Gospel Work Continues in War-Torn Ukraine

Suzanne Pearson • Apr 12, 2022

Two years ago, we braced ourselves for a pandemic that rocked the world and called the Church to prayer. Today, we have a new reason to go to our knees, this time in intercession for the nation and people of Ukraine. The Russian invasion which began Thursday, February 24 is the most aggressive act of war in Europe since World War II.

At the time of the Russian invasion, TEAM had two global workers in Ukraine, Maria* and Samantha*. Both were safely evacuated shortly before the onset of fighting but left behind churches, ministries, and Ukrainian believers they know and love as brothers and sisters in Christ.

As is the case with any war, the situation for these churches and believers changes almost daily. The updates shared here represent the most up-to-date information we can provide. For ongoing prayer needs and updates, please visit our prayer page for the Ukraine crisis .

Maria’s Story

Maria’s journey to Ukraine begins in 1992. The Florida church she attended began exploring opportunities to share the Gospel in areas formerly under the yoke of the Soviet Union. Maria made a life-changing trip to Ukraine shortly thereafter and then moved there for full-time ministry in 1996 after her husband passed away.

In the years that followed, Maria was a part of three church plants in Ukraine. The third is a church in Petrovka, a town near the city of Odesa, where Maria has ministered for the last several years. Maria, along with her Ukrainian co-workers are typically busy with thriving ministries for families and youth as well as outreach to the local community. The last few weeks, however, have been anything but typical.

Rumors of War

As rumors of Russia’s possible intentions began to swirl, Maria says that the Ukrainian people dismissed the idea of an invasion. “No one believed there would be a war,” she recalls. “They said, ‘We’re friends [with Russia]. It’s not going to happen.”

Despite this optimism, it soon became clear that Maria would need to leave Ukraine, at least temporarily. She departed from her home and nation of 26 years in early February. She left behind her church family, praying that somehow disaster might be averted. However, the inescapable reality of war came to Odesa just a couple of weeks later when the Russian invasion began.

“It was very frightening for my team in Petrovka,” Maria says. “They were in shock.” At first, it seemed that all of Odesa might be the target of the early bombing raids. Thankfully the initial wave was directed only at the military bases and for the most part did not directly impact residential areas.

Maria offered up her home to co-workers as a safer location for them to stay and has continued to keep in touch with them as much as she possibly can. She says that even amid the uncertainty of each day, her Ukrainian brothers and sisters are stepping up to bring help and hope to the community.

“Some have fled,” she reports. “But many have stayed.” She says that not only are the pastor and other church leaders involved in outreach but even the youth from the church as well.

Know Us By Our Love

The greatest immediate need that the church saw was the abundance of young moms with small children home alone after their husbands and fathers were called into military service to defend their country. The women can’t get to work or to the store because it is too dangerous to venture into those areas. Children are not in school and basic living necessities of all kinds are in great demand.

And so each day the church members, including teenagers, make daily deliveries of food, toiletries and other needed items to their neighbors in need. Just 10 days into the conflict, the church had already visited and distributed supplies to over 50 families.

One example is the woman pictured below. “She lives alone and had no money for food,” Maria shares. “The day my team visited her, she was in the kitchen praying and asking God to help her. Our team gave her food, a New Testament, and prayed with her.”


Ukrainian lady sitting with Bible

Ukrainian believers in Petrovka visit their neighbors in need every day, providing tangible and spiritual care.


The outreach is making an impact, both physically and spiritually. “They’re only going to know us by our love,” Maria remarks. And the community of Petrovka is experiencing the love of Christ firsthand through these Ukrainian believers. “What I’m seeing in [the youth and leadership of the church] is that they are truly pouring out Christ’s love,” continues Maria. “They’re exhausted but they are still wanting to serve the people [of the community]. I had to leave, but they are carrying on the ministry and I’m so thankful to God for that.”

Maria is now involved in ministering to war refugees in another part of eastern Europe, wanting to stay as close to Ukraine and the people she loves as she can. As she ministers to so many broken and hurting families, she trusts that God has a purpose in all that is taking place.

“We’ve been praying [for years] for revival in Ukraine,” Maria says. “God is going to do great things. I just know it.”


Samantha’s Story

Samantha’s missionary journey began when she was only eight years old. “I’m an example of why missionaries should [visit] Sunday schools,” laughs Samantha. “I remember missionaries coming to talk in Sunday school and just sharing about how their friends were coming to know Jesus. I saw the excitement on their faces, and I had that same excitement as a second-grader. I knew from then on it was just a matter of timing.”

Samantha’s dream became a reality when she traveled to Ukraine first for a college internship, then for a short-term assignment, and then eventually to a long-term assignment in 2015 in Odesa where she remained until just weeks before the war. (Odesa encompasses a large area – Maria’s and Samantha’s churches are about a two-hour bus ride apart.)

Samantha’s ministry in Ukraine focuses on evangelism and discipleship in an international church in Odesa. As a part of that church, Samantha wears many hats, two of which are helping with youth ministry and being a part of the church worship team where she plays piano. She also helps equip Ukrainian believers to launch into cross-cultural missions themselves.

This cross-cultural training of Ukrainian believers is more important than ever, notes Samantha, because there are many parts of Europe that Americans can’t go to share the Gospel without being heavily watched by the government, but Ukrainians and other eastern Europeans can. Samantha has been a part of encouraging and equipping Ukrainians deployed into those regions. “It’s been cool to use what I’ve learned about cross-cultural adaptation to help them prepare and equip them for where they are now.”


Odesa graffiti on wall.

A graffiti wall on the outskirts of Odesa reads “I’m with you! – God”


A New Reality in Ukraine

Leading up to the Russian invasion, Samantha’s experience was similar to Maria’s. TEAM leadership was considering exit plans, but what the two women were hearing from their Ukrainian community was very different. Because conflict has existed between Russia and portions of Ukraine since 2014, people assumed that the new threat was more of the same.

That all began to change in late January 2022. Each day Russia amassed more troops on the Ukrainian border. Then reality set in when Samantha’s ministry leader told her it was time to start preparing for evacuation. In early February, Samantha traveled to Poland, hoping to just “wait it out” for a couple of weeks and then return to her home. Friends in Ukraine asked why she was in Poland and insisted, “You’ll be back next week.”

Just days later, those same friends awoke to the sound of explosions. “They were blindsided. People just did not believe that this would happen. Ever.”

Since the invasion, Samantha has stayed in touch with her friends and church community through Facebook and other digital communications. Up to the time of this publication , Odesa has not been taken by Russian forces, and the bombing has been primarily limited to military targets rather than residential areas.

Still, Odesa is a port city on the Black Sea, making it a highly coveted area by Russia. Samantha shares an amazing story of God’s protection over Odesa in the early days of the war. “There was a huge storm [on the Black Sea] for about three days. During that time, Russian ships were spotted [off the coast of Odesa]. You could see them from the beach, but they couldn’t land because of the storm on the sea. Ukrainian Christians in Odesa prayed, ‘Lord, keep this storm going.’ The ships were never able to advance onto the beachhead.”

Despite the heavy and difficult reality of war weighing on Samantha’s mind, she sees God at work. “I’ve heard a million stories of how God is working in the midst of ‘the garbage’ as I call it. And that’s been the most encouraging part.”



God is at Work

One of those stories is about one of Samantha’s former youth group students who she discipled prior to leaving Ukraine. This young teenager and her family fled Odesa to stay with relatives as they contemplate their next move. The teen’s grandmother expressed interest in studying the Bible. This young lady is now taking her grandmother through the same discipleship process that Samantha used with her.

Samantha sums it up beautifully: “It’s just the kindness of God that He’s getting a hold of people’s hearts.”

Samantha continues to minister to people affected by the war in various ways. “The hardest part is just watching and praying, waiting, trying to be helpful, connecting friends to places that are safe, helping refugees in any way I can,” says Samantha. Still, her heart is to return to Ukraine if the Lord allows. “I know that I might not be able to go back, but my heart wants to go back. That’s my home.”


Other updates

  • Since the invasion, TEAM connected with and is assisting a national pastor in Ukraine whose church is located in the heart of the fighting. “Pastor E” reports that his congregation has been miraculously kept safe from harm despite heavy shelling, and 30 unbelievers in the community have come to know the Lord since the war began.
  • TEAM is partnering with multiple organizations to provide food, medicine, and other supplies to those sheltering in Ukraine.
  • Several TEAM ministry areas in Europe are ministering to refugees and others affected by the war. Upcoming TEAM communications will highlight the needs of these neighboring regions.
  • The most up-to-date information and prayer needs, as well as opportunities to support relief efforts, can be found at team.org/ukraine .

*Names changed for security reasons.

By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
By Suzanne Pearson 23 Feb, 2024
Justin Burkholder, pictured here with his wife Jenny and their daughters Isabella, Olivia, and Zoey, has recently been named as TEAM’s next International Director. On February 19, 2024, with much excitement and gratitude to the Lord, TEAM announced that Justin Burkholder will become our organization’s new International Director, effective July 1, 2024. Justin, who is currently TEAM’s Executive Director of Global Ministry, will assume his new role upon the retirement of the current International Director, Dave Hall. ( Read the full press release here. ) We sat down recently with Justin to learn a little more about his background, his family, and the journey that has led him to TEAM. Q: Tell us a little bit about your “origin story” - Where did you grow up? What was your family like? A: I grew up in Mexico City as a missionary kid. My parents were focused on church planting. We were very close as a family. Both of my parents are still alive, and my dad serves as a pastor in southern Florida. I have one brother who is a pastor in Wisconsin, and the most special individual in my family is my sister, Amber. She was born with a very severe case of cerebral palsy and is entirely dependent on my mother...who is extraordinary! The three most impactful forces that have shaped who I am (outside of God’s grace) are growing up in Mexico, having parents who loved and planted churches, and sharing life with someone with a severe disability. My parents belonged at the time to a church and denomination that came with quite a bit of legalism and performance-oriented Christianity. Grace was a challenging concept to grasp. While I had an awareness of my sin and need for redemption, it wasn’t until I attended Moody Bible Institute that I began to grasp the fullness of God’s grace and His delight in His children. I have continued learning and trusting in the Gospel through formal education, like completing my M.Div., and through spiritual practices in community. Learning the Gospel and believing the Gospel has been a daily exercise. The Gospel is as beautiful and multi-faceted as a diamond! At an individual level, it is simple enough for us to live convinced that “Jesus loves me, this I know.” At a corporate level, it becomes the foundation that forms and informs our life as a spiritual family. At a cosmic level, it is redemption that reaches as far as the curse is found. It is hard to even grasp the multiplicity of goodness found in the Good News. Q: Share a little bit about your family life now. What does a typical day look like in the Burkholder household? A: My wife Jenny is my high-school sweetheart! She brings joy and kindness wherever she goes. She’s the best listener I’ve ever met, and we love spending time together. We have three daughters. Isabella is ten, Olivia is seven, and Zoey is four. Each of the girls is unique and has taught us a lot in our process of following Jesus together. We like to go out on walks and go to the park together. Once a month I try to get some alone time with each of my daughters which usually includes bowling or trampolines. A typical day in the Burkholder house starts around 5:00am. Because of traffic here in Guatemala City, we have to leave early for school. After school, the girls come home to different activities - sometimes swimming class, sometimes piano lessons. Four or five nights a week we have dinner together where we usually talk about our high and low moments of the day. On weekends, we enjoy time together, playing outside, or watching sports together. Go Cubs and Go Buckeyes! Q: What are your interests and hobbies? If you have the day off, what are you likely to be up to? A: I enjoy physical activity, running, strength-training and following sports. I also love music and, truth be told, am a bit snobby about my taste in music! I also am a very curious person and love reading just about anything that passes through my hands. A day off is usually an opportunity for time with family. Jenny and I like to cook something interesting together on our days off. Often there is time for some reading and watching some type of athletic event. Q: How did God lead you to TEAM? A: My wife and I were working in the Chicago suburbs. I was a youth pastor and she was a Spanish teacher. When we got married, we had already sensed God’s direction to serve cross-culturally, but it was a matter of discerning when and where. There was a driving desire in me to see a church deeply love the Scriptures and at the same time, be deeply engaged in loving and serving their city and the most vulnerable among them. As God directed our paths, we visited a variety of places and made some friends in Guatemala who opened up the path for us to serve here. While we were exploring, we knew that the International Director of an organization called TEAM happened to go to our church, so I decided I should probably invite him out for breakfast - his name was Charlie Davis. Charlie was extremely thoughtful, passionate about disciple-making, and very gracious in creating space for us as we stepped into this endeavor. Charlie connected me with Steve Dresselhaus, a fellow TEAM global worker who was at that time serving as the Senior Director for the Americas. I cannot express the debt that I owe Steve. He walked closely with me in the transition, encouraged courageous thinking about the church and her role in society, and blasted open the doors for us to serve in Guatemala. After meeting Steve, we spent some days praying about joining TEAM. One thing I will never forget – one night during the process, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. A peace like I have seldom experienced passed over me confirming that we should join TEAM. There is no doubt in my mind that God tied all of these pieces together to bring us into the TEAM family and community. Q: What roles have you held in TEAM? What have been the milestones in those roles? A: The most important role I have held in TEAM is that of a global worker. God in His grace has allowed us to help plant two churches here in Guatemala, serve in leadership development, counseling, and discipleship. Our greatest joy has been found walking with those who are learning to follow Christ more deeply. I served as the Ministry Area Leader in Guatemala from 2016 to 2019. We helped to establish and lead this ministry area as it grew from just four global workers to over 15. I then served as Senior Director for Mexico and Central America from 2019 to 2021, Regional Executive Director for the Americas in 2021 and 2022, and then transitioned to the role of Executive Director of Global Ministry which I’ll continue in until the end of June. Q: What do you love most about being a part of TEAM? Why TEAM rather than other organizations or job opportunities? A: The TEAM community is full of people who have faithfully served God’s mission and have given up a lot to do so. It is a privilege to know many of our global workers and be counted among them. I am also fascinated by the fact that TEAM has existed now for more than 130 years! There is something to be said about the resilience and faithfulness of an organization that has continued to impact the world for so long. The rest of our conversation with Justin will be coming soon on blog! We’ll hear more about how God called Justin to the role of International Director, and what Justin sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church.
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