospel to many of their neighbors. And as they heard about spiritual and humanitarian needs, they passed those stories along to their sending church, Grace Community, and their pastor, John MacArthur. In response, the church and the John MacArthur Trust stepped in to provide financial resources, including humanitarian aid, gospel literature, and basic necessities to churches throughout the war-torn country. The Trust’s investment in the winter of 2022 was immediately used to buy food and supplies for families in dire situations. Here is one example Bruce Alvord shared in a recent newsletter:
“It has felt like a sacred duty to dispense your gifts where the Lord (and you) would want them to go. We recently were able to underwrite the fuel costs for three vans to travel almost to the Russian border (an eight-hour, one-way trip). They were the first volunteers allowed into this very dangerous situation - a Ukrainian town newly freed from Russian occupation. They were only let in because one of the drivers had an army officer friend stationed there. These vans were loaded with food, clothes, medicine and Christian literature (also partly financed from your gifts), and (the supplies were) passed out at a Protestant church by people we know. The residents in the newly-freed town were in bad shape, lacking basic necessities. The volunteers who delivered the help consider street evangelism as big a priority as handing out the aid. Deliveries of food, water and medicine had not gotten through to this city for a long time. Because of your gifts, we have been able to financially support teams of Christians we personally know to deliver basic necessities and ultimate hope.”
That support from the John MacArthur Trust was not the first time the Trust has partnered with the gospel ministry happening in Ukraine. Since 2019, the Trust has provided $475,000 in grants to the work of training Ukrainian pastors, particularly at Grace Bible Seminary. This has provided scholarships, facility upgrades, and much more, so that men can receive training before they begin the work of the ministry. The fruit of this investment was clearly seen throughout 2022. In the middle of the war, men from across Ukraine still came to Kyiv for training. This past October, 48 men graduated from the seminary, equipped for gospel ministry. The value of the trust’s investment is seen in those men. It’s also seen in the hundreds of graduates of Grace Bible Seminary who stayed with their church and cared for their people in the thick of a dangerous war.
“People in crisis ask eternal questions,” says Mark Tatlock, president of The Master’s Academy International. “The people with the biblical answers to those questions have to be present in the moment of crisis to answer those questions. That’s exactly what is happening all over Ukraine. Yes, the leaders of these churches are meeting physical needs. But more importantly, they are meeting spiritual needs. Right now, the Alvords, Whites, and hundreds of men they’ve trained are engaged in biblical counseling and crisis counseling. They’re also developing resources that can be used to bring hope and gospel truth to those who have suffered so much because of this war.”
The kind of present and future ministry Mark describes characterizes the graduates of Grace Bible Seminary because that school is marked by a deep, uncompromising commitment to God’s truth. The truth, understood and lived out, has transformed these men and, through them, is transforming countless lives throughout Ukraine. In the thick of this war, the value of theological training has become even more clear. The Trust’s investment in that training will continue to pay dividends for years to come.
“If you look at a map of Ukraine, particularly the eastern front, and identify the towns or villages that are being shelled and attacked, the places you hear about on the evening news, you are also going to find a pastor or church leader that was trained by Grace Bible Seminary or another training center connected to TMAI,” Mark Tatlock says. “And when war came to those towns, the pastors stayed. So in the middle of these places where there are atrocities happening every day, we have graduates faithfully serving those communities’ physical and spiritual needs. The hope they are providing isn’t going to be a headline on the evening news, but it’s the most important work being done there, and it’s certainly a headline in God’s kingdom.”
